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History
The Arsenal of Venice
The Arsenale della Repubblica di Venezia is widely regarded as the world’s first production complex organised according to proto-industrial principles. For centuries, its strategic role in shipbuilding and repair supported and accompanied the historical events of the Serenissima.
It is the early 14th century in Venice. It is a cold winter’s day; perhaps it is snowing, or perhaps the Bora wind is blowing. A not yet famous poetfrom Florence is led by his hosts through the maze of Venetian streets to a large door. The smell of pitch and the sounds of hammers and saws can be heard through the wall. The poet, the famous Divina Commedia’s author Dante Alighieri, enters and stops abruptly in front of one of the finest examples of ‘centralised industry’ in Europe at that time: the Venice Arsenal, the complex where the Republic systematically constructed, outfitted, maintained, and safeguarded its naval fleet.
Dante, accustomed to the harmonious and tranquil surroundings of his native Florence, was shaken by the feverish activity that unfolded there even during the winter suspension of navigation — a perfectly ordinary practice in the Middle Ages. Much later, in a…
