The Venetian Arsenal (1104)

The Venetian Arsenal was a complex of state-owned shipyards and armories clustered together in Venice, northern Italy. Its construction began around 1104, during Venice’s republican era.

It was the largest industrial complex in Europe prior to the Industrial Revolution, spanning about fifteen percent of Venice. Surrounded by a rampart, a gated of community 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.

Read more about the Venetian Arsenal on Wikipedia.