Castello del Buonconsiglio monumenti e collezioni provinciali

Bells

During the First World War, at the request of the Austrian government, almost all of the bells from the Trento region were requisitioned and transported to Austria so that they could be melted down and the metal used for the war effort.
Fortunately this did not happen, and at the end of the war the Superintendent for Fine Arts, Giuseppe Gerola, with great effort, was finally able to recover some of the bells to return them to their original churches. Around twenty of these were not taken back: some had already been replaced by new bells, some were cracked and ruined and therefore of no use, and in some cases nobody could recall where they had originally been taken from.
These bells therefore constitute an important collection, which, at least in part, provides an historical view of this object in Trentino giving an insight into the shapes, decoration and manufacturing techniques, as well as the activities of the craftsmen working in foundries in the region and neighbouring areas.

The oldest bells in the collection – and in Trentino – date back to the fourteenth century: they are small in size and elongated, without ornamental markings and decorated with the symbol of the cross and the inscription “XPS VINCIT XPS REGNAT XPS IMPERAT” (“Christ is victorious, Christ reigns, Christ is the guide”). The bell from Stenico Castle dates from the same period (1401).
The bronze bells, dating from between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, bear religious inscriptions and invocations, ornamental decoration – floral and plant embellishments, putti, angels – and religious scenes, the Madonna and Child, the Crucifixion and images of saints.
Bells from the eighteenth century are embellished with inscriptions, ornaments and decorative elements from nature such as sage leaves. This plant’s properties were believed to be beneficial and even miraculous, which led to it being adopted as a symbol of salvation and eternal life.

The technique of casting bells in bronze was perfected around the fifteenth century. Many examples were practically perfect and of high acoustic quality due to their shape and the correct proportions between height and diameter.
The manufacturing process is complex: it involves the creation of a core, made from brick and clay, which corresponds to the internal shape of the bell. The core is coated in a layer of clay followed by other layers of special types of clay in order to obtain the thickness of the bell (the false bell). Decorations and inscriptions are applied to this smooth surface in wax. Another layer of clay is then applied which makes up the mantle. The mould is heated inside with burning coals which help melt the wax, leaving the designs imprinted in the mantle.
At this point the mantle is raised up and the false bell layer is removed. Once the mantle has been placed back on the core the molten bronze is poured in. This is the most delicate and evocative part of the process. With the invocation “In the name of God” or “Holy Mary” the melt takes the shape of the mould. After it has cooled, the bell is removed from the core to be cleaned and polished.