Riots in a small Italian town after a judge silenced church bells Italy
All eight Slovenian MEPs weighed in a small town in northern Italy and called on the European Commission to take action to “protect tradition” after an Italian judge silenced church bells.
For some in Dolina, a town with a Slovene minority community near the Italian border with Slovenia, the bells of the Sant’Ulderico church were essential to the rhythm of their day, and tolls did not only inform them about the start of Mass, a holiday. the day or when someone died, but it also serves as a clock.
For others, the “loud and excessive” ringing of doom led to a petition that led a judge in nearby Trieste to remove the bells with an unprecedented verdict.
“Italian parishes have been fined if the bells are too loud, but they have never been confiscated,” said Pastor Klemen Zalar. “That reaction was a little too difficult.”
The dispute angered 4,800 residents and drew accusations of personal revenge.
It began during severe coronavirus prisons in Italy in the spring of 2020, when automatically operated bells became unsustainable for some residents stranded at home.
“It was bam-bam all day, bam-bam,” said Mauro Zerial, the petition’s organizer, who counted 550 strokes a day between Monday and Saturday and 1,350 on Sunday. “It would start at 6 a.m., with 70 beats for Ave Mario, then with seven at 7 a.m. and then every 15 minutes until the second long bell to begin the evening Mass. It was crazy. But no one wanted the bells to be silenced, we just wanted them to be managed within the norms. And this was by no means an attack on Slovenian tradition. “
The valley in the semi-autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia was part of Austria-Hungary until this area was annexed by Italy after the First World War. Today, some residents speak Slovenian and have dual citizenship. Zalar said that the schedule of bells is very much in line with the traditional use of bells in churches in Slovenia.
The damage caused by lightning in 2019 spontaneously triggered the ringing from time to time, but Zalar claimed the ringing was never excessive, saying some of the 150 citizens who signed the petition were misled into believing they supported goal to repair bells.
MEP Ljudmila Novak said that problems arose in Brussels when she and her colleagues “in need” were approached by members of the Slovenian community in Dolina.
“The Slovenian minority is protected by special laws so that it can preserve its national identity and customs. These laws also include church rites, ”she said. “We ask the commission how it will take action to eliminate disproportionate interference with religious freedom and cultural tradition in the area where the autochthonous Slovenian national community lives.”
The bells were removed by a judge in late January, albeit with an order restricting their use. But silence prevails as the church struggles to prepare a ring schedule adapted to the new rules.
Sara Merlak, who was collecting signatures for the petition, claimed they were forced to turn to the judiciary because the church did not cooperate.
“All we wanted was for Ave Maria to move to 7 in the morning,” she said. “Now we all miss the bells.”