CARO ARMATO

A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (S.I.P.R.I.) on the 'Top 100 arms companies' says that sales of arms and military services by the 100 largest companies in the sector reached 592 billion in 2021, a 1.9 per cent increase over 2020 in real terms. It adds that the increase marks the seventh consecutive year of global growth in arms sales. Beretta Holding today declares a turnover of €1,400 million, +72% in two years on a global scale, while turnover in Italy has grown by 30% in the last year.
Our country has a long tradition of producing "common arms", i.e. pistols for personal defence, hunting and competitive activities; but it is also one of the main producers of weapons of war: production is also renowned abroad, especially in the United States, which is the main export market. Today, Italy produces and supplies weapons that are used in all recent war scenarios.
Every year, the EOS (European Outdoor Show) takes place in Verona, an exhibition event on new trends in the weapons market and technological innovations for industry professionals and hunting and shooting enthusiasts. Being an exhibition event, access is free for everyone, even minors, where they can freely handle both weapons for personal defence and military assault weapons. The risk, of course, is as obvious as it is concrete, namely a new education in the use of weapons, a new relationship with an object that exerts a very strong fascination on the youngest, thanks in part to the complicity of increasingly realistic video games, which could be held as if it were a new smartphone. Obviously, this would open up a new market segment, almost an incentive, with the results we already know from the Columbine massacre.