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Republic of San Marino
San Marino.
Documentation · Closed museum

Museum of
Modern Weapons

Permanently Closed

The site held about two thousand firearms of the First and Second World Wars, with Italian, European and non-European pieces covering rifles, machine guns, pistols and military materials representative of the early twentieth century. The page remains online for documentary purposes: the museum is not currently open to visitors.

Pieces
2,000
Period
1914 - 1945
Status
Closed
Entrance of the Museum of Modern Weapons in Contrada della Pieve, San Marino
Contrada della Pieve · Old town
The museum entrance
§ I — The collection

Weapons of the early twentieth century

The collection focused on firearms of the early twentieth century and the kit of the two World Wars. Carcano, Mauser and Lee-Enfield rifles, heavy and light machine guns of Italian, German, British, French, American and Soviet manufacture made up the main core, accompanied by pistols, ammunition, personal equipment and period documents. The museum offered a diachronic complement to the Museum of Ancient Weapons: there the weapons of the 15th-17th centuries, here those that close the long cycle of trench warfare and open the cycle of mechanised war.

The location at Contrada della Pieve, in the City of San Marino, allowed the visit to be slotted into the historic-centre route. The current closure suspends this educational function. The page remains online as documentary reference for those seeking historical information about the seat and the type of the collection.

«A collection of twentieth-century weapons is no side chapter: it is the mirror of the way Europe fought two world wars in thirty years.»
§ II — Open alternatives

Where to go instead

Those looking for a similar route will find a natural destination at the Museum of Ancient Weapons in the Second Tower: it gathers about two thousand European arms and armours between the 15th and 17th centuries, arranged on the two floors of the fortress at 755 metres of altitude. Those interested in the Sammarinese twentieth century at war can supplement their reading with the pages on the world wars and on the Novecento of the Republic.

§ III — Further reading

Museums currently open

State Museums

Museum of Ancient Weapons

Two thousand weapons from the 15th to the 17th century, arranged on the two floors of the Second Tower.
State Museums

State Museum

The Garibaldi collection and the section on the twentieth-century history of the Republic.
History · 1914-1945

San Marino and the world wars

The historical context to which the now-closed collection referred.
FAQ · Useful answers

Frequently asked questions

Is the Modern Weapons Museum open?
No. The museum is currently closed to the public. The page remains online as documentation of the historic collection.
What did the collection contain?
Two thousand firearms of the First and Second World Wars, of Italian, European and non-European origin. The core covered rifles, machine guns, pistols and other military materials of the early twentieth century.
Where was it located?
At Contrada della Pieve 2, in the City of San Marino, a short distance from the institutional centre and the other museums of the historic circuit.
Are there similar museums still open?
Yes. The Museum of Ancient Weapons, located in the Second Tower of the Titano, is regularly open to the public and presents about 2,000 medieval and Renaissance arms and armours.
Has the collection been lost?
The only official information available is the closure to the public. For updates on the destination of the collection, refer to the communications of the Cultural Institutes and the relevant Secretariat.