GARDONE VAL TROMPIA, Italy — Tucked away in a picturesque valley in the Italian Alps is the birthplace of most of Europe’s small firearms — and Al Pacino’s gun in “Scarface.”
Surrounded by greenery and — key to its main industry — iron mines, Gardone Val Trompia, with around 10,000 inhabitants, is the Italian, European and world capital of firearms, producing 70 percent of the small arms (used for sport and hunting) used in the EU and 40 percent of those used worldwide.
In 2016, the valley’s gunmakers sent 395,000 firearms to the United States alone.
An official at the National Proof House in Gardone Val Trompia demonstrates pointing a revolver. The agency indirectly deals with gun production — it’s a public body that operates at an international level and certifies that firearms comply with safety legislation | All photographs by Simone Tramonte for POLITICO
At the center of it all is the Beretta factory. The company got its start in Gardone Val Trompia in 1526 and still maintains its headquarters there. But around the valley are 139 more gun manufacturers, whose exports generate €7 billion a year. A full 90 percent of the guns made there are destined for export, of which 45 percent head for the United States and 35 percent are bound for the EU.
A steady water supply from the Mella River combined with the ready availability of iron has drawn many to “Firearms Valley” — not just mass production of the Beretta, but craftsmen who replicate vintage guns and small gunmakers that produce no more than 10 rifles a year.
At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, 90 percent of the 133 athletes in the shooting events used rifles made in Val Trompia. Photographer Simone Tramonte went on a tour of the region.
The Mella River actually runs through the Beretta factory — its buildings are on both sides.
A technician works on a receiver for an over/under shotgun at the Perugini & Visini factory.
Receivers for Rizzini shotguns await the next step in the manufacturing process.
Turkish walnut blanks bound for premium shotguns are kept in a climate-controlled booth at the Perugini & Visini factory.
Hand-made drawings of personalized engravings for each customer.
Barrels are parked prior to assembly of a F.A.I.R. over/under shotgun.
And a bit further along in the process at F.A.I.R., weapons are tested in the firing tunnel.
A worker during the final check of gun at a gun factory.
The Beretta Villa serves as the company headquarters. Beretta is now a holding company with 26 smaller companies directly or indirectly managed by it.
Vincenzo Perugini in his showroom.
Fog and mist hangs over Gardone Val Trompia in February.
The village’s shooting range has been put through its paces for years.
Racks of Uberti revolvers await inspection at the National Proof House.
In the middle of a small garden on a side street in Gardone stands a monument to Pietro Beretta.