A bigger issue for their navy would have been why it would bother to leave port against the French and British. Those 2 were their biggest trade partners, and effective close off the Mediterranean to the Italians.

The only potential trade partner to protect a trade route to would be the Ottomans, and they had little to offer.

The Italian navy would thus be stuck in port, or maybe blocking off the Adriatic for what little benefit it would give.