The Arsenal, Venice
The power and wealth of the Venetian republic depended on the supremacy of its navy. And the Arsenal (from the Arabic daras-sina'ah, a house of trade or manufacture), was its shipyard, where new vessels were built and the existing fleet re-fitted, armed and provisioned. Its methods of mass-production would not be surpassed until the Industrial Revolution, and it was also a world leader in the development and refinement of firearms. To visitors walking by today, the Arsenal may look like a toy town fortress. In the 15th century, it was the equivalent of the Pentagon.
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