Our family’s artists

Ettore Marinelli Jr.

Ettore Marinelli was born in Agnone in 1991 into a long lineage of bell casters. As a child he enjoyed the aromas, sounds and materials of his forefathers’ age-old workshop and revealed a rare creative talent at a very early age, modelling clay into advanced shapes. His favorite subjects are humans and animals, for which he studies their anatomy as would a surgeon. He then “surgically” breaks this anatomy down into parts and recomposes it into imaginative forms. His style is made of modern, lively lines that are, at the same time, worn and antique. His creations intrigue and fascinate the viewer, leaving no room for indifference. Pope Francis once even asked an audience in St. Peter’s Square who the artist was who sculpted a dying Christ in essential and bold shapes. He called the artist out of the crowd and up to the altar to congratulate him. Even critic Vittorio Sgarbi came to meet Ettore personally and spent long hours in the workshop of this complete and tireless artist who is also timid and modest. To this day, he considers Ettore a mentee, inviting him to art events and writing reviews in his favor. In the Agnone workshop, Ettore works on parallel fronts, shaping portrait busts and monuments ordered by clients, while at the same time creating personal and complex forms in his own recognizable style. Few sculptors in the world possess all the creative abilities, the technical abilities and the technical possibilities required to create a work in bronze completely alone, from the conception phase to the finishing phase. Ettore being one of those few, is another reason why his work is extraordinary. Despite his young age, Ettore Marinelli possesses the qualifications and experience of a mature and renowned artist. The foundry, the workshop, and creativity make up his natural environment, where he was born and raised. In 2012 he graduated with honors from the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Naples and later, after a period of study at the Universitè Paris 8, he obtained a specialist degree in sculpture. For several years he continued his relationship with the Neapolitan Academy as an expert on the subject. He currently teaches sculpture at the Liceo Artistico of Isernia and oversees students who participate in the SCHOOL/WORK ALTERNATION program in his workshops. Creating monumental works with incredible skill, to be admired in prominent parks, plazas, churchyards or private areas, comes naturally to Ettore. In January 2024, the beautiful, large monument dedicated to St. John Paul II was inaugurated in the Cathedral square of Civitavecchia. In the same city, at the cruise ship port, much admired by tourists from all over the world, is the sculpture of a couple entitled “The Kiss”, paradoxically crafted by Ettore during the Covid pandemic. In the large seaport of Ancona, commemorating the place from which St. Francis’ departed for the Holy Land, Ettore has installed a large slab in the flooring with a flattened relief. Another of his bas-reliefs with a similar theme is installed at the entrance to the ancient Cathedral of the maritime city. In 2011, Ettore, not yet twenty years old, dedicated a votive lamp installed in the Santa Maria degli Angeli church in Assisi, to the Saint with the stigmata. At the end of 2016, the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Ettore also collaborated in the making of the bronze door for the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, again dedicated to Saint Francis, and to his virtual meeting with Pope Francis. His most elaborate work, extending over approximately 800 square meters in the central square of Viggiano (PT), is a monumental complex made up of 4 large, magnificent figures of female divinities playing a concert on harp, cello, violin and flute. Of notable impact is the bust of St. Gennaro, gilded and set with semi-precious stones, blessed by Pope Francis on 5 September 2018. Ordered by the community of Italians living in Boston and crafted by Ettore Marinelli, it was inspired by the precious reliquary of St. Gennaro that is kept in the Cathedral of Naples.

Another interesting tidbit is that Ettore also sculpted the exclusive trophy awarded to Katia Ricciarelli to celebrate the 50-year career anniversary (Orte, 2019). Due to the phenomenal speed with which he works, Ettore Marinelli is often invited to cultural events where he creates amazing sculptures in front of a live audience. Ettore Marinelli’s curriculum of works listed below includes only public monuments, excluding those commissioned by private clients: Statue of St. Gennaro and Christ Crucified, church of St. Gennaro, Boston (USA), Blessed by Pope Francis on 5 September 2018; Statue of Merciful Christ (h. 3m), gable of the church of Mary of Lourdes, Cingoli, Macerata; Statue of St. John – Tufara, Campobasso; Statue of Jesus Blessing (h. 3m), Caserta; Bust of …….., Industrie….., Buenos Aires (Argentina); Bust of  Senator Artese Vitale, City Park, San Salvo, Chieti; Bust of Blessed Father Paolo Manna, City Park, Trentola Ducenta, Caserta; Bust of Father Anacleto Spagnuolo, St. Nazzaro, Benevento; Bust of Bersagliere Di Lena, piazza Cisterna vecchia, Petacciato, Campobasso, publicly praised by the ORDER OF ITALIAN BERSAGLIERES; War memorial monuments to those who died in service, Giuliopoli, Chieti – Belmonte del Sannio, Isernia; Statue of NARCISUS, Zen gardens, Pompei; Tribute to Domenico Cimarosa, Cimarosa Conservatory, Avellino; portrait head of Renato Balestra

Paola Patriarca

Paola Patriarca was born in Naples in 1964. She is the artist of both ephemeral wax and eternal bronze. Her multifaceted and strong sense of creativity, expressed very early on, has become ever more refined and intensified with time. After brilliantly graduating with a diploma from the scientific lyceum, she went on to obtain a diploma in Sculpture from the Palizzi Art Institute, and then graduating in artistic studies from the Università Federico II. Simultaneously, she dedicated herself to graphics, photography, exhibition design and scenography and worked at a studio for the production of architectural models. Both a painter and a sculptor, she also successfully participated in many exhibitions and performances. In 1990, she married Armando Marinelli, owner of the Marinelli Pontifical Bell Foundry, both in the civil and professional sense, and moved definitively to the town of Agnone in the northern part of Molise, which she grew to love very much. At the oldest workshop in the world, the artist applies her extraordinary creativity to modelling materials (clay, plasticine, wax), specializing in bas-relief, which is a very difficult and particularly illusive technique which is only perfected through experience. For 30 years, Paola has been producing exclusive decorations for the most famous bells installed in bell towers in every part of the world. Also, often on prestigious commission, her artistic productions vary from monuments to medals, from bronze church doors to trophies, from altars to jewelry. Here is a list of a few of her works: the Jubilee of Mercy Door on the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome 2015/16, Holy Door of Guardialfiera (2021); the 20 commemorative works of the project “The Path of Memory” for the Province of Latina; the Viggiano Column (2022) with the “132” large coats of arms framing Piazza delle Genti Lucane; the monument bells of Milan EXPO (2015), of the Pantheon (2020), of Pope Innocent XII in Spinazzola and the one in Val di Fassa (2019), studded with 506 stars, one for each ethnic minority, that rings at the golden frequency of harmony and life, 432 Hz; the great “Bell of Agnone”, an authentic guide that illustrates the town and its traditions. In her original works, those born out of personal inspiration and pure talent, Patriarca meditates on ideas for a long time, then nimbly molds them in wax and then Marinelli immortalizes them in bronze. This is how rhapsodies come to life, models of the preferably human spirit and of intimate, private sentiment: soft, harmonious, compact forms turned into original themes. This concise and refined style characterizes the first woman to come into the millenary Marinelli family of “bell makers” as a recognized artist. A top expert on bells, and on their history and symbolism, Paola Patriarca also created the installation of the Museum of the History of Bells, looking after the studies and the chronological and thematic arrangement of each bronze, up to the most recent arrangement which makes use of a modern interpretation that is effective and easy to understand.

Armando Marinelli

Armando Marinelli was born in Agnone on July 9, 1960, into the famous lineage of bell casters who have been in business ever since the Middle Ages. Today he is testimony to and guardian of the ancient bell-making art and co-owner of the longest-running artisan business in the world, the pride of the region and of all of Italy.

At just twenty years old, the death of his father Ettore led him to abandon his university studies in Naples in order to dedicate himself fully to the family business. An entrepreneur and sculptor, he became co-owner of the Marinelli Pontifical Bell Foundry at a very young age, perpetuating a rare profession and blending the artistic talent he had inherited from his father with the managerial skills learned from his uncle Pasquale.

In over 30 years of work, Armando Marinelli has created countless artistic pieces including bells, altar frontals, church doors, monuments, and many other works, both sacred and civil. This are installed in bell towers, in town squares, in businesses and homes, and in small towns as well as in the most significant places in the world.

Armando Marinelli is also involved in the management of the Museum of the History of Bells, which has been the pride of Molise for over 20 years as it contributes significantly to the promotion of regional tourism by drawing constant media attention. Countless visits from the most authoritative figures of the church, of politics, and of culture and entertainment have also been important. The intense emotion during John Paul II’s visit to the Marinelli foundry on March 19, 1995 made it absolutely unforgettable. The Holy Pontiff celebrated the casting rite, visited the workshops with great interest, greeted the workers and their families and carved his name and that historical date into the soft clay of a portrait bust that Armando created of him.

On January 1, 2000, in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Wojtyla bestowed his blessing on the III Millennium to the sound of the large bell celebrating the Great Jubilee, which is now kept in the Vatican Gardens. The monumental bell, weighing 5 tons, is a beautiful and immortal piece crafted by Armando Marinelli who created the design, prepared the model and tended to the significant decorations.

In November 2005 Armando Marinelli was received in private by Pope Emeritus Ratzinger, meeting him at his Vatican residence in an unusual tone of informal familiarity. Many have been his meetings with Pope Francis.

The President of the Republic, Scalfaro, received Armando Marinelli as a guest at the Quirinale in February 1999. President Ciampi later appointed him an Honorary Knight of the Republic of Italy, and later a Knight Officer. Then, in 2012 President Napolitano conferred upon him the title of Commander of the Republic of Italy. President Mattarella, also an admirer of Marinelli’s history and art, was the first to toll the commemorative bell which was commissioned by the Italian Army for the First World War Centenary and taken around and tolled in each of the most significant war locations.

In 2006, the president of the senate, Pera, gave Armando Marinelli the prestigious Unioncamere award and, in the following year, the president of Confindustria, Montezemolo, made the Pontifical Bell Foundry an “Ad Honorem member” as the oldest company in Italy. The company had previously been awarded a Gold Medal in 1862 by King Vittorio Emanuele II for the same reason.

Then, in 2015, Marinelli created a monumental bell, placed along the Darsena canal during the Expo in Milan to commemorate that great event, its host city Milan, the Molise Region and Italy. It is now kept in the Monumental cemetery of Milan where the greats of the past rest surrounded by significant works of art.

Marinelli collaborates regularly on important projects with restoration specialists and great architects of the caliber of Renzo Piano and Richard Meyer. He also worked with Pininfarina Designer on a church building, the first sacred architectural design bearing Paolo Pininfarina’s name.
Marinelli was a board member of the Banca d’Italia at the Isernia branch until its closure, and then continued his role at the Campobasso branch.

Armando Marinelli, a founding member of the Rotary Club of Agnone, has held various important positions in the District Council for over 35 years and won several “Paul Harris Fellow” and other awards. He currently holds the position of Treasurer in the local Club. In June 2017, from the stage of the largest conference center in the USA in Atlanta, the ceremonies for the Centenary of the Rotary Foundation were opened with the tolling of a Marinelli bell, an introduction by the International President and Armando Marinelli and an evocative video about the Marinelli family, projected to 40,000 guests.

Pasquale Marinelli

Pasquale Marinelli was born in Agnone on 26 September 1970 into an esteemed family of bell founders. From childhood, he approached the ancient art of bell casting with love and dedication, while at the same time cultivating his passion for studies and the theatre. Many are the moments he spends in the ancient artistic workshop where he becomes passionate about the decoration of bronze artefacts, creating bells that are unique in their details and friezes. After graduating from the E. Fermi Technical Institute as an accountant, he perfected his started career as a smelter. In fact, in addition to further delving into the ancient and meticulous casting techniques in all their peculiarities and specificities, he continues his passion for decoration and is involved in the design, installation and operation of important bell concerts. A substantial contribution to his ability to perform high-risk work and installations at height was undoubtedly made by his year in the National Fire Brigade Corps. Over time, Pasquale Marinelli progressively added commercial, organisational and management activities to his foundry work. An entrepreneur and foundry expert, he has been co-owner since 2003 of the Pontificia Fonderia Pontificia, which has been awarded as the oldest company in the country for its activity and loyalty to its work, and is now fully committed, together with his brother Armando, to managing the thousand-year-old company. During his years of entrepreneurial activity, he has carried out important bell and artistic castings, and has planned, organised and directed the execution and installation on the world’s most prestigious bell towers and sites of numerous unique and unrepeatable bell concerts, thereby increasing the fame of the foundry, and of the Molise region, in Italy and throughout the world. The undisputed internationalisation is in fact represented by the works performed at: the Apostolic Nunciature in India, the Turk and Caicos Islands (Bahamas), Congo (St. Anne’s Basilica), Equatorial Guinea, Japan (Rokkatei, Iokoama, Tokyo, Osaka), Burkina Faso, Denver, California, Australia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Indonesia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Brussels for the European Parliament with the handing over of the “Parliament Bell”, dedicated to the rebirth from the Pandemic, to President Roberta Metsola, Vietman (in progress), Costa Rica (in progress), to Mosul on a UNESCO commission (reconstruction of the Syrian Catholic Church of Al Tahira), etc. In addition to his activities as an Entrepreneur, Pasquale Marinelli, collaborates in the conception and realisation of the “Historical Bell Museum”, which was established by the Marinelli family in 1998, with the mission of disseminating the bell culture of Agnone and the world, and is currently the most visited tourist attraction in the region due to its uniqueness, beauty, value and value. These were the years in which Pasquale was particularly dedicated to recovering and restoring many of the bells that can currently be admired inside the Museum itself. It is precisely the Museum that gives Marinelli such a media dimension that it is a constant focus of national and international media attention. Over the years, there have been many significant and enlightening moments. On 19 March 1995, Pasquale had the honour of receiving a visit from the Holy Father John Paul II at the Foundry, who attended and celebrated the casting rite, blessing the “Peace Bell”. Many meetings followed, not only with the Holy Father, but also with the most illustrious personalities from the worlds of politics, culture and entertainment. In February 1999, Pasquale Marinelli was received at the Quirinale by the President of the Republic Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. He took part in the realisation of major projects working with the most famous contemporary architects such as Renzo Piano, R. Meier, Portoghesi and others. He became a partner of Pininfarina Designer for the realisation of the first sacred architecture signed by the prestigious car manufacturer. On 9 May 2005, he received, together with his brother Armando, from the then President of the Senate Marcello Pera the Union Camere award as a protagonist of Made in Italy and for the longest-lived and most successful enterprise. In November 2005, he was received in audience by Pope Ratzinger, to whom he could personally offer his best wishes for the new pontificate. In 2006, Pasquale Marinelli received the prestigious Unioncamere award from President Pera, and in the following year, the incumbent President Montezemolo named Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli an “honorary member” of Confindustria as Italy’s oldest company. Thus reconfirming the title already conferred more than 150 years earlier by King Vittorio Emanuele on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition in London by awarding a Gold Medal to the Marinelli Foundry. In 2008, the Fonderia delle Campane was listed among the 100 “Eccellenze d’Italia” and was later chosen as an emblem of Italian taste, tradition and creativity by the leading Japanese television channel in a series dedicated to four great families of our country together with Benetton, Illy and Ginori. In 2010, in Venice, Marinelli picked up the “Imprese nella Storia” award as the standard-bearer for Molise, instituted by Confesercenti. Pasquale Marinelli is honoured by President Ciampi with the title of “Cavaliere della Repubblica” (Knight of the Republic), and on 4 November 2015, the prefect of Isernia awarded him the honour of “Cavaliere Ufficiale” (Knight Officer). Further prestigious recognitions are bestowed on Marinelli, such as inclusion in the Register of Historical Italian Companies, which now numbers over 1,500 companies with the collaboration of the Chambers of Commerce, and the award conferred by Unioncamere President Ferruccio Dardanello on the Marinelli Foundry, which Pasquale Marinelli received at Palazzo Colonna. In 2011, Pasquale was invited to the ‘Gran Galà dei Campionissimi’ in the evocative setting of the Museo dei Campionissimi in Novi Ligure (AL) for the presentation by Faustino Coppi, son of the famous champion, of the ‘Fausto Coppi e Costante Girardengo Souvenir’ International Prize awarded to the Fonderia Marinelli of Agnone. In 2015, Pasquale is present in Trieste, where he presides at the opening of the commemorations of the centenary of World War I with the “Great War” bell; in 2017, he is awarded the “Fausto Coppi e Costante Girardengo Souvenir” from the Rotary Club of Agnone of the recognition of Honorary Member of Rotary following the delivery of the “Rotary Foundation Centennial Bell” in Atlanta on the occasion of the opening convention of the celebrations of the centenary of the Rotary Foundation, and subsequent delivery to the Rotary headquarters in Evanston; in 2020 he delivers an important Bell at the Pantheon, and arrives in San Giovanni di Fassa for the delivery and installation of the Bell of Peace, of the Ladins and of Minorities in the world after having accompanied it on a tour of the most significant Italian squares. In 2021 he is present in Arsia where he presides over the delivery of the Alma Mater Dolorosa Bell after having accompanied it on a tour of the most significant Italian squares, in Monongah and Marcinelle- (Bois du Cazier) – Commemorative Bell in memory of the victims of the mines; in the same year he is engaged in Modugno for the delivery of an important bell concert c/o the Mother Church in collaboration with the Superintendency and it is again in 2023 that on commission of the Superintendency of Palermo he restores the bells installed c/o the Church of San Giovanni dell’Origlione, and in Rome he restores the bell concert of the Church of San Vincenzo E Anastasio (Rione Trevi). In the same year he meets Aimone di Savoia VI Duca d’Aosta c/o Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Roma to whom he donates a bell and has the opportunity to illustrate his company; in September 2023 he participates in Cork as a speaker at the international seminar on excellence in the art and craft sector “Making In 2023”. In the same years he is engaged in the casting, chiseling and installation of important sculptures, commemorative busts and bronze portals including (just to name a few): “The Kiss of Memory” at the Tourist Port of Civitavecchia; “The Tree of Welcome” dedicated to Fabrizia Di Lorenzo on the 5th anniversary of the Berlin attack; etc. Finally, there are many contacts with Cardinals, Bishops and meetings with Pope Francis. As for life beyond his Company, Pasquale is an external Rotary collaborator, a member of the National Association of Carabinieri and Friends of the Theater, he is always dedicated to helping others, he actively participates in all the cultural, sports and volunteer activities proposed in the region and his favorite hobby is dedicating himself to his family and in particular to his children: Benedetta and Amedeo who he has lovingly involved since they were children in the family business and who today follow and support him in his many entrepreneurial commitments. He lives and works in Agnone.

Ettore Marinelli Sr (1924-1981)

Ettore Marinelli was born in Agnone, heir to a historic family that had held onto the ancient and mysterious art of casting since the Middle Ages. He grew up in the ancestral foundry, where he took his first steps, modelling clay for fun and then, under the attentive and constant guidance of the valued and sophisticated maestro Felice D’Onofrio, his uncle, he studied the art, refining his taste and style, and perfecting his technique.

What makes him even more fascinating as a professional figure, is that paradoxically he could not hear the “voice” of his own creations, as he was deaf. This trait certainly made him a very pure artist, composed and fully concentrated on his elegant, refined and technically flawless creations.

Though he seemed shy and introverted, he was very amiable and generous towards anyone who showed interest in his work and those of his predecessors. Kind and good-looking, much loved by friends and acquaintances, and highly esteemed in the professional and artistic fields, Ettore Marinelli, alongside his brother Pasquale, made a significant contribution to the Pontifical Bell Foundry’s growth and fame, as well as that of Agnone and the region of Molise.

Ettore’s artistic studies in Rome proved to be an important turning point in his career in terms of inspiration and exploration. His works increasingly displayed more maturity and awareness and eventually became characterized by the sense of clarity obtained at all costs. Ettore Marinelli was a talented and complete artist whose sensitivity made him a master of the most elaborate of sculpting techniques. An exceptional caster and engraver, he could transform literally anything into bronze, as he possessed the magic to make metal sing by shaping it into a perfect bell.

Among the technologies man has developed in his quest to produce strong and long-lasting tools and idols, from prehistory to the modern era, metal working is considered the most complex and advanced. Nothing happens by chance or improvisation – everything is discipline. Everything is the result of an accurate design that requires in-depth knowledge of the materials and means and adherence to the lengthy technical time required. The unparalleled technical expertise of a bell caster was already valued back in the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance when Donatello, for example, trusted only them to achieve the results he wanted for his works in bronze.

Like few other sculptors, Marinelli had the privilege of seeing each of his creations completed in bronze, ensuring them visibility and near immortality. Over his 40 years of activity, Marinelli shaped and fused countless works of every type and size for all kinds of clients and installed in a wide variety of places. We have selected just some of the ones with the most artistic and monumental worth.

Felice D’Onofrio (1883-1965)

Felice D’Onofrio was a fundamental figure in the history of Agnone’s Marinelli bell foundry, as he accompanied 3 generations of Marinelli craftsmen through difficult challenges and enormous successes over his 80 years spanning the most interesting and complex time in Italy’s contemporary history. Over the course of his long life, he was witness to epochal events affecting the nation and his work, and went through moving the foundry from its original workshop in the Ripa district, to Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, and finally, after the disastrous fire in 1950, to its current location in the city’s ancient granary, which was once where the first washing machines in history were made. Felice was the younger brother of Pasquale Marinelli’s wife Emilia. Due to his precocious and remarkable artistic talent he was employed in the foundry at a very young age as a sculptor and bell decorator. He worked for the Marinelli family with dedication and passion until the last years of his life, passing down the legacy of his art and the secrets of designing bell shapes, to his nephew Ettore. A precision sculptor and accurate portraitist, he was unparalleled in the very difficult specialty of bas-relief which he brought to levels of unsurpassed perfection. The bas-relief is the most complex expression of sculpture because it has no laws. It requires a lot of technique but what it really required is the “eye” for it. Felice D’Onofrio even achieved poetic results using the “stiacciato” or pressed, shallow bas-relief technique that gives the illusion of great depth. Felice D’Onofrio’s bells remain the most beautiful in the world and still ring from bell towers all over the world. On the walls of the foundry’s artistic workshop there are thousands of plaster molds, some very ancient, others recent, and Felice’s still stand out among them for the fineness of their details. His historical bells contained complicated and elegant compositions which he expressed with authentic and rigorous style even though clients’ tastes and fashions evolved over time. His most well-known bells, solemnly inaugurated in 1923, are those created for the Basilica in Pompei, whose beauty and sound was so perfect that Pope Pius XI was moved to grant the use of the Pontifical Title to the Marinelli company. Together with the owners of the foundry he moved to Pompei for about 6 years, setting up a semi-permanent foundry where he also created bas-reliefs for many other bells, the most noteworthy of which was the monumental bell for the Cathedral of Todi. The enormous bell cast for the civic tower of Addis Ababa (1936) resonated worldwide. Cast using Italian pharmacists’ mortars which they offered “to the Fatherland” during a time when bronze was unobtainable, it was based on a design by Gabriele D’Annunzio’s personal jeweler. Bells were also made for Montecassino during its post-war reconstruction after severe bombing. In following years, Felice’s constant collaboration with the young Ettore Marinelli is noted by a more moderate and composed style that follows a more regular rhythm and contemporary guidelines. In memory of this great artist whose creations are largely out of eyesight’s reach, suspended at the top of the world’s bell towers, the city of Agnone gave his name to the street formerly called “Marconi Way”, which leads to the Marinelli foundry. 40 years later, the square in front of the beloved foundry has also been renamed “Felice D’Onofrio Plaza”.

Pasquale Marinelli (1864-1929)

In the wake of his father Alessandro, Honorary Knight Pasquale Marinelli adopted cutting-edge business policies along with remarkably modern and expansive projects. He inaugurated a foundry in the capital city, making important contacts that guarantee him prestigious orders. We do not know how much he personally dedicated himself to the artistic decoration of the bells but he is certainly responsible for the most complex ornamental designs ever created in the Agnone workshops. He fused monumental bells and grandiose peals, among them those made during the renovation of the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary in Pompei. As a guest of Blessed Bartolo Longo, he moved there for several years with his family and his collaborators, setting up a semi-permanent workshop where bells were cast for many churches in the area. The now centenary bells of Pompei, among the largest and most beautiful, can still be admired at the bell tower today. Their rich, beautiful images and friezes, demonstrating his ornamental taste and making artistic redundancy elegant, fully express Marinelli’s personality and total mastery of this unique craft. The extraordinary wonder of the Pompei peal of bells contributed significantly to the fame of the Foundry, so much so that it received the attention of Pope Pius XI. His Holiness granted the Marinelli Company the prestigious Pontifical Title authorizing the portrayal of the Papal Coat of Arms on their bells. In a publication from 1928, “La Città di Agnone”, we read: “Mr. Pasquale Marinelli is the eloquent example of a tireless worker, honest and passionate about his art. He never ceases to make improvements to his business according to practices and evolution in the art of casting sacred bronzes. No work done by him, nor bell cast by him has failed to exceed all the expectations of faithful commissionaires and merit full admiration and applause from competent experts”. In the publication “l’Eco del Sannio” (XXXVII- n. 2) we find these words “… endowed with powerful but flexible intellect and a scrupulously honest soul, he always worked tenaciously and managed to conquer a first-rate position in the industrial field. Today the works of his foundry, inherited from his ancestors, perfected and superb in their artistic beauty, are admired in every corner of Italy, up to the far shores of Sicily and also in the Americas… His Eminence Cardinal Granito di Belmonte and Our Most Reverend Bishop Monsignor Adinolfi had the highest esteem for him, and obtained for him, from the Holy Father Pius XI, the very high honor of Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great and the authorization for the Marinelli foundry to bear the Papal Coat of Arms.”

Alessandro Marinelli (1833-1899)

“… as an artist, Alessandro Marinelli was unparalleled, having carried the art of casting bells to the highest degree of perfection. Without him, this trade admired everywhere and bringing honor to our country, would not have survived. Honor to the eminent artist, who made our homeland renowned, leaving a successor just as worthy, his son Pasqualino” (From the Necrology which appeared in “l’Eco del Sannio” – year VI – n.6 – 1899). In 1858 Alessandro married Filomena Lonzi, a girl from a noble family of Castiglione Messer Marino, with whom he had numerous children. Francescopaolo, Enrico and Vincenzo, after learning the “trade” of their ancestors, opened a bank in Buenos Aires; Nicola became the parish priest in Rosario, Santa Fe and then in Agnone; Giovanni became the most distinguished lawyer in the court. Pasquale was the only one who followed in his father’s footsteps.