Hi all - I submitted this question to /r/italianhistory as well, but I probably have a much better chance of getting an answer on this much busier subreddit.
I'm running a Call of Cthulhu RPG campaign - Tatters of the King, if you're interested - which has diverted the player characters, for the moment, from their homes in London to Milan.
My question is how feasible it would be, realistically, for them to bring their weapons into the country and carry them, concealed or otherwise. The year is 1929 and, if relevant, they're making the journey by rail.
I've come to the limits of my Google powers and come up somewhat short. The earliest relevant law I can find reference to is the Public Safety Act of 1931, which if I'm not mistaken seems to have been used mostly to quiet and disarm liberal dissidents. But if there was a law on the Italian books restricting firearms before then, I can't find it.
So... does anyone have any dirt for me on this very specific area? Will the Italian people make the grave mistake of allowing this group of Brits and Americans to bumble around the country with deadly weapons in tow? The guns in question include bolt-action hunting rifles, pump shotguns, and revolvers.
Can you believe it? I too am having a hard time looking for any kind of gun law from before 1931 - I have searched both the Civil Code of 1889 as well as the Civil one from 1865, but with no luck. I believe that the possession of any kind of gun was regulated by dedicated regi decreti (Royal Decrees) but the number of these is is simply enormous and not even I know where to start the research. Will post again if I can find something out, in the meanwhile...
[...] My question is how feasible it would be, realistically, for them to bring their weapons into the country and carry them, concealed or otherwise. The year is 1929 and, if relevant, they're making the journey by rail.
Not much, given the fact that the Fascist paramilitary militia (MVSN) covered multiple roles ranging the gamut from highway patrol to the co-ordination of rescue vehicles to, well, border control. As far as trains are concerned, these people would have probably boarded the cars at some point in order to check the passengers' IDs - I don't think they'd have tolerated any kind of weapon on a foreigner, let alone a concealed stash of guns. But it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that these could have escaped a close inspection somehow...
[...] The earliest relevant law I can find reference to is the Public Safety Act of 1931 [...]
FYI that would be the Penal Code of 1931, which - believe it or not - is still in force in today's Italy.
Albeit with many, many, many modifications and after being thoroughly 'defascistified'.