Marinelli: 1,000 Years of Master Craftsmanship
Interview with Armando Marinelli, 26th-generation Owner, Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli, Italy
Go to any town near Agnone in Southern Italy, and you’ll soon encounter the centuries-old craftsmanship of the Marinelli family. It’s not something you can touch, feel or taste. Rather, you will hear the unmistakable sound of church bells ringing – a sound synonymous with the Marinelli family for well over a millennium.
The first Marinelli bell foundry dates back to around the year 1200, although it is clear that the family’s artisanal roots go back further by as much as 200 years. The first official Marinelli bell was found in Frosinone, signed in 1339 by Nicodemus Marinelli Campanarus.
Today, the Marinelli family operation still uses the same ancestral process to make its bells and also curates a museum that holds much of the business’s history — a venerable exhibit of more than 1,000 large bells and a collection of as many small bells.
The continuity of the Marinelli family bell-making business is remarkable, not just because of the centuries that have elapsed but also because of the transient nature of the bell-making process itself. Up until the middle of the last century, the Marinellis didn’t always work solely out of one location. Often, the family would need to build a makeshift foundry on the site where the bell tower was to be constructed. This meant they sometimes travelled from town to town, making a modest home for months at a time before moving on to the next site.
These days, the Marinelli family business is run by brothers Armando and Pasquale, who represent the 26th generation. Armando’s wife and children are all involved in the business, as well as Pasquale’s daughter.
Recently, we sat down with Armando Marinelli to discuss his family’s early days in the business, the evolution of their industry and the secrets to their longevity.
How does Marinelli's history inform the way you think of the family business? How important is archiving this history?
My family has always been proud of our history. However, we never really gave much importance to the fact that we are one of the world's oldest family businesses. We didn't even think about it until about 30 years ago, when researchers told us we were the third-oldest family business. For us, the work and the generations of craftmanship that define that work takes precedence.
That said, our history is a key part of our identity. All of our wives, our children — even our friends — feel like the bells are their own, so archiving our production has always been important to us.
However, in 1950, there was a huge fire that destroyed the whole foundry and the house, which contained several written documents and contracts.
Inauguration of a new bell placement in 1950; image courtesy of Marinelli.
Inauguration of a new bell placement in 1950; image courtesy of Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli.
Fortunately, my great-grandfather kept a lot of documents with him, so all was not lost. And we sometimes find documents that are kept as part of church records. For instance, parish archives provide some nice surprises for us every once in a while.
Quite often, these documents tell funny or quirky stories that bring the history to life. Recently, for example, we discovered that in 1600, two brothers, Ascenzo and Francis Anthony Marinelli, made a bell in a little town not far from here. The parish priest had to provide for food, lodging and all the materials. A town collection was taken up to pay for the project.
Apparently, not everyone was in favour of this project, but the bell was finished, nonetheless. As it turns out, the first clang of the bell announced the death of a doctor, who just so happened to be the person most opposed to collecting town money for the bell.
In Italy, very few ancient bells still exist, unfortunately, because they were all melted down for supplies during WWII and then reconstructed afterward; however, a rare example of a bell dating back to 1,000 years ago is kept at our museum.
Image courtesy of Marinelli
Image courtesy of Marinelli
Image courtesy of Marinelli
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To what do you attribute the ability of the Marinelli family to do what almost nobody else could – maintain the family business for over 1,000 years?
I believe the key to maintaining the continuity of any line of work is to not get caught up in things like salary and status. When you are part of an extraordinary occupation, you become absorbed in it. Your entire family forges ahead in a common quest to deliver a superior product to your customers.
When we take on a job, we are driven by a desire to satisfy not only the customer but also ourselves with a product built to the best of our ability. My brother and I look at this business as if it isn’t ours; instead, we view it as one that existed long before we were here and will continue long after we are gone. Our job is to be the best stewards of the business for as long as we have it.
Pasquale with technicians in Rome; image courtesy of Marinelli
Pasquale with technicians in Rome; image courtesy of Marinelli
Another key to our longevity is that we benefit from having a definitive model for succession in place. When it's time for the next generation to take over, there are no question marks or conflicts. In our case, the business and the craftmanship that go along with it pass from father to son.
Often, people ask us about our business plan, but I don’t think that concept really applies to us. What we do is not set into a programme or written in a manual. So, I would say our longevity stems from a singular focus and doing things differently from most other businesses.
What we do is not set into a programme or written in a manual. So, I would say our longevity stems from a singular focus and doing things differently from most other businesses.
Pope John Paul II participating in the creation of a peace bell for the United Nations; image courtesy of Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli
Pope John Paul II participating in the creation of a peace bell for the United Nations; image courtesy of Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli.
Throughout the long history of the Marinelli Bell Foundry, what do you feel was the most difficult time for your family?
In the 1700s and 1800s, the difficulties were on a global scale, with things like pestilence and wars. Then, during WWI, the foundry went through a transformation from making bells to constructing cannons. However, this is a story that my great-grandparents kept quiet, as talking about it was painful for them.
Later, in WWII, my grandfather was ordered to melt all the bells in Molise to make cannons, which caused him great anguish. He had so many friends in these nearby towns who used the bells as an alarm system. If the town did not have a large bell, they would be left vulnerable.
My grandfather secretly sent a message out to the towns, and the bells mysteriously ‘disappeared’. Because the government officials could not find them, they were not destroyed to make cannons. After the war, my family worked on replacing them.
Did your generation feel pressured into continuing the business? Was there ever a temptation to do something else?
I was born in 1960 and grew up very simply. Some people might say that when you work, you make sacrifices, but I don’t agree with that at all. We just have a family mindset of ‘we will always make bells’ because that’s what we were born with. I never see that as a sacrifice.
I remember when I was young, my father would occasionally send me out to the job sites. I still recall the smells and sound of the bells. The feel of the dust, the carbon, the wood — it has always been a part of my life.
So, in that sense, I would have to say that I never felt pressured into continuing the business. Today, my whole family is involved. My wife and my son work as foundry sculptors, creating statues, portals and important works of art in addition to customised decorations for the bells.
When did you start working in the family business full time? What was it like?
My father died when I was 20, and I found myself thrown into his position. Suddenly, I was in an artistic role with my uncle, who had always been like a second father to my brother and me. But he was 60 and I was 20, so there was a great learning curve for me at that time.
In the early 1980s, there was a great industrial transformation underway, and being new and young, I yearned to do things differently. I was constantly asking, 'Do we always have to operate this way? Do we not have the possibility of growing and doing something different?'
He had great patience and one day said to me, 'This line of work is done like this. And if you want to change it, you will have to understand the consequences because there is no other way to make bells.'
That was an important lesson. I tell the same thing to my children today because, the fact is, you cannot standardise a product that does not have a lot of demand in the market.
Pasquale and Armando Marinelli; image courtesy of Marinelli
Pasquale and Armando Marinelli; image courtesy of Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli.
Image courtesy of Marinelli
Image courtesy of Marinelli
I remember when I was young, my father would occasionally send me out to the job sites. I still recall the smells and sound of the bells. The feel of the dust, the carbon, the wood — it has always been a part of my life.
Is the process of making these bells evolving?
Essentially, the process for making bells has always remained unchanged. There have been very few modifications to the technique over the years. The biggest challenge we face in producing these bells today is finding qualified and passionate people.
School has changed people’s outlooks on craftsmanship as a profession. If a young person obtains a post-graduate degree at university in, say, engineering or architecture, it is extremely unlikely they will turn around and become an artisan.
The biggest change with bells is not in how they are produced but rather in the way in which they are rung. The days of the bellringer are long gone; today, it is the motor that makes the bell ring. Although the bell still moves as it did when the rope was pulled by hand, technology allows you to programme a ringing schedule for the next hundred years.
The bell itself has not evolved much. Although there have been small variations in the materials, we’re still using the same methods my grandfather and great-grandfather used.
One of our ancestors, Thomas Marinelli, wrote in 1800, 'To be an excellent bell maker, you need to know mathematics, chemistry, physics and music. But above all, to be an excellent bell maker, you need to be a man who has the fear of God.' This is what our ancestors left for us in writing, and we still let that guide us to this day.
What are some of the changes you believe your children will have to deal with when they are running the business?
I think there will be only so much change in what we do. The technique of making the bell could change, but not the process. After all, if that changes, everything changes.
My brother and I try to preserve this link with 1,000 years of history, but our children will have to focus on the next 1,000 years, because if we only think about preserving the past, the flame could be extinguished. We must think ahead.
Pasquale and Armando in the laboratory; image courtesy of Marinelli
However, if you change, you need to change slowly — it can’t be overnight. It would take years to change all of the work processes, and the foundry would have to be completely altered. It’s doable, but conserving the foundry of today is part of our responsibility and our charm.
How do things like national identity and religious identity affect the identity of the family business?
Our family’s goal is to continue making bells forever. However, religion plays into our biggest fear, which was the same fear my parents had: that one day, we will not make bells anymore because religion is dying.
The Marinelli brothers with Pope Francis; image courtesy of Marinelli
Armando Marinelli showing Pope Francis a bell.
We have, however, diversified what we do with ventures such as the museum. The tourism revenue this has generated has been a new resource for us and, as such, it is becoming a separate business in its own right.
Even so, we will continue to focus on making bells. That is our identity, after all. However, we don’t see it as a bad thing — far from it. It is simply who we are.
Image courtesy of Marinelli
Image courtesy of Marinelli
Pasquale and Armando in the laboratory; image courtesy of Marinelli
Pasquale and Armando in the laboratory; image courtesy of Marinelli
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