Ties between the Fascist regime in Italy and the Francoists strengthened after the latter claimed victory in the Spanish Civil War. These ties also manifested themselves in the field of naval construction: Spain planned to get to grips with the latest achievements in Italian shipbuilding in an effort to strengthen its fleet. Italian company Ansaldo furnished Spain with three projects for a heavy cruiser that differed from each other in the composition of their armament. One of the options included four 203 mm twin-gun mounts.