The Arsenale di Venezia is an ancient complex of shipyards and workshops that constitutes a very large part of the island city of Venice, at its eastern end. It was the heart of the Venetian naval industry from the 12th century onwards and is linked to the most flourishing period in the life of the Serenissima: thanks to the imposing ships built here, the Venetian Republic managed to counter the Ottomans in the Aegean Sea and conquer the routes of Northern Europe.
Surrounded by 3 km of crenellated red brick walls, it employed a maximum of 16,000 people at the height of its operation and can be considered, due to its size, its age and the ingenuity of its design and operation (ships were built on an assembly line there since the 16th century) as one of the first true industrial complexes in Europe.
The complex is the only example of a shipyard and arms factory that has always maintained the same nature and the same function, for seven centuries, even after the decline of the Republic of Venice. Since 2013, ownership of most of the Arsenal has passed to the Municipality of Venice, while the remaining part remains with the Italian Navy, which is present in the area with its Institute of Maritime Military Studies and the Naval History Museum. About a quarter of the large complex is used by the Venice Biennale for its contemporary art exhibitions.