Sergio, Thanks for the information on Italian Gun Laws ... it was very interesting. I am sure that just like in the USA, there are those that ignore the gun laws fully knowing the risks of being caught and punished. I guess some consider that risk greater than the risk of being unarmed.
In January of 1977, I was accompanied by the representative of the Army housing office to meet with a landlord regarding my leasing a condominium during my assignment to Campo Darby near Pisa. When we arrived at the landlord's office, we were greeted by his administrative assistant who told us he would be about five minutes late due to an earlier meeting.
When he arrived, he greeted us and then promptly lifted his sweater vest to reveal that he was carrying a 9mm Beretta Brigadier handgun in his waistband. As I was carrying enough currency to make a security deposit and the first month's rent, you can imagine that I was a little nervous. but I was very relieved when he took the gun and handed it to his assistance and she promptly put the gun in his desk drawer.
Naturally my curiosity got the best of me, and as the only Italian language that I knew was how to say hello, goodbye, and count money (skills taught to me by my grandfather as a small child), I asked the housing office representative to inquire why he carried the gun. His response was that he owned more than a dozen large condominium buildings, and he feared being kidnapped. Kidnapping in Italy seemed to be either a career choice, or at least controlled by organized crime (remember...there is no Mafia
)... It was rampant and it seemed like there was a news story every week about someone who had been kidnapped. In fact, U.S. Army General Dozier, Commandere of the NATO Southern European Task Force (SETAF) was kidnapped by the terrorist group Red Brigades, from his apartment during my time there. He was recovered alive by Italian Special Forces... He was very lucky to be alive.
The landlord also told us that he was personal friend of the commandant of the local Carabinieri office, as if that made it okay.
I did rent that condominium, and lived there for four and half years, and visited the landlord's office every month to pay my rent, but never saw him again. He must have been a very busy man.