Places to see in ( Venice - Italy ) Arsenale di Venezia
Places to see in ( Venice - Italy ) Arsenale di Venezia
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 during the middle part of the second millennium AD. It was one of the earliest large-scale industrial enterprises in history.
Construction of the Arsenal began around 1104, during Venice's republican era. It became the largest industrial complex in Europe before the Industrial Revolution, spanning an area of about 45 hectares (110 acres), or about fifteen percent of Venice. Surrounded by a 2-mile (3.2 km) rampart, laborers and shipbuilders regularly worked within the Arsenal, building ships that sailed from the city's port. With high walls shielding the Arsenal from public view and guards protecting its perimeter, different areas of the Arsenal each produced a particular prefabricated ship part or other maritime implement, such as munitions, rope, and rigging. These parts could then be assembled into a ship in as little as one day. An exclusive forest owned by the Arsenal navy, in the Montello hills area of Veneto, provided the Arsenal's wood supply.
The Arsenal produced the majority of Venice's maritime trading vessels, which generated much of the city's economic wealth and power, lasting until the fall of the republic to Napoleon's conquest of the area in 1797. It is located in the Castello district of Venice, and it is now owned by the state.
The Arsenal's main gate, the Porta Magna, was built around 1460 and was the first Classical revival structure built in Venice. It was perhaps built by Antonio Gambello from a design by Jacopo Bellini. Two lions taken from Greece situated beside it were added in 1687. One of the lions, known as the Piraeus Lion, has runic defacements carved in it by invading Scandinavian mercenaries during the 11th century.
In the late 16th century, the Arsenal's designers experimented with larger ships as platforms for heavy naval guns. The largest was the galleass, already used at the Battle of Lepanto against the Ottoman Turks, and developed from the old merchanting great galley. It was huge, propelled by both sails and oars, with guns mounted on wheeled carriages along the sides in the modern fashion. It was slow and unwieldy in battle, however, and few were ever built. The galleon, also developed at the Arsenal, was an armed sailing ship, a slimmer version of the merchant round ship. It was useful in major naval battles, but not in the small bays and off the extensive lee shores of the Dalmatian coast.
Significant parts of the Arsenal were destroyed under Napoleonic rule, and later rebuilt to enable the Arsenal's present use as a naval base. It is also used as a research center and an exhibition venue during the Venice Biennale, and is home to a historic boat preservation center.
( Venice - Italy ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Venice . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Venice - Italy
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PIACENZA, sguardo su alcuni suoi monumenti
Piccola città con un grande patrimonio artistico
Small town with a great artistic heritage
Cittadella Viscontea, Piazza Cavalli, Cattedrale e museo della Cattedrale, Chiesa di S. Antonino
San Lorenzo Maggiore/La Neapolis Sotterrata
If you ever wondered how it looked to walk down the Roman streets, you have the opportunity right here. Similar thing exists, and most tourists don't know about it, in Rome, just below the jewish quarter, but unfortunately it is impervious due to the later building on same site. Here, it was recovered and gives wonderful insight of what the street looked like in ancient times. Luckily, it has no scary human figures, that usually frighten and disgust people on such places. Not too big, it is good to see it AFTER you see the church on the ground floor, where the parts are made in glass so you may see the structure below. Might be interesting for everyone who'd like to take a closer look of ancient construction.
For more info go to: blog.andic.info