Very few companies can trace their history back five centuries, especially under the stewardship of a single family, generation after generation, without interruption. Beretta can — fifteen generations of it. At the end of July, I had the rare privilege of seeing that history up close, in Venice and at the company's factory, as Beretta marked its 500th anniversary under the fitting theme "Born from a Spark."
I was invited to Italy alongside other U.S.-based companies, distributors and organizations for an occasion that, by any honest measure, simply doesn't happen in business. The lineage is so rare that Beretta only claims it from the first documented proof of its existence; the company is almost certainly older, but that earlier history can't be verified, so the official clock starts with what can be proven.
That proof is a receipt. In Venice, we were shown the earliest known evidence of a Beretta sale: Mastro Bartolomeo Beretta supplying 185 arquebus barrels to the Arsenal of the Republic of Venice. It's an unassuming piece of paper to look at but viewing it in the city where that sale took place, knowing it anchors five centuries of craftsmanship, was somewhat surreal.
It wasn't only a history lesson, though. We spent time on the range, running Beretta's full lineup — handguns, rifles, shotguns — testing the craftsmanship firsthand rather than just hearing about it. I also tried a virtual reality training simulator, a reminder that a company this old isn't coasting on its past; it's actively looking to the future with tools for how shooters train today. Between sessions the views were unforgettable, and the evenings brought a gala dinner with the backdrop of the Italian countryside near Brescia.
The final day took us through the factory itself, where team members and leaders spoke not just about how the products are made, but about what it means to carry the family name into its sixteenth generation. That's where the weight of the week really settled in — not in the numbers, but in the people describing what it's like to inherit something this old and stay responsible for its future.
It all hit home in something Daniele Piva, Beretta's Vice President of Business Commercial Market, said to the group… that when we went home, we wouldn't be bringing back a catalog or a slide deck. We'd be bringing back the awareness of having taken part, even briefly, in one of the longest and most remarkable stories in the business world.
He's right. I'm deeply grateful to the Beretta family and team for putting together a celebration of something that, frankly, almost never happens — only a handful of family-owned companies anywhere in the world can claim this kind of lineage. Being there for even a moment of it, hearing the stories and standing on the factory floor, is not something I'll forget.
Five centuries. Fifteen generations. One spark, still burning.
#Beretta500
For anyone interested in a pretty cool 500 year celebration video, this one is worth a watch:
History in the USA Too
Shifting gears now… I’d be remiss if I didn’t take a minute to acknowledge the history that took place in our community last week.
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas ruled in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF and Jensen v. ATF that NFA registration requirements for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and any other weapon (AOWs) are unconstitutional now that Congress has zeroed out the associated tax. When the government let its deadline to seek a stay lapse, the injunction took effect on August 13 — a historic moment, nearly a century in the making. A caveat: the government can still appeal, and the injunction only covers the named plaintiffs and their members/customers, not the public at large or state law.
Huge kudos to the Silencer Shop Foundation, the Second Amendment Foundation, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Gun Owners of America, the FPC Action Foundation, the Texas Rifle Association, the American Suppressor Association, Palmetto State Armory, B&T USA, SilencerCo, and the coalition of states, manufacturers, and individual plaintiffs who made this fight possible. There’s still another case in the pipeline in Missouri that could make an additional impact. It’s not a complete win, but it’s absolutely a huge step in the right direction.
Until next time,
Kenyon Gleason
NASGW President