— You will hear it for yourselves,
and it will surely fill you with wonder.
ll milione, 1298
Marco Polo
(1254 - 1324)
Venetian merchant, explorer, and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in 1298 by Rustichello Da Pisa in ll Milione (also known as The Travels of Marco Polo or Book of the Marvels of the World), a book that described the then-mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, giving Europeans their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan, and other Asian societies.
Seven centuries ago, Marco Polo — a man who dared to traverse the unknown and redefine the boundaries of human understanding — passed away in his beloved Venice. Born into a family of Venetian merchants, Marco Polo’s courage and curiosity made him the first documented European to journey across the entire Asian continent.
His travels, immortalized in ll Milione, unveiled the breathtaking riches and mysteries of the Orient, capturing the imagination of civilizations across Europe and the Mediterranean. His vivid accounts ignited the Age of Exploration, inspiring visionaries like Christopher Columbus to embark on journeys that forever reshaped history.
In 2024, Beretta proudly dedicates its annual one-off to Marco Polo’s life and legacy with a bespoke creation: a one-of-a-kind firearm crafted on the legendary SO6 EELL Sparviere over & under platform.
At its heart, the body of the receiver is meticulously hammered and punched to form a seamless tapestry inspired by a medieval Rutter (Portolano or Periplus), an essential guide for Italian sailors navigating the Mediterranean before the advent of nautical charts. The hinge pins and screws are adorned with copper-inlaid, enameled compass roses — polar diagrams elegantly displaying cardinal and intermediate directions, the tools that guided countless explorers into the unknown.
Two breathtaking engraved scenes capture the essence of Marco Polo's life: The left sideplate portrays Venice, Marco Polo’s hometown, where his journey began and ended; The right sideplate transports us to the Mongolian steppes, where Marco Polo ventured into the grandeur of Asian landscapes, architecture, and culture.
The forend release button bears a Chinese inscription that translates to "Uniting Europe and Asia as two parts of a single gem." This poetic sentiment reflects Marco Polo’s role in bridging two worlds, celebrating the unity of cultures and the shared beauty of our global heritage.
-My heart beats as much as I can breathe.
ll Milione, 1298
Completing this creation is a copper medallion with Marco Polo's profile, positioned on the bottom of the receiver. Flanking this centerpiece, a compass rose tells a story: Marco Polo departing on horseback on the left and returning by ship on the right, capturing the full circle of his epic journey.
The anniversary years are elegantly inlaid with copper on the trigger guard, which is further adorned with an intricate pattern. The name of the shotgun model, Sparviere, is prominently featured here. Even the trigger is elevated, finished with a warm, copper-plated sheen.
The diamond-and-star motif is seamlessly integrated across the firearm, appearing on the top rib, receiver shoulders, top lever, safety, bead, and even within the interior of the sideplates.
The top lever is enriched by a copper and red enamel compass rose, a silver-inlaid winged lion, the emblem of Venice, and a fretworked depiction of the Marco Polo sheep — an argali subspecies native to Central Asia’s mountainous regions, named in his honor.
Finally, the MARCOPOLO7 dedicated serial number is engraved and copper-inlaid on the receiver tang.
The pistol grip stock and forend are crafted from exquisite Grade 5 walnut, finished with approximately 80 layers of Tru-Oil® achieving a luminous finish that enhances durability while preserving the wood’s grain. The Scottish checkering on the pistol grip and forend harmoniously echoes the intricate diamond patterns found on the firearm’s metallic components.
At the base of the pistol grip, a copper-inlaid medallion features a meticulously engraved compass rose. The SO Sparviere system boasts a unique hand-detachable sidelock action. The sideplates can be effortlessly opened, by simply moving the safety button to its dedicated position. This ingenious feature not only facilitates seamless inspection and maintenance of the internal mechanisms but also reveals intricate, hand-engraved decorations hidden within.
Performance and reliability are paramount. To minimize locking stress during shooting, the firearm features a cross-bolt locking system that operates on monobloc lugs precisely positioned at the upper tube axis, ensuring stability and longevity.
Beretta’s renowned Steelium® Optimabore® HP barrels are forged from a proprietary tri-alloy steel. Using a process that includes deep drilling, cold hammer-forging, and vacuum distension, these barrels deliver unparalleled shot patterns, reduced recoil, and minimized muzzle rise. The finishing touches are just as remarkable: each barrel is polished by hand to a flawless mirror finish and burnished to perfection, exemplifying Beretta’s unwavering commitment to excellence.
Elements & Techniques
SO6 EELL Sparviere 12 Gauge Over and Under: Features opening sideplates and glossy hand-polished 76 cm Beretta Steelium® Optimabore® HP barrels.
Masterful Engraving: 1,500 hours of hand engraving by Master Luca Casari’s team, including a hammered and punched receiver surface, burin-engraved sideplates, copper inlays, and red enamel compass roses.
Venetian Detailing: Silver-inlaid Venice Lion on the top lever, fret-worked top lever, and intricate copper inlays for refined decoration.
Hand Carved Stock and Forend: Grade 5 walnut wood stock and forend, featuring Scottish checkering and over 80 layers of Tru Oil® finish for a smooth, elegant appearance.
-We go naked because we want nothing of this world; for we came into the world naked and unclothed.
ll Milione, 1298
In the Pietro Betetta Selection Gun Case Atelier, located in the PB gun assembly department in Gardone Val Trompia (Italy), Italian master leather-workers create every bespoke case from scratch, from the wooden frame to the application of interior and exterior fabric, from stitching to pyrography and painting.
The SO Sparviere Marco Polo case features bright yellow leather with a digital print of the map depicting Europe, Asia, and Africa, the known world at the times of Marco Polo. The case is completed with blue leather details on the edges and handle.
The interior boasts a carefully selected Venetian red silk fabric with a golden roses design, elegantly matching with the exterior.
The astounding locking mechanism includes the renowned PB crest and logo.
The display case for the SO Sparviere Marco Polo was made in Murano, Venice, by the craftsmen of Arte Veneziana.
It is a matt-lacquered cabinet with a wood frame and galvanized steel metal elements. The fronts and doors are made of extra-clear 8mm tempered glass, with hand-engraved decoration on the front and back, mirrored and painted copper with a semi-transparent effect.
The decoration on the glass is based on the original miniatures from the book ll Milione, depicting the departure of Marco Polo and his uncles from Venice to the East. The scene reproduces San Marco's Square in Venice in the 13th century.
Extra-clear glass sheets are drawn through a felt-tip pen, then the drawing becomes the outline for engraving with a diamond pen, done on both sides of the glass to obtain a three-dimensional effect, adding drapery and shading to make it richer and more intricate.
Next, the sheets are colored using different veils of transparent enamel, and then manually silvered according to the same processes used in the production of antique Venetian decorative mirrors. As a final touch, the engraving is ‘dirtied’ with a copper bath to obtain a more pronounced and iridescent effect of the marks.
The display case can be only opened electromechanically through RFID recognition.
