I'm glad you called the Embassy as I suggested, but do you have any idea how long steps one, two, and three will take? It won't be easy to deal with the Italian bureaucracy. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in for a disappointment.

The Embassy will say it's easy because they want your tourism. The local police or carabinieri, or customs officer in small town Italy really may not care what what a woman in LA said, and might have their own take on the law.

I have an Italian cell phone and it only costs a few cents for me to call there from San Francisco. I called one competitive shooting place outside of Rome, and a random hunting and skeet shooting place in Tuscany. Both hold tournaments. Both told me that they never heard of a foreigner being able to bring in their own gun.

They said I should call the police. I called the main police station in Rome (Questura) yesterday. They said they had no idea, and said to call in the morning because the guy who knows about that will be back. So I called this morning, and they said the guy is still not there, call tomorrow. I asked what time? They said he should be in between 9 and 11. Welcome to Italian bureaucracy. Have you tried the post office?

Since the application for arms also gives the option to go to the federal police (Carabinieri), I called them. They said there is no one there who can handle this right now, I should call in the morning. When I called this morning, they said there is still no one there, and referred me to the Questura.

Bottom line, "yes" doesn't mean "yes" in Italy, and it rarely means easy. I'm not trying to be negative. I originally said I think you can do this, just be aware that you can never underestimate Italian bureaucracy, it is famous for a reason, and it won't rest upon what one woman said in the LA Embassy, although that was a good start. She can tell you one thing, you get there, and someone says, "not possible."

The Houston, New York, and San Francisco Embassies have all steered me wrong in recent years. They do not speak for the country, they speak for the person behind the desk, and what mood they are in. When I lived in NYC I didn't get the answer I wanted so I flew to Houston and went to the house of my sister who has the same last name as me and I took her phone bill to the embassy as proof of residence in Houston, and I got the certificate I wanted the day after the NYC Embassy said it "was not possible."

As an Italian citizen who mostly lives in San Francisco, I have to carry my Italian ID card while traveling in Italy. I went to renew it last year in the ancestral town a three hour drive in the hills outside of Naples. When I arrived, they said they couldn't do it because the person wasn't in. I went outside and found her having a pizza, and brought her in. She started up the computer and looked me up. It had me living in El Paso, Texas. I told her I went to college in El Paso and left in 1978, moved several times since then, and have lived in California for the last few years, and that I have always informed the Italian Consulate when I move.

She said because of a mistake in the computer, "It's not possible to give you an ID. You have to go back to San Francisco and make them change it to your correct address in the computer." I said, "Then give me an identity card with the wrong address you have on your computer." She said, "No problem." She was the mayor.

Italian bureaucracy being what it is, you are not home free just because the women in LA told you so. I wish you well. If you can go without your own gun, that's easiest. If you can bring your gun in, that's great, but don't believe it until you see it. For example, the letter of clearance that the embassy says you will need requires clearance from a certified mental health professional. If you've ever been arrested, forget it. You also have to prove that you have training, etc. It's not like the USA.

I wish you luck, but the form you have to fill out is below.

http://img.poliziadistato.it/docs/ar...collezione.pdf