The Marinelli pontificial foundry

The history of Agnone is inextricably linked to the processing of metals. Gold, copper, iron and bronze. Our bronze is synonymous with bells. The Marinelli have remained the only ones to pass on from father to son this ancient, noble art of melting bronze to make bells. The origin of working in bronze is very ancient and uncertain, and one of the bells in the Marinelli Museum dates from the year 1000. If this hypothesis is correct, the art was introduced by the Venetians who settled in Agnone in the 11th and 12th centuries, contributing greatly to the construction of the Church of San Marco Evangelista. Other authoritative sources attest that the origin of the Agnone foundry dates back to the 15th century, when the industry of smelting began in the Bergamo area and in Rome, and that it was the foundryman Giuseppe Campato who introduced this art to the town of Agnone.
Other ancient families of foundrymen who moved through time, and then disappeared were : the Desiata, the Cacciavillani, the Saia and the Camperchioli. Visiting the museum of the Marinelli Pontifical Foundry will introduce you to the world of bells (“ the voice of the angels”) and of so many bells around the world, between history and curiosity. A journey made up of images, bells of every era and objects related to the world of smelting, until you arrive at a concert of bell ringing performed in the large laboratory where the ovens are situated, with the wood stacked up, holes in the floor for the molding of large bells, bells under construction … here you experience a unique feeling that only an enchanted place such as this can convey. Absolutely not to be missed!

NOTE
The Marinelli foundrymen have traced the art of melting metal for bells back to 1339, the year in which Nicodemo Marinelli “Campanarus Anglonensis” signed a bronze of about 50 kg. These historical notes were replicated on a more recent bell that was recast from the original bronze.
The re-use of material for analogous bells, when the previous one is damaged, is still used by foundrymen for making bells for devotional or even economic reasons.