Italy: Arsenal, Venice

July 2016

On the trip to Venice to hang out with CM & CM, our city tour took us to the former Venetian Arsenal. We could not go inside as it is still controlled by the Italian Navy (why?). Its entrance spoke of an age when Venice was a major European power.

The Venetian Arsenal is a complex of former shipyards and armories clustered together in the city of Venice in northern Italy. Owned by the state, the Arsenal was responsible for the bulk of the Venetian Republic's naval power from the Late Middle Ages to the early modern period. It was "one of the earliest large-scale industrial enterprises in history".

(Wikipedia)

Venice's Navy was literally built inside the arsenal from trees felled on nearby land it kept specifically for that purpose. The shipyard's history stretched back centuries. I felt disappointed visitors were not allowed. I don't believe the Italians are building a secret navy in the modern age (but that is exactly what the Venetians did - built a navy behind high walls of which no one knew the details).

The arsenal was yet another example in Europe of two important themes:

One, governments often hold old forts and military sites and continue to use them. In many cases, it makes very little sense. What advantage could a centuries-old fortress give to a modern army (except location, and most old forts are very small)?

Two, the Venetian Arsenal stood steadfast against all invaders until Napoleon. He destroyed it (much was subsequently rebuilt). Why does Napoleon get such a "miss" in European history regarding his penchant for destruction? Post-Napoleon, the landscape of the Continent was changed - most of the time for the worse. Napoleon destroyed things for spite, not strategy. How is he not ranked alongside Hitler and Stalin?

Venice was an awesome naval power for a long time and at its heart was the arsenal - a shipyard surrounded by castle walls with a water gate to let ships pass. I don't believe any other city in Europe has similar. So much attention is given to the Grand Canal, but Venice would have never lasted and become rich without a powerful navy. The Venetian Arsenal is just as important as more famous neighborhoods but remains rarely visited at the edge of the island-city.