Heritage Marinelli Bells

This family business in Agnone, Italy, has filled the belfries of churches around the world since at least 1339. Today, the foundry’s 12 artisans take about three months to produce a single large bell. A 600-kilogram (1,323-pound) model costs about €21,000 ($23,000). Tourists can take home a less hefty holiday edition for €40.

← An artisan chisels fine details into the cast bronze

→The molds are created in a centuriesold process

Pressing a wax decoration onto a bell

↑ The bell’s core is shaped in clay with the help of broken bricks

In 2004, Marinelli replaced the 400-yearold bell in the Leaning Tower of Pisa