Sporting Shot Issue 12 : Page 1

S porting S hot — Issue No. 12 — An Italian Gunmaking Tour Saving Grassland Grouse Video: At the Bench with Jack Rowe

One Day in Gardone

Berle Cherney

Shooting Sportsman and Sporting Shot readers have varied interests, including hunting, clay targets, dogs and gun collecting. My main attraction is the guns—the mechanical designs, materials, aesthetics and craftsmanship that combine to create both magnificent tools and objets d’art. I’m fascinated by stories about visits to gun artisans—so much so that I commissioned a custom Fox project. I’ve watched the process, toured facilities, hung around with craftspeople—but all here, in the US. I’ve only dreamed of visiting gunmakers in other countries, where long traditions play a larger part. That is, until one of my daughters received a three-month work assignment in Milan, Italy. At first I thought, “Lucky her. I’m jealous.” Next, I was planning a trip to Milan. But what would I do while my daughter was at work? Is there any country with a longer, greater gunmaking tradition than Italy? A Google search brought me to the center of firearm production: the Province of Brescia—one hour by train from Milan. Then, a half-hour more by car to the town of Gardone Val Trompia, where 80% of the workforce is involved in firearms production. The town is home to Beretta, and Italy’s proof house is there as well. What luck! But who to visit? How to get introductions? Where to stay? How to get around? A call to Ed Carroll at Shooting Sportsman and Sporting Shot hit paydirt. He’s published some of my photos and offered a letter of introduction with the hope that I’d return with interesting material. And through Ed I called Dr. Elena Micheli-Lamboy—a perfect suggestion and an overall “fixer” for a visit—with a doctorate in linguistics, fluency in English, German and Italian, and years of experience translating and interpreting for a variety of industries, including a specialty in the gun business. Best of all, she grew up in Gardone Val Trompia, where most of her friends’ families worked in the gun trades. Her friends followed their parents into the trades, and today Elena maintains those relationships. (Elena is also married into the business, in a sense. Her husband, Steven Lamboy, was the principal behind Ithaca Classic Doubles. He now heads Zoli North America and represents Negrini gun cases. Together they are Micheli-Lamboy Marketing and Development.) Elena is a serious student of the trade. Much of her knowledge came from a close friendship with the late Lino Poli, who allowed her to spend weeks in his shop, tutoring her in every aspect of the craft. Elena’s fourth language is Guns. I was lucky to reach Elena in New York, a few weeks before she was to leave for their other home in Brescia. She knew exactly what I was looking for. I gave her the dates and she took off from there—arranging lodging, restaurants, and the smart, beautiful Fiorella—a bilingual graduate student who would serve as my driver and native guide. Elena made appointments at Piotti, Famars, Poli, Giancarlo & Stefano Pedretti Engravers and S.I.A.C.E. It was a busy day, but we got to every one. (Most of these photos were taken at Piotti and are a small sampling of what’s to be seen at other makers around town.) Gardone Val Trompia’s gunmakers operate much like ancient guilds: Craftsmen enter the trade as apprentices; after a number of years they advance to journeymen, and years later to masters. Only after reaching the level of master would someone open his own shop. While some makers perform almost every function in-house, most sub-contract various tasks, such as bluing, checkering and engraving, to individual outworkers and small specialty companies. Gun work in the US often requires multiple shipments throughout the country for each step. Not so in Gardone Val Trompia. During our visits we were greeted with warmth and enthusiasm by shop principals, who were generous with their time and candid in our conversations. We were ushered from one station to the next, introduced to every craftsman, encouraged to ask questions, never seeming rushed. I felt welcomed, and I had an acute awareness of being in the legendary atmosphere of traditional gunmaking. This was a one-day visit and fairly intense, since I was shooting photos at some locations. I’d like to do it again, spending more time, visiting more shops, soaking up more atmosphere. But the time I spent in Gardone Val Trompia was precious, and Elena’s consultation was the key. Her fee was an exceptional value. She had many other suggestions about what to see in the area—things to consider next time. Until then, Viva l’Italia! And Arrivederci! Berle Cherney, through his company, Visual Productions, Inc., has had an active career producing advertising, marketing and public relations presentations for both the private and public sectors, all of which contain his original photography. Clients include British Airways, Fortune Magazine, The Library of Congress, Marriott, the National Park Service, and Time-Life. He has also worked on documentary films for clients such as National Geographic, American Masters and ABC-TV. His work has been published in Shooting Sportsman, Double Gun Journal and Clayshooting USA. Learn more about Dr. Elena Micheli-Lamboy at www.elenamicheli.com. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&t=h&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=112494553414043835271.00045593ebc4bc7b9ec49 http://www.beretta.com/beretta-today/index.aspx?m=53&did=1500 http://www.elenamicheli.com/ http://www.zoli.it/index.php http://www.piotti.com/en/ http://www.famars.com/ http://www.fpafratellipoli.com/poli_shotguns.html http://www.pedretti.com/index.html http://www.siacearmi.com/company.htm

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