Italy can be a very flakey place so I suppose that your first source of info would be the nearest Italian consulate or embassy. Some years ago, it was legally impossible to bring a firearm into the country but legions of folk did anyway. Now? Who knows! Possibly it may be easier to buy one there than bring one in but I fear that for a reasonable sum, anything is possible. As my sainted grandfather Rafaello once said, "Italy is a good place to be from . . . as far from as you can get!" He never went back. I did, but not to hunt.

Thank you Express, Wildboar & Mario;

I've gone through the list and found out that most of my guns do not completely comply with the list. I was not able to locate much FN Mauser 98s on the list, but this could be because they are all listed under the generic Mauser 98. (Would any of you know if the FN Mauser 98 is considered just as a Mauser 98 according to the list?) If that is the case, I have one that is a 7x64 with a 660 mm barrel that will need to be cut back to about 610 mm.

I also have a 9.3x64 currently being made on the FN 98 action that is not on the list, but fits perfect to a 9.3x62 that is already on it. Would this give me trouble or should I take it in as a 9.3x62 and have it modified over there to 9.3x64? Is it a drama to rechamber guns in Italy?

Thanks

the permit for own firearms not depend of the occupation. Own guns in the town or the in farm is the same. The best system I think is to ask information to the province police (questura). I'm a lawyer, if you want I can look for you a colleague in the area.So this guy can take all the informations you need.

You can get the permit to own firearms, as well as the permit for hunting, if you are PERMANENTLY and OFFICIALLY resident in Italy; you don't need the italian citizenship. It is quite difficult to import firearms in Italy since there is an official list of firearms, and yours must be included in that list to be imported. You can get a special permit to import other firearms not included in that list, but it's costly and complicated. The Assisi area is a wonderful place to live - Lorenzo

Since I have been a little hazy, I will try to be more precise about the "official list of firearms" (a smart italian invention ). Your firearms must be exactly the same brand, caliber, barrel lenght, magazine capacity, etc. of those included in that list. The list includes circa 14788 specimens of firearm. - Lorenzo

Just one more detail: shotguns are not included in the official list, so, you can import them whatever the brand, barrel lenght, magazine capacity, etc. - Lorenzo

I have lived and worked in Northern Italy: Torino & Milano. I found all the shooting laws confusing.

I have 'Mauser" type and Winchester M70 bolt action rifles. I was thrown by the exact type / model / variation etc bit. I thought it was a play for more tax / officaldom without enough real work to do.

I would be interested to read the result of this thread as I would very much like to return to live and work in Italy.

Thank you wildboar,

I do have a nice English sidelock ejector SxS shotgun that I could never part with. It was made by a small provincial gun maker in Wigton close to 100 years ago and if I could only bring one gun to Italy, it would be that one.

As far as rifles go, most of mine are custom built upon the FN 98 Mauser action. I'm also considering building another on the short Mauser 98 Kurtz action. Would I be able to get a copy of the list and build/modify my rifles to its specifications? If so, where could I obtain this list?

Thanks!

Heres a link to the most useful version:

https://www.bignami.it/bignami/catnaz_find.jsp

The Catalogo Nazionale is essentially a databank where every firearm(type, not individual) in Italy is recorded.

Any modifications to a firearm, in the eyes of the law,
create an entirely "new" specimen, requiring a new allotment in the catalog.

This process would take one to two years, maybe longer, in theory it is possible to request it as a mere mortal citizen, but in reality it is not feasable to try and request that one of your custom guns be cataloged.

The calalog contains most of the mass produced factory firearms, though it takes a while for the newer stuff to come through.

For instance we only have the Winchester mod 70 and a locally made rifle in the WSSM calibers, for a total of 2 Winchesters in the .223WSSM and 2 in .243WSSM, the same for the M.A.G. rifles.
They are probably still getting around to cataloging some more, but that should give you an idea of how slow it is.

You could not modify a fully custom rifle to fit the catalog unless the base action brand is on the cataloge, so a Remington based rifle would be ok, the Mauser might be a bit trickier.
There are 302 Mauser weapons listed, including pistols, so if you can insert your make(marca) then caliber and check to see what is listed, duplicate the specs given.

If you can make a match, then your rifles have to pass the testing bank. This isnt such a big deal, it costs about 80EU and there are people who can take care of it for you, at an additional cost.

Then comes the actual import part...That would consist of presenting a (long)series of documents, it is all very time consuming, but I wouldnt say any part of it is actually very difficult in that there is not likely to be anyone evaluating a request and potentially rejecting it.

I hope that has helped you without confusing you too much, if you want to know more, drop me a line.

You are welcome RichieRich, I agree with Express 100%; I was trying to explain you the same things, but he has the advantage of a much better knowledge of english language. Anyway don't worry about your beloved shotgun, you can import it, since the "Catalogo" only contains pistol and rifle specimens, so you will not find any problem. It will be more difficult with your custom rifles. - Lorenzo

The question of the Catalogo Nazionale is important. But for my experience you MUST first ask to the local Questura ( for Assisi is Perugia). In fact in Italy the law about the firearms is not very clear so each province police autority have is own procedure.

It is only a burocratic problem and for this reason it is expensive in time and money, but the answer is yes.
In Italy only licensed GunMakers (uncommon art ) are authorized in build and modify guns.
To change the caliber or the barrel, the rifle must be loyally destroyed, rebarrelled, tested at the Banco di prova of Gardone Val Trompia, and then marked with a new Serial number.
bye