The Alpino-class frigate was designed by CNR in Riva Trigoso and named after types of soldiers and specifically after two World War II Soldati-class destroyers.
 The design was authorised in the 1959/1960 Italian naval programme but was radically redesigned in 1962.
Circe was laid down as the lead ship in 1963 but was renamed Alpino in June 1965 prior to being launched in 1967.

As originally designed, Alpino was to have armament based on the preceding Canopo-class frigate.
Optimised for anti-submarine warfare, the vessels were designed around a hangar for an Agusta-Bell AB.204 helicopter, complemented by a single-barrel 305 mm (12 in) Menon mortar mounted forward.
An early drawing shows the hangar straddled by a pair of 40 mm (1.6 in) guns with a single 76 mm (3 in) gun mounted fore and aft to provide anti-aircraft defence.
 By 1962, the efficacy of the 40 mm was in doubt and the design was redrawn with three 76 mm guns, but this was deemed insufficient.
 At launch, the vessel had no less than six single mounts.

The propulsion system uses a combined diesel and gas (CODAG) system first trialled on the destroyer San Giorgio.
 The system allied two diesels and one gas turbine per shaft with a hydraulic coupling to enable the vessel to either run on diesel power alone, at low speed, or diesels, at high speed, and gas turbines simultaneously.
Two 4,200 shp (3,100 kW) Tosi OTV-320 diesels were paired with each 7,500 shp (5,600 kW) Tosi-Metrovick G.6 gas turbine to provide a maximum speed of 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) on diesels alone and 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph) with all engines running.
The Alpino-class frigate was designed by CNR in Riva Trigoso and named after types of soldiers and specifically after two World War II Soldati-class destroyers.  The design was authorised in the 1959/1960 Italian naval programme but was radically redesigned in 1962. Circe was laid down as the lead ship in 1963 but was renamed Alpino in June 1965 prior to being launched in 1967.
As originally designed, Alpino was to have armament based on the preceding Canopo-class frigate. Optimised for anti-submarine warfare, the vessels were designed around a hangar for an Agusta-Bell AB.204 helicopter, complemented by a single-barrel 305 mm (12 in) Menon mortar mounted forward. An early drawing shows the hangar straddled by a pair of 40 mm (1.6 in) guns with a single 76 mm (3 in) gun mounted fore and aft to provide anti-aircraft defence.  By 1962, the efficacy of the 40 mm was in doubt and the design was redrawn with three 76 mm guns, but this was deemed insufficient.  At launch, the vessel had no less than six single mounts.
The propulsion system uses a combined diesel and gas (CODAG) system first trialled on the destroyer San Giorgio.  The system allied two diesels and one gas turbine per shaft with a hydraulic coupling to enable the vessel to either run on diesel power alone, at low speed, or diesels, at high speed, and gas turbines simultaneously. Two 4,200 shp (3,100 kW) Tosi OTV-320 diesels were paired with each 7,500 shp (5,600 kW) Tosi-Metrovick G.6 gas turbine to provide a maximum speed of 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) on diesels alone and 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph) with all engines running.
Italian frigate Alpino (F 580)