VENICE
(Italy)

A favourite city, particularly in the Spring or Autumn after the crowds have gone home. Waking up to the sound of bells on a Sunday morning - whilst staying at a hotel on the Grand Canal. Not too far away, the Arsenale - home to shipyards and armouries . This state owned enterprise was in 1104 an early large scale industry . Specialising in the mass production of warships, it gave Venice immense naval power and prosperity . The sound and fury of such manufacturing might is captured in Dante's Inferno .