doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gun shops in Italy?

I get to travel to Italy this September (My gallery art has been juried into a museum exhibition there this fall. I'm pretty stoked!), and I'll be traveling between Florence and Rome. Have any of you found any good gun shops worth visiting there? I am allowed to import a gun with my FFL (which I've not yet tried), so perhaps that would be a fun experience if I found one I liked as well.

Mark,

I have not come across a gun shop in either Rome or Florence but I was never intentionally seeking one out either (as I usually do when abroad). If you can get up to Brescia, the shop of Emilio Scaravelli at 8-12 Via Dante is filled with high end doubles as well as clothing and accessories.

Cheers,
Roger

I'll bet you are stoked, Mark, good for you!!
Mike

Mark: Your too late on Rome. You missed one of the finest gunshop and men in the trade. Cassciano in Rome, his family was in the trade for many years. I did business with him and always he did right by me.

Emilio Scaravilli, watch him.

There is a shop in Florence but I just can not remember his name. where are you flying into?

John Boyd
Quality Arms

Thanks guys. I'll be flying into Rome most likely and taking the train up to Chianciano (where the museum I'm showing in is located), which is a bit northeast of Sienna. I'll likely train into Florence as well, as it is my favorite city in the world, although Rome is surprisingly charming as well. The last time I was in Italy in September was during 9/11 (December is also fun - the Italians do Christmas very elegantly as one would imagine). Not fun, but the Italians were an incredibly gracious lot. They love America and pushed hard for Sicily to become a 51st state after the war.

Thanks for the tip John, I'll look into Emilio Scaravilli.

mark....no real experience with these guys; I believe they're north of rome. I've traded a few emails with them & they seem friendly & knowledgeable: http://www.safarisport.com/index.php?lingua=en

Hi Mark,

When I get a chance to holiday in Europe I like to fit in some 'alternative' tourist sites, much to my wifes disgust.

I will be in Florence in two weeks time and did some research.

Armeria l'armaiolo di biffoli paolo & c snc caccia pesca sport 7/R, Via Martini Ferdinando - 50135 Firenze (FI)
tel: 055 608015
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFLXVQ_Kfx8
Video above appears to suggest they do some in-house gunmaking/gunsmithing.

Armeria squillantini 2/R, Viale Dei Mille - 50131 Firenze (FI)
tel: 055 588480

ARMERIA BULLI GIUSEPPE
Bonelli Vincenzo Armeria
50123 Firenze (FI)
9/R., VIA PORTA ROSSA
tel: 055 215494
These guys are listed as Beretta dealers so hopefully can find some guns here.

Armeria - caccia - pesca quello che non riesci a trovare ..... da bernardoni sergio c 'e' Via Senese 266/A - 50124 Galluzzo (FI)
tel: 055 2049487 fax: 055 2323812

Regards
J-PD

Ok, just got back from Florence, it was a stunning place. If you like art, sculpture and architecture. This is the place for you. Lots of tourists groups from around the globe passing through on European trips.

As for gun shops, Armeria l'armaiolo was the place to go, not much out front, all the good stuff out the back. They produce a few guns themselves but also had several sidelocks and boxlocks of obscure Italian makes which was first class stuff. It's a little way out out of the town centre but worth the trip. Call first to arrange a time to visit, like most shops in Italy, it is closed for a a good few hours in the middle of the day. Armeria squillantini was 5 mins walk away but was closed when I called.

Armeria Bulli Giuseppe is right in the heart of town so easy to get to when walking between the tourist site visits that my wife dragged me to. A few nice doubles in here but I guess they get fed-up of people walking in off the street and asking the same hunting questions.

Thankfully a little broken Italian goes a long way and most shops had some English speakers so an understanding was reached.

Some bird hunting here in this region of Tuscany, but the majority of hunting is for deer so the shops are full of bolt-rifles. I rented a villa 20 miles north of Lucca in the mountains and watched most mornings as deer walked through my garden to get to a local stream for water. I kicked myself for not bringing my travel fly rod setup as the stream was full of trout.

Regards
J-PD

Wonderful info, thanks for sharing! I've been to Florence four times, but not since '05. It's my favorite city in the world. As the birthplace of western culture, it has so much art, history, and architecture as you mentioned, it was a life changing experience the first time I went there. I would live there part of the year if I could afford it. There are still some great bottega's (art studios and workshops) there as well...

If you ever get the chance, try the wild boar stew at Nutti's. Holy cow, it's to die for

Mark,

If you have the time, you could take the train from Fiumicino to Viterbo, about 2 hours. Rent an auto at Viterbo and take the scenic route to Florance, visiting the hill towns along the way, Cortona, Gubbio, Montaicino, Montepuiciano, San Gimignano, Todi, Volterra to name a few.
Do you speak the language? Poke around and you will find some small gun shops.