Luigi Marzoli Arms Museum, Brescia

Collection of morion helmets made in Brescia in the mid-16th century.

This armour was found together with another similar piece in a castle in the province of Brescia; both were bought by Marzoli, but only one belongs to the civic collection.
This armour was made for jousting, a tournament competition between two horsemen allowed freedom of movement, who could strike their opponent from any direction. This called for particularly effective protection and extra components were added to the armour to protect the areas most at risk, giving the jouster a strangely asymmetrical appearance.

One of the most important items in the collection is this armour for foot combat which probably belonged to Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy, or one of his sons. It is one of the finest pieces of armour made in a Milan workshop in the late 16th century and bears the stamp of Maestro del Castello a Tre Torri, an anonymous armour manufacturer who produced numerous high quality pieces that are renowned even today for their perfection and refinement. Together with Pompeo della Cesa, the Maestro del Castello introduced new methods of armour forging and decoration in the late 16th and early 17th century, as the Brescia specimen shows: it is forged using thick, solid plates, with near-perfect limb articulations. Half armour for foot combat was the strongest, since the type of combat was particularly bloody: two teams of knights on foot fought using all types of weapons, but they were separated by a barrier which meant that it was not necessary to protect the legs. The winners were those who managed to put all their opponents out of action.

The refined strip decoration, made by etching and gold leaf application, features the Savoy knot, emblem of the House of Savoy.

Roman-style foot-combat armour from the Brescia civic collection, which probably belonged to one of the Martinengo family who commanded Venetian troops.

This half armour – etched, engraved with a burin and gilded – was a piece of high quality ornamental armour.

This horse’s head armour with the Medinaceli monogram is one of the most finely made. The importance of this chaffron – apart from its splendid workmanship and the owner’s importance – is due to the fact that all the other components survive, in various armouries throughout the world. The Armeria Reale in Turin has the knight’s armour and part of the barding, Konopiste Castle armoury the buckler shield, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art the helmet with visor.

In the 17th century horsemen’s armour underwent radical change. It became lighter, and the thighs were covered by multi-plate cuisses that came down to the knees, leaving the lower legs free for large boots. It was worn by soldiers armed with a pair of wheellock pistols; the row directly in front of the enemy lines fired at their opponents, and its members then retired to the back of the column to reload, leaving the next row to fire so as to produce a continual onslaught.

This typical 17th century armour is completely covered with incisions referring to a battle against the Turks.

Firearms are still the flagship of Brescia's arms production today. In the 17th and 18th centuries the gun barrels produced mainly by craftsmen of Gardone Val Trompia were renowned all over the world and some weapon-manufacturing dynasties became extremely famous. A prominent example was Cominazzo, whose usual trademark was Lazarino Cominazzo, who were so well known for their gun barrels (“canne lazarine”) that their trademark was forged on goods from the East.

Pair of pistols with a wheel-based firing mechanism bearing the name Giovanni Antonio Gavacciolo, dating to 1640; the barrels with the name Giovanni Lazarino Cominazzo date to circa 1660.

A wheel-lock rifle made by Brescian master craftsmen. The name on the barrel is Jacomo di Fortunato Cominazzi, born in 1606; it was produced in about 1640.

The decoration of bone dots is not typical of Brescian production, but was added to firearms destined for the Balkans or the East.

Another important firearm of great rarity is this musket; only one other similar piece is known, a matchlock pistol with three rotating barrels kept in the armoury of Palazzo Ducale in Venice. It is likely that they were military weapons, probably for naval warfare.

This musket is important for its rarity; the only other similar weapon known is a pistol with the same firing mechanism kept in the armoury of Palazzo Ducale in Venice.

The collection includes this finely made thrusting sword made in north Italy between about 1490 and 1520.

The pommel is decorated with plaques depicting the Judgement of Paris on one side, and Ariadne on Naxos on the other, the work of goldsmith and sculptor Giovanni di Fondulino Fonduli.