Domenico Millelire was one of four s built for the (Royal Italian Navy) during the late 1920s.
The Balilla-class submarines were the first cruiser submarines built for the . They displaced surfaced and submerged. The submarines were long, had a beam of and a draft of . They had an operational diving depth of . Their crew numbered 77 officers and enlisted men.
For surface running, the boats were powered by two diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. The submarines were also fitted with an auxiliary diesel cruising engine that gave them a speed of on the surface. They could reach a maximum speed of on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the Balilla class had a range of at 7 knots; submerged, they had a range of at .
The boats were armed with six internal torpedo tubes, four in the bow and two in the stern, for which they carried a dozen torpedoes. They were also armed with a single deck gun, forward of the conning tower, for combat on the surface. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of two machine guns.
Domenico Millelire was laid down on 26 January 1925 at the Odero-Terni-Orlando shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia. She was launched on 19 September 1927 and commissioned on 11 August 1928.