Bolognese bell ringing (Italian: sistema bolognese, suono alla bolognese, arte campanaria bolognese or campaneria bolognese) is a traditional system of manual bell ringing developed in Bologna, Italy. It is a form of full circle ringing in which bells are swung to produce rhythmic patterns. Its characteristic performances take place inside the bell chamber, with bell-ringers standing close to the bells, wooden frames, short ropes and clappers.

The system includes three main families of ringing: doppio, tirabasse and scampanio. The doppio, especially in its a trave and a cappio forms, is the central full-circle technique of the Bolognese tradition. The tradition is generally traced to the bell tower of the Basilica of San Petronio in the second half of the 16th century.^[1][2]

From Bologna, the system spread to parish bell towers in the surrounding territory, including the plain, hills and Apennine area. In 2025, Bolognese bell ringing was recognized by the Municipality of Bologna as a De.Co. traditional knowledge practice.^[1] It is also connected with the wider tradition of manual bell ringing, inscribed in 2024 on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as the transnational element Manual bell ringing.^[3]

In Italian campanological terminology, sistema bolognese indicates the technical and cultural system of bell ringing associated with Bologna. It includes the mounting of the bells, the wooden frames, the short ropes, the use of the clapper, the organization of the bell ensemble and the oral transmission of ringing techniques.

The expression doppio alla bolognese refers more specifically to the principal full-circle ringing technique of the system. It is therefore not identical with the whole tradition: doppio is the central ringing form, while the Bolognese system also includes tirabasse and scampanio.

The broader expression campaneria bolognese is used locally for the culture of bells, bell towers, bell-ringers, foundries, ringing techniques and associated traditions in Bologna and its historical territory.^[4]

The origins of the Bolognese system are generally traced to the bell tower of San Petronio in the second half of the 16th century.^[1][2] From there, the practice spread to the principal churches of Bologna and then to parish bell towers across the surrounding territory.

During the 18th century, the bells of Bologna Cathedral were equipped so that they could be rung a doppio like those of San Petronio. Other churches in the city centre later followed this example. In the 19th century, according to the Unione Campanari Bolognesi, the tradition reached its greatest expansion, spreading to almost all parishes of the diocese and also into neighbouring diocesan areas, including Modena, Ferrara, Imola and Faenza.^[2]

The 19th century also coincided with an important phase of Bolognese bell founding, especially the activity of the Rasori and Brighenti foundries.^[4] By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many parishes had their own teams of bell-ringers, and some had more than one team.^[2]

In 1912, the Unione Campanari Bolognesi was founded by 34 members to preserve and transmit the local system of bell ringing. Since 1920, the association has had its seat in the room below the bell chamber of San Petronio. The Consulta tra le Antiche Istituzioni Bolognesi describes the association as active in an area including the dioceses of Bologna, Imola and Faenza.^[5]

Bolognese bell ringing is rooted in Bologna, with San Petronio as its historical and symbolic centre, but it is not limited to the historic city. The system is practiced in parish bell towers throughout the historical province of Bologna, today largely corresponding to the Metropolitan City of Bologna, including the city, the plain, the hills and the Apennine area.

Technical sources describe the Bolognese system as having originated in Bologna in the 16th century and as having spread through a large part of Emilia.^[6] In institutional and associative terms, the organized community of Bolognese bell-ringers extends especially into neighbouring diocesan territories, particularly Imola and Faenza.^[5][2]

In this sense, Bolognese bell ringing was not only an urban or monumental practice. It was also part of the ordinary soundscape of parish churches in villages, small towns, rural areas, hills and Apennine communities within the Bolognese area. Mountain documentation from Monzuno and its surrounding area gives a local example of this wider pattern, describing how even small mountain hamlets traditionally had a church and bell tower, and how bells were used for feast days, mourning, emergencies and community signals.^[7]

Manual ringing remained a defining feature of the local tradition. The Unione Campanari Bolognesi notes that automation and sound reproduction systems, although present as a risk for the tradition, were little used in the Bolognese area compared with the persistence of traditional manual ringing.^[2]

Related practices and conservation activities are documented in neighbouring Emilian and Romagnol areas. Heritage-protection guidelines for historic bell heritage were shared by the heritage authority for the metropolitan city of Bologna and the provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Ferrara, together with the Unione Campanari Bolognesi, the Gruppo Campanari Padre Stanislao Mattei, the Associazione Campanari Ferraresi, the Unione Campanari Modenesi "Alberto Corni" and the Unione Campanari Reggiani.^[8]

The Bolognese system may therefore be described as a local and regional bell-ringing tradition rooted in Bologna, spread through the Bolognese plain, hills and Apennines, and connected with related Emilian, Romagnol and Apennine border practices.

The system is mainly associated with ensembles of four or five bells, and is sometimes used for sets of six. Its classical ensemble is the quarto, a four-bell concert. The bells are traditionally named according to size: grossa, mezzana, mezzanella and piccola.^[9]

The bells are mounted on a wooden structure traditionally called the castello, and are flanked by a wooden support known as the capra, capretta or cavalletta. They are not normally operated from the ground floor by long ropes. Instead, the ringers climb to the top of the bell tower and work in direct contact with the bells and their mechanisms.^[6]

Ringers can perform in two main positions. Some stand within the frame, in front of the bells, pulling the ropes and controlling the clappers. Others stand above the frame, where they help raise or control the bell by acting directly on the wooden support. These upper ringers are known as travaroli, because they stand on the travi, or beams.^[10][6]

The Unione Campanari Bolognesi describes Bolognese bell ringing as an art requiring talent and long training under a master bell-ringer.^[10]

The distinctiveness of the Bolognese system depends not only on its repertoire, but also on the physical construction and mounting of the bells. It is a form of full-circle ringing: during solemn performances the bells may complete rotations of 360 degrees.^[6]

The bell is generally mounted outside the wooden headstock and outside the ideal line connecting the rotation pivots. The headstock is usually made of wood and is relatively light, about one ninth of the weight of the bell, allowing a fast swinging movement. A wooden side element, the cavalletta, carries the short operating rope.^[6]

The clapper is also adapted to the system. It is a flying clapper, striking the bronze during rotation. For ordinary low oscillation, a removable wooden weight may be added to the lower stem of the clapper and removed during solemn full-circle ringing.^[6]

The bells are placed inside the bell chamber, normally aligned and arranged so that their movement can be coordinated by ringers standing close to them. The preservation of the Bolognese system therefore concerns not only the bells as bronze objects, but also the working equipment of the bell chamber: wooden frames, bridges, rails, headstocks, clappers, posts and ringing positions.^[8]

The Bolognese system is based on both the physical movement of the bells and the tonal organization of the ensemble. In the classical four-bell doppio, the sequence of the bells is conceived as descending, from the highest-pitched bell to the lowest-pitched bell.^[9]

The bells have traditional technical names based on their size: piccola, mezzanella, mezzana and grossa. In some Apennine areas and in parts of the plain near the Ferrarese border, the terminology differs, with mezzana and mezzanella used in variant ways.^[9]

Bolognese bell concerts may be organized according to different tonal structures. The Unione Campanari Bolognesi describes several common and historical arrangements, including major-sixth concerts, major concerts, minor concerts, concerts with an augmented fourth, five-bell concerts and rarer six-bell concerts. The four-bell structure remains the traditional core of the system.^[9]

Ringing sequences are memorized and transmitted as rhythmic patterns corresponding to the bells. This makes the Bolognese system both a physical and a musical practice: the available pitches are limited by the number of bells, but the order and rhythm of the strokes produce a codified repertoire.

In Bolognese bell ringing, sets of bells are rung using four closely related techniques: scampanio, doppio a cappio, tirate basse and doppio a trave.^[10] These techniques may be grouped into three main families: doppio, tirabasse and scampanio.

The bell tower of San Petronio is regarded as the historical centre of the Bolognese system. It is the place to which the origins of the system are generally traced, and it has housed the seat of the Unione Campanari Bolognesi since 1920.^[1][5]

The bell tower of the Cathedral of San Pietro contains the largest bell ensemble documented as playable according to the Bolognese system. Its four bells weigh about 65 quintals in total. The largest bell, known as la Nonna, was cast in 1595 and weighs about 33 quintals.^[11]

The doppio of San Pietro may require up to 23 ringers. The bells are not equipped with electrification, automation or electronic reproduction; their sound depends on the manual skill of the bell-ringers.^[11] Bologna Welcome also describes San Pietro's bell tower as 70 metres high and records the weight of la Nonna as 33 quintals.^[12]

Other important Bolognese bell towers associated with the tradition include San Giacomo Maggiore, Santa Maria dei Servi, San Domenico, San Luca, San Girolamo della Certosa, San Procolo and Santi Vitale e Agricola. Alongside the monumental urban towers, the tradition is preserved in many parish towers across the Bolognese plain, hills and Apennine valleys.

Bolognese bell ringing is closely connected with local bell founding and with the construction of wooden frames suitable for full-circle manual ringing. The technique requires bells, headstocks, clappers, supports and bell chambers adapted to the direct physical control of the ringers.

A major role in the modern development of Bolognese bell founding was played by the Rasori and Brighenti foundries. The Brighenti foundry is documented from 1813, when Gaetano Brighenti took over the bell foundry of Angelo Rasori near Porta Galliera in Bologna.^[4] The Rasori foundry represented an earlier phase of Bolognese bell founding before its acquisition by Brighenti.^[13]

Under Giuseppe Brighenti, the firm reached its period of greatest prosperity and received the title of Pontifical Foundry from Pope Pius X.^[4] After Giuseppe Brighenti's death, the foundry passed to later members of the family, including Cesare Brighenti. From 1952 the company operated as Fonderia Emiliana Metalli Brighenti, with Vincenzo as administrator and Cesare as technical director. The casting of bells and artistic and technical works continued until the closure of the foundry on 28 June 1958.^[4]

Before its closure, the foundry produced small five-bell concerts mounted on frames equipped for the Bolognese system. One of these mini-concerts was later exhibited in Bologna and used for the promotion of manual bell ringing.^[4]

The main association connected with the tradition is the Unione Campanari Bolognesi, founded in 1912 to preserve and transmit the local system of bell ringing. Since 1920 it has been based below the bell chamber of San Petronio.^[5][14] The Municipality of Bologna describes it as one of the main groups responsible for the preservation and transmission of the tradition.^[1][4]

The statute of the Unione Campanari Bolognesi defines the association's aims as maintaining and promoting the centuries-old tradition of ringing sacred bells according to the Bolognese system, favouring and protecting bell ringing in individual towers, collaborating with civil and religious institutions involved in the management and restoration of bell towers and frames, and transmitting manual bell ringing through academies, mobile concerts and teaching activities.^[15]

Another historic association is the Gruppo Campanari Padre Stanislao Mattei of Casalecchio di Reno, active since 1934 and founded by bell-ringers linked to the historic Brighenti foundry.^[16] A third organization, Associazione Campane in Concerto of San Matteo della Decima, promotes the tradition through a mobile structure of bells used for public events and demonstrations.^[1][4]

Transmission traditionally takes place through apprenticeship with experienced ringers. Training involves not only learning rhythmic sequences, but also acquiring the physical knowledge needed to move heavy bells safely inside the tower. The Unione Campanari Bolognesi describes the education and training of young bell-ringers as essential to the future of the tradition, and records the creation of dedicated bell-ringing schools or training towers at Villa Pallavicini in Bologna in 1993, Monghidoro in 2001 and Pieve di Cento in 2006. An introductory course to the art of bell ringing was also held in 1990–1991 in collaboration with the Municipality of Bologna.^[17]

Other training or demonstration places have been documented historically or in public heritage events, including Monghidoro, Pieve di Cento, Tignano near Sasso Marconi, Recovato near Castelfranco Emilia, Villa Bagno near Reggio Emilia and Fontanaluccia near Frassinoro.^[18]

Competitions and public demonstrations also contribute to the transmission of the system. The Unione Campanari Bolognesi describes competitions in which teams are divided by category, perform the required pieces and receive points according to the errors made; the winning team is therefore the one with the fewest errors. The association promotes the annual Gara delle Coppe, traditionally held in early autumn.^[17]

Bolognese bell-ringers also take part in the wider Italian circuit of national bell-ringing gatherings. The national rally of bell-ringers is organized annually in a different locality in collaboration with the Federazione Nazionale Suonatori di Campane. The Bolognese area has hosted several editions of the national rally, including Cento in 2012, Casalecchio di Reno in 2014 and Imola in 2023.^[19][20][21] Youth meetings also form part of the local tradition through the Raduno dei Giovani Campanari, intended to promote knowledge, friendship and continuity among younger bell-ringers.^[17]

Among the modern figures associated with the documentation and public promotion of the Bolognese tradition was Augusto Bonacini, also known as Frate Albaro, author of works on Bolognese bells and bell-ringers. On 10 June 1934 he organized the first Accademia di arte campanaria bolognese on the tower of San Petronio, an event attended by civil and religious authorities. The same concert was broadcast by radio on 1 July 1934.^[17]

Cesare Brighenti was another figure linking bell founding and bell ringing. A descendant of the historic Brighenti foundry of Bologna and himself a bell founder, he encouraged the foundation of the Gruppo Campanari Padre Stanislao Mattei in 1934.^[16]

The group was named after Stanislao Mattei, the Bolognese Franciscan musician and teacher associated with the city's musical tradition. The name reflects the connection between the art of bell ringing and Bologna's wider musical culture.

The preservation of Bolognese bell ringing depends on both intangible and material factors. The technique requires trained ringers and memorized repertoires, but also bell chambers, wooden frames, headstocks, clappers, bridges, rails and ringing positions arranged according to strict functional requirements.

The heritage guidelines for historic bell heritage state that, in the Bolognese and Reggian systems, the dimensional relationships between the bell and the other structural elements are subject to strict rules, and that even small deviations may compromise the possibility of performance.^[8] Essential requirements include a stable frame, the possibility of full rotation, the correct disposition of the bells in the bell chamber, adequate manoeuvring space for all required ringers, suitable headstocks and clappers, and accessible ringing positions.^[8]

For towers where doppio a trave is performed, the guidelines also require a dedicated level for the travaroli, accessible and free from structures that could obstruct the movements of the ringers.^[8] The conservation of the Bolognese system is therefore inseparable from the conservation of the bell chamber as a working space.

In 2025, Bolognese bell ringing was recognized by the Municipality of Bologna as a De.Co. traditional knowledge practice. The recognition identifies the tradition as a distinctive element of Bologna's intangible cultural heritage, rooted in San Petronio and maintained by local bell-ringing associations.^[1]

The preservation of the tradition is also connected with the protection of historic bell towers, wooden frames and bells. In 2019, an agreement was signed with the heritage authority for the metropolitan city of Bologna and the provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Ferrara to protect and enhance historic bell heritage.^[4]

Bolognese bell ringing is connected with the wider tradition of manual bell ringing. In December 2024, Manual bell ringing was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a transnational element involving Spain and Italy. The UNESCO recognition concerns the broader tradition of manual bell ringing, including material elements such as bell towers, bell chambers, frames and bells, and intangible elements such as knowledge, techniques, gestures, movement practices and sound.^[3]

• Bell ringing
• Full circle ringing
• Veronese bell ringing
• Basilica of San Petronio
• Bologna Cathedral
• Campanology
• Intangible cultural heritage

• Bonacini, Augusto. Le campane di Bologna. Bologna: Stabilimenti poligrafici riuniti, 1931.
• Bonacini, Augusto. Campane e campanari: storia, tecnica e polemica dell'arte campanistica nelle provincie di Bologna e di Modena. Modena: Società tipografica modenese, 1934. OCLC 797311012
• Bosi, Luciano. Din, dèn, dan, dón: lineamenti di storia delle campane e loro utilizzo nella tradizione bolognese-modenese. Zocca: Promoappennino, 1998.
• Fanti, Mario. Campane e campanari bolognesi: nel cinquantesimo di fondazione della Unione campanari bolognesi, 1912-1962. Bologna: Tip. Vighi e Rizzoli, 1962.
• Fanti, Mario. "Suonare a doppio". Il Carrobbio, 11, 1985, pp. 99–103.
• Fanti, Mario, ed. Campanili e campane di Bologna e del Bolognese. Casalecchio di Reno: Grafis; Bologna: Cassa di Risparmio di Bologna, 1992.
• Gruppo Campanari Padre Stanislao Mattei. Suoni di campane: raccolta di sistemi di suono tradizionali italiani ed europei, con un breve percorso fotografico attraverso le curiosità dei campanili bolognesi. Bologna: Litografia Zucchini, 2004.
• Gruppo Campanari Padre Stanislao Mattei. Bologna 1934-2014: 80 anni di campane. Storia e immagini. Bologna: Gruppo Campanari Padre Stanislao Mattei, 2014.
• Monari, Maurizio. "L'arte campanaria nella tradizione bolognese". Al sas, 25, 2012, pp. 115–127.
• Montanari, Claudio. Il campanaro musicista: la tradizione delle campane nell'area bolognese. Lucca: Libreria Musicale Italiana, 2007. ISBN 978-88-7096-506-3
• Musolesi, Claudio. "Le campane equipaggiate alla bolognese". Bologna incontri, 9, 1985, pp. 40–42.
• Rossi, Giuseppe Carlo. "I maestri delle campane". Strenna storica bolognese, 5, 1955, pp. 131–138.
• Stefanelli, Evaristo. Campanili, campane e campanari di Bologna. Rovigo: Istituto Padano di Arti Grafiche, 1975.
• Avenali, Michele, ed. Linee guida per la tutela del patrimonio campanario. Allegato A dell'Intesa operativa per la tutela e la valorizzazione del patrimonio campanario storico. Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Bologna e per le province di Modena, Reggio Emilia e Ferrara.

• Unione Campanari Bolognesi (in Italian)
• Gruppo Campanari Padre Stanislao Mattei (in Italian)
• Campane in Concerto (in Italian)
• De.Co. Bologna – Campaneria Bolognese (in Italian)
• Il sistema Bolognese by Matteo Padovani, Associazione Italiana di Campanologia (in Italian)
• Bologna: guida ai campanili del centro storico, Associazione Italiana di Campanologia (in Italian)
• Video of a simple concert in Bologna Cathedral, with the largest bell playable according to the Bolognese system
• Video of a scappata in the Cathedral of Ferrara
• Video showing how one bell is rung with ropes
• The Bolognese bell-ringing system explained by Campanologia.org (archived, in Italian)