[urbanspaceman]

Hello. Thank-you for your input.
It does raise more questions than it answers of course and I feel sure you can help here as you are obviously familiar with the provenance of this sword.
Where did the pictures (thank-you) featuring the old pommel come from?
I realised the new pommel was a casting as it still retains some of the flash. Tony indicated this in his description.
It is obviously an Italian (Belluno?) heirloom blade re-hilted in the second half of the 1700s.
Do you know where Grgur worked?
Even accepting that the blade is much older than the hilt doesn't explain the markings.
Are you familiar with the blade markings?
Jim McDougall gave me some fascinating info:
The arcs seem to have been around since the late 1400s, at least on one example attributed to Pippo and C. so they were probably added here to pretend a venerable past as I assume there were no such blade types around back then.
The TWIGS, as they are sometimes called, also date back to a similar time and used to come in groups of three similar to here.
The sword Jim referenced came from the 'hall of the Council of Ten'.
It seems likely that all of this was done to exhibit reverence to a sword for a member of the Doge's bodyguard.
The blade has seen considerable activity as the edges show long curves of grinding in places to remove nicks: very nicely done.
Incidentally, the basket is rather small and is a snug fit even for my rather petite hands.