An Italian court has ordered a priest to take a break from his constant bell-ringing, which neighbors say has been going on up to 200 times a day, making work, sleep and relaxation difficult. The 8 am to 9 pm clamor had been going on for years.
Now, Don Leonardo Guerri of the church of Santa Maria a Coverciano has been ordered to take a truce in what local press has called “the war of the bells.” He’s still allowed to ring them for mass and at 6 pm for the last service of the day.
The order also includes a €2000 fine for noise pollution. The case worked its way through four years of court hearings, petitions and tests of noise levels. The fine was imposed by the regional environmental protection agency.
Guerri is apparently not the only Italian priest who has exhibited a bad bell habit. As long ago as 2014, faced with a raft of complaints throughout Tuscany, the Archbishop of Florence, sent an order to priests asking them to “avoid straining the sense of Christian devotion” of local residents around churches with excessive ringing.
Image: Santa Maria in Coverciano church, Florence.
