One of the oldest family-run businesses in the world, Marinelli’s bell foundry is a UNESCO-worthy cultural site.
The Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli is an ancient factory for bells which has been operating in Agnone for nearly a millennium. It ranks as one of the oldest companies and family businesses in the world, where the Marinelli family has run the foundry for the last 1000 years. Bells of artistic excellence and perfect sound are created for destinations around the globe. In addition, expert guides and family members lead visits through the museum and the foundry itself where you will also learn that in order to get a perfect sound from a bell, it is necessary to follow strict rules of sizes and thickness. The Marinelli family has a close relationship with Popes of the twentieth century starting with Pius XI who honored it with the Pontifical Patent, to Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, who visited the foundry on March 19, 1995.
