Information on CAINO blades

[fernando]

Apparently we face two different things.
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. It is most likely the most complete and genuine extant sword of its type made in Caino.

https://www.researchgate.net/publica...Storta_Project.

[Jim McDougall]

This subject on Caino is much the same as the mystery of ANDREA FERARA and others where names, markings and phrases are used spuriously and in various combinations on blades, all with the allusion of quality in mind.

It seems there were Caino's in Milan, not only Peitro but Francesco (who worked at the sign of the golden lion end of 16th c.) The Picinino's were also in Milan.

Another maker 'Lambertengo' would sign with that name, yet use the S/T of Caino. Another Milanese blade marked Caino was with S or M/S said to have been used by Caino but not sure which one. The point is that the CAINO and associated marks seem to be applied along with the makers own name in cases.

Then there is the town of Caino, in NE Brescia, in whch case the town name seems of course intended. Brescia was under control of Venice, as was Belluno and Ferara, where the famed blades of the Ferara brothers were made.

To the SW, was Genoa which was departure port for blades from centers such as Lucca and others and the well known 'sickle marks' evolved into another 'quality' connotation.

With Caino blades, another characteristic often seen are the strange groupings of letter groups in repitition, which seem to be acrostics or perhaps letters in numeric values, it has never been resolved.

I suppose that evaluating a sword with Caino blade, it becomes necessary to combine the contexts, character and individual merits at hand to make a reasonable assessment.

Aside from the book by Mr. Gotti, which is hard to obtain as well as obviously in Italian, gleaning various notes and references is the only means of gaining data on this most interesting topic.

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Then there is the town of Caino, in NE Brescia, in which case the town name seems of course intended. Brescia was under control of Venice, as was Belluno and Ferrara,.

Jim, Caino is a small town not far north of the city of Brescia, both municipalities being in the eastern part of the region known as Lombardy.

There is another Lombard city, Bergamo, located about midpoint between Milan and Brescia, a bit north of the EW beeline between them, that was also famed for the production of sword 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.