BBC: In Rome, the capital of Christendom, which has some 600 churches with over 1,500 bells in their bell towers, the ancient art of bell-ringing has almost died out.
For centuries the church bells of Rome, apart from marking the hours, have tolled to mark the death of a pope, to celebrate the great festivals of Christmas and Easter, and to remind the faithful to come to Mass on Sunday.
But bell-ringers are a dying breed. Their place has been taken by automated equipment which has - in all but a handful of churches - replaced the traditional bell-ropes.
Every church used to have a sacristan whose job it was to ring the bells.
Nowadays the bells are almost all mechanised, driven by a chain system attached to gears and an electric motor.
Fabio Angelici has been installing automated press-button bell systems in Roman churches for the past 30 years.
"Romans," he says, "have lost the fine habit of enjoying church bells on a Sunday morning and waking up to the sound of bells.
"On the contrary, bell-ringing has become a nuisance for many people. The law now limits the ringing of church bells in exactly the same way as if they were part of an alarm system." Rome’s Battle of the Bells >>> By David Willey, Rome | August 25, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Italy)
