Information on CAINO blades

[Philip]

Originally Posted by fernando

We can read that, in a project to replicate a XVII century STORTA, the weapon chosen has been a beautiful sword made in Caino (Brescia, Italy) and is attributed to the swordsmith Tomaso Gorgonio Desenzani, owner and master of the Terminello workshop. .

There is also a town called Desenzano del Guarda, on the shores of Lake Guarda, that is not far southeast of Brescia, which is in turn south of Caino. I wonder if Tomaso Gorgonio D had family roots there.

The whole region, in fact Lombardy as a whole, has been a metalworking center for centuries; in the late Middle Ages, Milan and environs became famous throughout Europe for its armor. The Germanic Longobards who first settled the region when Rome fell were skilled smiths, I recall seeing some of their steel swords of lamellar construction in a local museum. Even prior -- Celtic sites BCE have yielded molds for bronze swords.

Brescia, and Caino, can be considered the gateways to the transalpine district Gardone Val Trompia, which later on became the home of a thriving firearms industry which flourishes to this day, both for military and luxe sporting weapons.