In 1526 Mastro Bartolomeo Beretta (1490 – 1565/68) of Gardone received 296 ducats as payment for 185 arquebus barrels sold to the Arsenal of Venice. Already in production in the early 1500s, Beretta products were chosen by the highly discriminating Republic of Venice because of their excellence. As the Beretta name became synonymous with uncompromising quality, design, materials, construction and
performance, word spread beyond the Italian borders, establishing a tradition that has carried over, uninterrupted, through fifteen generations of Berettas. Controlled by the BERETTA family, the group encompasses key manufacturers of field and competition fi****ms and optics, as well as trading and distribution companies in Italy and abroad, with a total work force of 2,603 employees and an annual turnover of 435.7 million Euro. (Pietro Beretta arms manufacturing company), which has been handed down over fifteen generations, was active in the village of Gardone Val Trompia in the fifteenth century. Documentary evidence for the family business dates back to 1526.
