26. BELL TOWER AND BELLS
We have given the dispositions regarding the interior of the church. There will now be given others regarding that which is annexed to the church, first of all, the bell tower, known as campanile.
When a bell tower is to be built, the criteria given below will be observed. The bell tower will be square or of some other shape, as the architect sees fit, depending on the criteria followed in building the church and the location. Its height will be in proportion to the size of the church, conforming to the judgement of the architect.
Levels
It will have various levels, as many as the architect will see fit. The lowest one will be vaulted, the other upper ones will consist of solid rafters, and the top floor will also be vaulted.
Windows
Every level will have windows, and they will be built on all sides, rather elongated and elegant, in keeping with the structure of the church.
The windows on the topmost level, marked by small columns or pillars, will be larger on all sides of the bell tower, or will have another form, as the architect decides, according to the type of building.
Stairs
The stairs will also correspond to the criteria followed in building the church and where possible will be spiral or of some other form, in stone or wood, so it will be easy to climb to the belfry and not dangerous.
Fastigium
The fastigium will not be triangular, but circular and pyramidal. At the top, as required by its mystical significance, the figure of a rooster, solidly fastened, may support a cross.
Entrance
The entrance will have solid door panels, bolt and lock, so that it will always be closed except when it is necessary to ring the bells.
Location of the bell tower
The bell tower will be built at the head of the atrium or portico, in the part closest to the entrance to the church. Where there is no atrium, it will be on the right of those entering, and separated on all sides from the walls of the church, so that it is possible to walk around it.
Number of bells
If the bell tower belongs to the cathedral, it will have seven bells, or at least five. If it belongs to a collegiate church, three, the large, middle-size, and small. If it is a parish church it will have the same number or at least two. Each one will have a different sound, in harmony with each other, depending on the requirements and meaning of the various divine offices celebrated.
The clock
It will also be appropriate to place a clock on the bell tower. It will be skillfully made and suitable in shape to that of the building, so that an interior mechanism will mark every hour with the sound of a bell, while outside it will be with a star moving in a circle and set in a conspicuous place.
Another form of bell tower
The regulations given above regarding the shape of the bell tower and the clock will apply for the more important churches.
Where however the site and the lack of funds do not allow such a costly bell tower to be built, it can be located on the corner of the church to the right of those entering, projecting out, and not far from the door. It will have the form advised by the architect. Access will be via an internal door, from the church, and not outside, with door panels and lock, as described above.
Brick piers in place of the bell tower
There where funds are so scarce that it is absolutely impossible to build a bell tower, until such time as it is possible, one could in the meanwhile build brick piers joined with arches, set onto the upper part of the church wall, in which the bells can be hung.
It will however be necessary to choose a suitable place, so that the bell ropes do not hang into the main chapel or into some other chapel, or the middle of the church door or in some other similar place. The ropes themselves, then, must be passed through a wooden tube, inserted in the vault of the arch so that, when pulled, the brickwork will not gradually wear away.
Blessing of the bells and what is to be avoided in their casting
The bells are not to be placed either in the bell tower or elsewhere if they have not first been consecrated with a solemn blessing and with prayer, according to the institution of the Church. This consecration will be noted somewhere in the bell tower or the church.
Moreover the bells must not have profane sculptures or inscriptions in any point, but rather the image of the patron Saint of the church or of some other sacred figure, and a pious inscription.
HOME – Charles Borromeo’s Instructions