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| 2983 View of the Entrance to the Arsenal by Canaletto, 1732. |
The Venetian Arsenal is a complex of former shipyards and armories clustered together in the city of Venice. Owned by the state, the Arsenal was responsible for the bulk of the Venetian republic's naval power during the middle part of the second millennium AD. It was "one of the earliest large-scale industrial enterprises in history". Its construction began around 1104, and became the largest industrial complex in Europe before the Industrial Revolution, spanning about fifteen percent of Venice. It is located in the Castello district of Venice, and it is now owned by the state.
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