The immense commercial trade, wealth, and sea power of the Republic of Venice was rooted in the ships built in the industrial site known as the Arsenale, or arsenal. It was first established in 1104 and continued building warships, merchant ships, armor, crossbows, catapults, weapons, and artillery for eight centuries.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2776/arsenale/.