Beretta

Lore & Background

Val Trompia, a northern Italian river valley in the Province of Brescia, Lombardy, has been mined for iron ore since the time of the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages, Val Trompia was known for its ironworks. After the Renaissance, it was a center for the manufacture of weapons. By the mid-16th century, Val Trompia had forty ironworks, supplied by fifty mines and eight smelters.

The birthplace of Beretta is in the village of Gardone, located on the banks of the Mella river in the middle of Val Trompia, between the upper and lower valley. The Beretta forge was in operation from about 1500. The first documented transaction is a contract dated 3 October 1526, for 185 arquebus barrels, for which the Republic of Venice was to pay 296 ducats to Maestro di Canne (master gun-barrel maker) Bartolomeo Beretta.

The original account document for the order of those barrels is now stored in the State Archives of Venice. By the end of the 17th century, Beretta was the second largest gun barrel maker in Gardone. Under the guild system, the knowledge of gun barrel fabrication that had been bequeathed to Jacopo by his father Bartolomeo was passed down to Jacopo's son, Giovannino, and then to his grandson Giovan Antonio. It continued to be passed down in this manner until guilds were abolished by Napoleon, after his conquest of the Venetian Republic in 1797.

The same family has owned Beretta for almost five hundred years. Beretta is a founding member of Les Henokiens, an association of bicentenary companies that are family-owned and operated. In 1918, the Beretta Model 1918, one of the first submachine guns in the world, was fielded by the Italian army.

Beretta manufactured rifles and pistols for the Italian military until the 1943 Armistice between Italy and the Allied forces during World War II. Once the Wehrmacht controlled northern Italy, the Germans seized Beretta and continued using it to produce arms until the 1945 German surrender in Italy. During that time, the quality of the exterior finish of the weapons diminished. Late-war specimens were much inferior to both the pre-war and mid-war weapons but remained effective.

The last shipment of Type I Rifles left Venice for Japan in a U-boat in 1942. After World War II, Beretta repaired the American M1 Garands that the U.S. had given Italy. Beretta modified the M1 into the Beretta BM-59 rifle, which is similar to the M14 battle rifle. Armourers consider the BM-59 rifle to be superior to the M14 rifle in some ways because it is more accurate under certain conditions.

After the war, Beretta continued to develop firearms for the Italian army and police force, as well as the civilian market. In the 1970s, Beretta started a manufacturing plant in São Paulo, Brazil. A contract between Beretta and the Brazilian government was signed, under which Beretta produced Beretta 92s for the Brazilian army until 1980.

Later this plant was sold to Taurus, who continues to manufacture the Beretta 92 under the name of PT92 using the same tools and labour that Beretta used, without the need for a license from Beretta, since the design is based on the original Beretta 92, for which the patents have expired. In the late 1980s, Beretta acquired several domestic competitors, notably Benelli and Franchi, and some foreign companies, notably in Finland. Also in the 1980s, Beretta enjoyed a renewal of popularity in North America after its Beretta 92 pistol was selected as the service handgun for the United States Army, as the 'M9 pistol'. In 1993, a Beretta USA executive revealed that it had been the company's strategy since 1980 'to use the military contract to make Beretta a household name in the United States', and then to expand into more prominent law enforcement and commercial markets.

Reader's Guide

Beretta's significance lies in its unparalleled longevity and continuous family ownership, making it the oldest active firearm manufacturer and one of the oldest continuously operating companies in the world. Its history is deeply tied to the ironworking traditions of Val Trompia, and its products have been used in every major European war since 1650. The company's legacy includes pioneering early submachine guns with the Model 1918, and later achieving global recognition when its Beretta 92 was adopted as the M9 pistol by the United States Armed Forces in 1985, a contract that made Beretta a household name in North America. Beretta's influence extends beyond its own brand through its holding company, which owns several notable firearms manufacturers including Benelli, Franchi, SAKO, and Tikka.

The company's broad product range covers virtually every type of firearm, from side-by-side shotguns to assault rifles and submachine guns. Despite the interruption of the traditional father-to-son dynasty when Ugo Gussalli Beretta assumed control, the company remains family-owned. The sale of its Brazilian plant to Taurus, which continued producing the Beretta 92 design without a license after patents expired, illustrates the lasting impact of Beretta's designs on the global firearms industry.