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How The World鈥檚 Oldest Bell Foundry Stayed In Business For Nearly 1,000 Years | Still Standing - YouTube
Channel: Business Insider
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the oldest bell foundry in the world has
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been using ancient techniques since the
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middle ages
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it takes at least three months to make a
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bell by hand and each one is unique
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the workshop has survived nearly 1 000
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years of wars and hardship but it's a
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crisis of faith that's putting pressure
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on the business today
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we went to anjone in southern italy to
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learn how this traditional bell foundry
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is still standing
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the marinelli family has been running
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the factory for 26 generations
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armando marinelli sketches bell designs
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by hand the same way his ancestors did
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it
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very large bells are cast in a pit like
[48]
this
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but it rarely happens nowadays
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that's because the foundry only operates
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when there's demand
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but the process of making smaller bells
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is pretty much the same
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already
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the bottom and the top cup create the
[68]
shape of the bell
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the middle layer looks exactly how the
[72]
final bell will look but it's made of
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clay
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so it will eventually be destroyed to
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make way for the bronze
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they start off by building the bottom
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cup
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using bricks and clay
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it's a painstaking job to make sure the
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pile is level
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then a worker slathers it with clay to
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create the middle cup or what they call
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the false bell
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a wooden ruler called the strickle sets
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the exact shape height and weight of the
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final piece
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this is the part that will be destroyed
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later
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but before we get there they have to
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bake the clay from the inside out until
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it's solid
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while the false bell dries
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sculptors prepare the decorations
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they can use pre-made plaster molds or
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cast new ones
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they place the pieces of wax on the
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false bell
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next they apply more clay to form the
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top cup called the mantle
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it provides the outside shape of the
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bell with the wax designs embossed into
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it
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once this dries they lift the mantle to
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expose the fall spell
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then it's finally time to destroy it to
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make way for the bronze
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this is what a small scale fusion looks
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like
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larger bells need a lot more bronze
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once the metal hardens they lift the
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mantle and reveal the final bell
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for smaller bells they break down the
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mantle by hand
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the family's attention to detail is
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clear when they forge the handle and
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iron
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finally workers like antonio delli
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cuadri polish the finished bells until
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they shine
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familiar
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he's been working here for six decades
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and at 84 years old he's technically
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retired but he takes pride in tuning the
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bells
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he also leads tours around the workshop
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on average a 100 kilogram bell costs
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around 3 000 euros and since it takes
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months to craft a single bell they only
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make a few a year
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pando
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america
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um
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the marinellis still face competition
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from other foundries who have modernized
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many rely on heavy machinery and
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reusable molds
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armando says he could modernize like
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this too
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but only as a last resort
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when the family business started bells
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had a very important role in mass
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communication
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imagination
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[Music]
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today marinelli bells ring from iconic
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places like the leaning tower of pisa
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and the vatican
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and it's this historical connection to
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the catholic church that has kept the
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foundry running for so long
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the church has accounted for about 90
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percent of the foundry's business in
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recent decades
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in 1924 pope pius xi granted the
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marinellis an official recognition
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which is
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and they've cast many celebratory bells
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over the years like the one for pope
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john paul the second millennium jubilee
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on
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but the foundry has also seen desperate
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times throughout its long history
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nazi troops occupied it in world war ii
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and then a fire in the 1950s destroyed
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the original foundry and many of its
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historical records
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now in the 21st century armando was
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looking for ways to keep the business
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afloat
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[Music]
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[Music]
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christianity's popularity is declining
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in many countries across the world
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especially places like the us and
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western europe that have historical
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christian majorities
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with fewer churches being built demand
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for bells is low
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also quality bronze bells like the
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marinellis can last centuries so the
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family is diversifying they've created a
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museum inside the foundry to attract
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more tourists they also take some
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lucrative sculpting jobs armando's son
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ethere is one of the foundry sculptors
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so for now he's sticking with making all
[429]
these designs by hand
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overall the family's focus is on
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creating art so the marinellis have
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faith that the timeless nature of their
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work will help them survive
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[Music]
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the campa
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foreign
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[Music]
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[Music]
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you
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