Il Campanile

80% of the buildings in my hometown are more than 50 years old. After all, Lecco, Italy has been there since the Roman Empire. Little remains of its ancient past except for the Ponte Visconti, a bridge built in 1336, a tower from a former Visconti castle and a 17th century castle. But many other old characteristic buildings may be found all over town.

The steeple [campanile] of one of Lecco’s churches, for example, is more than 100 years old and I feel I should “celebrate” it because its bell tolling is one of the familiar sounds that I miss about my place of birth. It tolls every hour, it also tolls for mass, or when someone dies, using different bells/sounds.

Its construction began in 1864 over the base of an ancient tower under which, underground passages were used as shelter during WWII aerial attacks. Sirens were even installed to warn citizens.

Five bells dated 1665 were removed from the previous small tower and were melted to make new ones. Four more bells were added.

The biggest bell weighs 6,600 lb,

and the clapper 133 lb, its diameter measures 5.5′ .

The tower is 96 meters [315″] high and features 380 steps.
Here is another image with the mountain behind it. Beautiful, uh?

Today I am grateful for the opportunity to share what I like.