Venetian Arsenal

The Venetian Arsenal was the state shipyard and naval complex of the Republic of Venice, founded about 1104 and greatly expanded in later centuries, at its height the largest industrial enterprise in pre-modern Europe. Using standardized parts and a serial assembly line, it could fit out a war galley in a day during emergencies and employed thousands of workers, the arsenalotti. It built the galleys that maintained Venetian sea power, including those at Lepanto in 1571. The walled site survives as a heritage landmark.