Bells of the Holy Trinity Abbey, Corpo of Cava de' Tirreni (SA)

The abbey was founded in 1011 by St. Alferius, a Salerno man trained in Cluny. Under the third abbot, St Peter, it became the centre of a great Congregation, the Ordo Cavensis. The first abbots distinguished themselves for holiness: the first four were recognised as saints, eight others, blessed. Elevated to an episcopal see in 1394, from 1431 to 1497 it was entrusted to commendatory cardinals, who impoverished it of monks and substances, so that in 1497 it was aggregated to the Congregation of St Justina of Padua. Under the suppression law of 1866, the abbey was declared a national monument and entrusted to the custody of the abbot. Then the monks opened a lay college and began studies and publications of the archive. These activities continued into the 20th century, but in the last few years the schools suffered reductions in courses, until they were closed in 2005.* The abbey church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was rebuilt in the 18th century and is in Baroque style; of the ancient medieval church, the 12th-century Cosmatesque ambo remains (but was rebuilt in the 19th century). Also of note are the Balbiani-Vegezzi-Bossi organ from 1927, the 18th century wooden choir, the chapter house, the medieval cloister with the mountain rock facing it, the Longobard cemetery, the museum and, in particular, the Library and Archives with numerous codices and parchment manuscripts, the oldest of which dates back to 792. A first bell tower was erected by St. Peter in the 11th century, while the first evidence of a bell dates back to 1304, as recorded by the inscription on the current main bell, which was recast in 1624, 1692 in 1825 and finally in 1829. A second bell from 1450 was recast in 1636 and 1780 and is the current third bell; two more bells were added to the concert in 1965. Finally, the two clock bells, the oldest of which (with a partly cast, partly graffitied inscription) dates from 1636 and the other from 1969**.
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☛ Set of six bells of different years and authors:
1. E flat - Giuseppe Ripandelli and Felice Tarantino (Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, AV), 1829;
2. E - Pasquale Marinelli (Agnone, IS), 1965;
3. A - Felice and Giuseppe Cacciavillani (Frosinone, Frosinone), 1780;
4. D flat - Pasquale Marinelli (Agnone, IS), 1965;
5. (hour bell) F' - anonymous, 1636;
6. (quarter bell) G - Carmine Capezzuto (Naples), 1969.
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Presentation of the individual bells and plenum. The fourth bell was tolled during the plenum due to a malfunction of the movement system. I would like to thank my friend Father Abbot Dom Michele Petruzzelli for allowing the visit and Prof. Giuseppe D'Onorio for carrying out the census of the bells.
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For further information: [e-mail]
Site of the Italian Bell Association: www.campanolog...
* www.benedettin...
** Giuseppe D'Onorio, LA BADIA DELLA SS. TRINITÀ DI CAVA E LA SUA STORIA SCRITTA SUL BRONZO, Potenza e Carità di Dio, anno LX - n°1, Veroli 2023.
©Ermenegildo Guerra, 24/09/23
USE PROHIBITED: The multimedia material in this video is the intellectual property of the author

[@glockenlandschaft_thueringen]

Schönes Video und interessantes Geläut :-)

[@PietroCampanaro]

Bellissime! Grazie mille ancora hai realizzato il mio sogno,ti sono debitore,possiamo diventare migliori amici?