[2] Napoleon's idea was revived in 1857 by Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, then Chairman of the Board and Secretary of the Navy, who arranged funding and entrusted Domenico Chiodo, an official of the Military Engineers, with the construction of the new naval base.

Another problem with the base is the lack of privacy: the arsenal is easily visible from the houses next to the perimeter and the mountains of the western part of the Gulf, while modern technology has rendered the security measures obsolete.

For these reasons, as well as the closure of the training center for recruits at the end of their compulsory military service, the activities and personnel there are currently being reduced, resulting in large areas of the base being disused.

The museum, established with the aim of keeping seafaring traditions alive, includes more than 150 models of ships and boats, about 2500 medals, 6500 memorabilia, 2000 documents, and over 5000 technical and historical books.

In 2004 an investigation began into the presence of an illegal dump of toxic substances (including asbestos insulation, and batteries containing lead, cadmium and depleted uranium) in the campo in ferro area of the base, close to the sea and some houses.

The main damage caused by the arrival of the arsenal was suffered by the lands of the west of the Gulf of La Spezia: The changes have broken the social and historical context of the places and events associated with them.

These physical constraints have delayed, or in some cases prevented, the economic development of the villages of which the sea is a natural continuation: especially today with the move to tourism, such impediments to city activities are strongly resented.