Le campane della Basilica di Santa Margherita, Cortona (AR - IT)

Cortona (AR - IT) - Minor Basilica - Sanctuary of Santa Margherita Construction of the building began in 1297, shortly after the death of Saint Margherita, and was completed in 1304. The saint's remains were brought into the church around 1330. In 1653, the frescoes in the church were whitewashed due to their poor state of preservation. The 14th-century building was demolished in the 19th century, preserving only the rose window on the façade, the bell tower, and the exterior walls of the choir. The task of rebuilding the church was entrusted to architect Enrico Presenti, who replaced the original single-nave layout with a basilica structure; the work was then carried out by architect Mariano Falcini. In 1896, the façade was redone, and in 1927 the church was awarded the title of minor basilica. In 1322, the Pisan bell founder Vanni cast a new bell dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Bishop Basil the Great, after whom the small church that Saint Margaret had chosen as a place of prayer and penance was named. In 1504, a bell was added, the work of the founder Goro from Florence. In 1765, Alessandro Tognozzi, also from Florence, cast three new bells. In 1894, the Lucca-born bell founder Raffaello Magni, together with his sons, recast all the bells except the one in Vanni (the inscription on one of the current bells mentions the recast of three bells, but various contemporary sources indicate that there were four recasts) and added bronze, producing five new bells. They arrived in Cortona on March 28 of that year, Wednesday of the Octave of Easter, and were consecrated on April 8, the Third Sunday of Easter, by the titular bishop of Jericho, Etienne-Marie Potron, originally from Brest, France. Magni's goal was likely to create a concerto based on the first six degrees of the major diatonic scale, with the second being occupied by the medieval bell. This goal was not entirely achieved, given that Magni's bells are a semitone higher than they should be, and they also present tuning problems among themselves. However, this gives the Santa Margherita concerto a uniqueness that makes it immediately recognizable. A notable feature of Magni's bells is their vibration times, meeting the minimum requirement of the Limburg Guidelines (Limburger Richtlinien) of 1951, which requires the bell to vibrate at least one second for every centimeter of its mouth diameter. BELL DATA 1. E3 +14/16 (Ninth), ⌀ 1033 mm, 730 kg - Raffaello Magni & sons (LUCCA - IT), 1894 2. F3 +6/16 (Octave), ⌀ 975 mm, 680 kg - Vanni pisano (PISA - IT), 1322 3. G♯3 +7/16 (Octave), ⌀ 830 mm, 380 kg - Raffaello Magni & sons (LUCCA - IT), 1894 4. A3 +8/16 (Ninth), ⌀ 774 mm, 315 kg - Raffaello Magni & sons (LUCCA - IT), 1894 5. B3 +4/16 (Ninth), ⌀ 693 mm, 220 kg - Raffaello Magni & sons figli (LUCCA - IT), 1894 6. C♯4 +3/16 (Ninth), ⌀ 623 mm, 165 kg - Raffaello Magni & figli (LUCCA - IT), 1894 Tonal analysis: A3 = 440 Hz; 1/16th of a semitone, 1/32nd of a tone CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro and photo presentation with Salve Regina motif (E3 - G♯3 - B3 - C♯4) 01:32 Presentation of the individual bells 01:37 Bell 1 (E3) 01:52 Bell 2 (F3) 02:07 Bell 3 (G♯3) 02:22 Bell 4 (A3) 02:37 Bell 5 (B3) 02:52 Bell 6 (C♯4) 03:07 Motifs and plenums 03:24 Medieval bell solo - Bell 2 (F3) 04:28 Te Deum motif - Bells 3 + 5 + 6 (G♯3 - B3 - C♯4) 5:28 Phrygian Scale - Bells 6-3 (G♯3 - A3 - B3 - C♯4) 6:08 Magni Quintet - Bells 6+5+4+3+1 (E3 - G♯3 - A3 - B3 - C♯4) 6:55 Plenum (E3 - F3 - G♯3 - A3 - B3 - C♯4) 9:07 Large Bell Solo - Bell 1 (E3) SOURCES Surveys by Manuel Bambi, Lorenzo Cattani, Davide Dumitrean, Pietro Iaria, and Alarigo Innocenti, 08/11/2025 DALLA CELLA, ALBERTO (1900) Ancient Cortona. Archaeological, historical, and artistic news. Social Tip., Cortona, pp. 149, 295-298 MIRRI, DOMENICO (1913) List of all the bells in the Diocese of Cortona. Collected types, Cortona L’Etruria, April 1, 1894, The Bells of Santa Margherita Saturday, November 8, 2025 I thank Davide Dumitrean (@Lcampanam) for the invitation, Manuel Bambi (@campanarotoscano), Pietro Iaria (@pi_ca-07), and Alarigo Innocenti (@alacampanaro9748) for the company, and Giovanni Gallorini and the Friars Minor of the Basilica for the organization and permissions. #bells #glocken #cortona #arezzo #santamargherita #medieval #tuscany #bellringing ©Lorenzo Cattani REUSE of the material in the video is PROHIBITED without the author's consent.