Arsenale

This first of all arsenals was founded in 1104, and is believed to have derived its name from the Venetian pronunciation of the Arabic darsina’a, or artisans’ shop. In later centuries the Arsenale grew to occupy 80 acres, surrounded by a forbidding 2-mile-long wall.

Within this protected naval base, Venice’s fleet was built, maintained and refitted for each voyage; all provisions and equipment were stored here, as was the artillery, in an area nicknamed the Iron Garden. After the formation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, it continued to be an important naval garrison of strategic importance, as well as adapting to the times, building metal hulled battleships instead of the galleys of yore.