Cesare Rossarol was a scout cruiser built in Sestri Ponente, Genoa, in 1913 and launched by S.A.I. Gio. Ansaldo & C. in Liguria, Italy, in 1914. Like her sister ships, Alessandro Poerio and Guglielmo Pepe, she was named after a famous Neapolitan light cavalryman who helped defend Venice from attacks by the Austro-Hungarian Army during the revolutions in 1848.