It all started when gunsmith Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta of Gardone Val Trompia (Brescia, Lombardy, Italy) was paid 296 ducats for 185 arquebus barrels by the Arsenal of Venice. The bills of sale for the order of those firearms are in the firm’s archives to this very day and the company is still run by the same family.

Beretta firearms played a huge part in World War II, designing the submachine guns the Italian army fielded. eretta manufactured rifles and pistols for the Italian military until the 1943 Armistice between Italy and the Allied forces during World War II.

Beretta is known for its broad range of fire arms: side-by-side shotguns, over-and-under shotguns, hunting rifles, express rifles, assault rifles, submachine guns, lever and bolt-action rifles, single and double action revolvers and semi-automatic pistols. The parent company; Beretta Holding, also owns Beretta USA, Benelli, Franchi, SAKO, Stoeger, Tikka, Uberti, and the Burris Optics company. You might also be interested to know, the model Beretta 92FS is the primary side arm of the United States Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, designated the M9 pistol.

All this history has added up to be one of the greatest companies in history, especially if you’re enthusiastic about handguns and firearms. Or even if you’re not, because history is important to know and understand.