Marinelli Bells – Pontifical Bell Foundry () is a

bell foundry Bellfounding is the casting and tuning of large bronze bells in a foundry for use such as in churches, clock towers and public buildings, either to signify the time or an event, or as a musical carillon or chime. Large bells are made by casting ...

Agnone Agnone ( Neapolitan: ''Agnèune'') is a ''comune'' in the province of Isernia, in the Molise region of southern Italy, some northwest of Campobasso. Agnone is known for the manufacture of bells by the Marinelli Bell Foundry. The town of Agnone ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Founded no later than 1339, the foundry is one of the oldest family businesses in Italy. In addition to bells, it produces bronze portals,

bas-reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, and various church artifacts, as well as restoring worn or damaged bells.

Marinelli family

The Marinelli family first started the bell foundry nearly 1,000 years ago in the Apennine hills of Italy, in the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

. The village of

, a small Italian town of 5,200 inhabitants in the province of

Isernia Isernia () is a town and ''comune'' in the southern Italian region of Molise, and the capital of the province of Isernia. Geography Situated on a rocky crest rising from between the Carpino and the Sordo rivers, the plan of Isernia still refl ...

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

, is where the foundry is now located. The foundry "has a tradition of foundries that dates back 10 centuries." In 1924, the foundry was awarded "the title of pontifical foundry" by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

. The Roman Catholic Church now accounts for 90 per cent of all orders placed for the company.Vatican bell foundry fears uncertain future
AFP April 1, 2009 The company is co-owned and operated by brothers Armando and Pasquale Marinelli. The foundry typically produces up to 50 bells a year and currently employs around 12 people.Italian Bell-Masters
Gani, Martin, Ambassador Magazine, Spring 2006

Notable bells

The foundry produced the latest bell to be hung within the bell tower of the

Leaning Tower of Pisa The Leaning Tower of Pisa ( ), or simply the Tower of Pisa (), is the , or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable Foundation (engineering), foundation. The tower is on ...

. The bell is a replica of the 17th-century bell damaged in 1944 during the bombings on Italy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The newest addition started service on Easter 2004, replacing the missing bell for the first time in 60 years. In 1923, the foundry made a set of bells for the Mariano Sanctuary in

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

. The bell of

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

was cast for the church of San Benedetto in 1950, which was destroyed during the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

. In 1961, The foundry cast a special bell to commemorate the "100th anniversary of Italy's founding as a united country." In 1992, one of their bells commemorated the 500th anniversary of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

's discovery of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

was presented the official Jubilee Bell in 2000 that is hung in St. Peter's Square. The bells of Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli can also be found in New York City ( United Nations Building), Rome (United Nations

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

), Beijing, Jerusalem, South America, and South Korea.

Craftsmanship

The firm's managers still apply the same

lost wax casting Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; loanword, borrowed from French language, French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cas ...

technique that the firm's founders used nearly a thousand years ago. The artisans use wax to transfer the bell's designs onto a brick "core" slathered with clay, slightly smaller than the bell to be cast. Another layer of clay is applied to form a "false bell". After this hardens, the wax inside is melted, leaving the imprint of the design on the inside of the false bell. Molten

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

, at a temperature of around , is poured into the space to form the bell.

References

Sources

External links