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The Slovenian community in the Italian border village of Dolina contacted the European Commission after the ban on the ringing of local church bells. The clock chimed so often in the village that some residents had asked the judge if it could be a little shorter.
In Italy, it is not usual for the bells to ring so often, but in Dolina, where many residents with dual nationality still speak Slovenian, the church has maintained Slovenian traditions. The ringing of the church bell is an essential part of the day for many Slovenians: not only does it indicate the hours, but the bells also ring when the Ave Maria should be prayed, when mass begins and when someone one died.
When many residents first had to go into lockdown during the coronavirus crisis in 2020, one could not help but notice how often the bells rang in the village. “It was bam bam bam all day,” says Mauro Zerial of Dolina The Guardian† “It started at 6 a.m. with 70 knocks on the Ave Maria, then it struck seven times at 7 a.m., then once every 15 minutes. Before the evening mass, the bells rang again more Zerial had about 550 beats a day from Monday to Saturday, but on Sunday there were 1350.
Never again
Zerial, along with other villagers, decided to start a petition which was eventually signed around 150 times. The petition was taken to a judge in Trieste, who ruled that the bells should never ring again. The bell was removed from the tower, much to the surprise of Klemen Zalar, the local priest. Fines were often imposed on Italian parishes for bell towers that were too loud, but a bell was never confiscated. This reaction is heavy. He adds that the bells were also broken for a while by a lightning strike, causing them to ring at random times sometimes.
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Together with other Slovenian inhabitants of Dolina, he went to the European Commission. Ljudmila Novak, Slovenian representative in the European Parliament, explains: “The Slovenian minority is protected by law so that it can maintain its national identity and customs. This includes religious rites. We call on the commission to remove this disproportionate barrier to religious freedom.
Italian residents of Dolina are also shocked by the result. “No one wanted the bubbles removed. We just wanted them to sound within the norm. It was in no way an attack on Slovenian traditions,” petitioner Zerial said. Sara Merlak also contributed to the petition and believes miscommunication made the problem worse. “We just asked if the Ave Maria could be moved at 7 a.m.,” she said. The Guardian† “Now we’re all missing the bells.”
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