The imposing entrance – the Ingresso di Terra – is a Renaissance styled triumphal arch. The incredible marble lions that guard the gates came from Greece, brought back in the 17th Century by Francesco Morosoni afer conquering the Peloponnese. The larger of the two lions sitting on the left hand side once stood over the port of Piraeus and the smaller one was originally on the road from Athens to Eleusis. The area of the Arsenale was where the entire Mediterranean was coached in modern shipbuilding methods.