Antagnod’s Bell tower: but how many times does it ring?

The onion-shaped dome, the marble statue of the Immaculate Conception and the ten bells are its pride and beauty!

From time immemorial the bells of the mountain villages have marked the passing of the hours to the villagers and peasants, announce the holidays, communicate the death of an inhabitant of the village, remind the most devout that the Marian prayer should be recited three times a day: " at dawn, at noon and at sunset ". At these times a bell is rung, sometimes called the "Angelus bell" or "Ave Maria bell".

In the parish of San Martino in Antagnod, the Angelus is played at 7.00 am and at 6.15 pm, usually before the evening mass, or at 7.45 pm, before the prière in the month of May dedicated to Madonna.
The ringing of the midday Angelus instead takes place at 11.30 as in the whole of the Aosta Valley to remember that Calvin had been chicked out to our region, with the sound of bells when he tried to bring Protestantism, and it was 11.30!
According to a tradition not confirmed by documents, in fact, the reformed theologian Giovanni Calvino secretly arrived from Switzerland in Valle d'Aosta in 1536 to convert the inhabitants to Protestantism and convince them to join the Swiss Confederation.
The city and ecclesiastical authorities adopted repressive measures to limit his activity and that of his followers, so as to induce him to escape for safety.
To celebrate the narrow escape, La Croce di Calvino was erected in Aosta, locally called Croix-de-Ville, still visible today: the monument consists of a column surmounted by a gray stone cross about 6 meters high.

The church in the provincial capital of Ayas dates back to the 15th century and was enlarged, raised and transformed by the archpriest Dandrès, born in Fontainemore, parish priest of Ayas from 1817 to 1866, who had rebuilt the columns from the squared off Romanesque style to the current, round and slender ones.
He raised the bell tower by 10 meters, modifying it with the construction of a dome, a vault of stars that encloses a large marble statue of the Immaculate Virgin, surmounted by a wooden onion-shaped spire covered with metal sheet and a cross on the top.
Thus importing from the Lys Valley his vision of an even higher bell tower (also the church of Gressoney-La-Trinité has a particular onion shape and a height of about 30 meters, the only ones in the Valle d'Aosta!).
He enriched the entire bell composition with a magnificent concert of ten bells, in tune with each other, which formed a wonderful "carillon" on holidays.

To remember the most important holidays, in fact, the bells ring:
- on the eve: party carillon at 11.30 for 30 minutes
- on the feast day: carillon at 9.30 for 10 minutes
- Sundays: party bells at 9.30 and again at the end of the Holy Mass

There is also a well-defined and precise ritual for the celebration of funerals:
- the day before the funeral in the morning (passà)
For 5 minutes the bells sing the notes F-D repeated 3 times and then the big bell rings with interludes; at the end of the execution, to indicate that the deceased is a man, the big bell still rings 6 times with spaced strokes.
- the day before the funeral in the evening (modè)
The bells intone again the notes F-D (repeated 3 times) then the big bell intervenes with interludes (3 minutes)
After a short interval, the entire composition is repeated two more times if the deceased is a man while it is repeated only once if the deceased is a woman.
- the same day, before the funeral: F-D + 1st swing bell with interludes
- at the cemetery after the celebration: F-D + 1st swing bell with interludes

Currently, the bells of Antagnod do not mark the night hours with their jingles, but they ring in the morning with the Angelus of 7.00 and end with 10 strokes at 22.00 in the evening.

The bell tower has undergone restoration in recent decades: in the 90s the copper dome was rebuilt, replacing the deteriorated tin one on which a yellow paint was applied to protect against the elements and in the summer of 2017 it was repainted with a great work of experts, hung with ropes and harness, and the clocks have been repainted by hand on both sides.

In the years 2008-11 also the interior of the church and in particular the high altar received a major renovation: but to find out more you can read the book The sense of wonder by Mara Borzone, with the collaboration of Piermauro Reboulaz, where all the works are listed.

Curiosity
For those wishing to learn more, in the book Auguste Clos - Mémoire de la Paroisse d’Ayas (1889) by Saverio Favre, the name of the bells and their weight are indicated as well as the history of the bell tower.

1. (La grande) Sainte Trinité: 124 myria
  2. (Seconde) Marie Immaculée: 72 myria
  3. Saint Martin: 48 myria
  4. Saint Grat: 38 myria
  5. Auxilium Christianorum: 28 myria
  6. Sainte Barbe: 18 myria
  7. Saint Joconde: 14 myria
  8. Saint Anselme: 10 myria
  9. Saint Roch: 8 myria
10. Saint Antoine: 6 myria

Les 8 premières on été bénites par le révérend vicaire capitulaire M. le prévôt Jans, le 10 août 1862, et les 2 autres par le révérend Dandrès le 11 septembre même année.

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28-06-2022

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We spent a few days before Easter in wonderful Champoluc, we decided to stay at L'Aiglon. The hotel has great location in the village, very friendly staff; most helpful when it comes to answer questio...read more

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18-04-2022

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We have stayed here several times. First visit since the pandemic. The warm Italian welcome ever present. Such a friendly family run hotel. Spotlessly clean, very comfy, lovely views, great breakfast and next to the ski lift for Antagnod mini ski area so quiet on the slopes perfect. We will return again and again. Brandy measures in the bar still extremely generous! Thank you all the staff!

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Champion hotel in Champoluc

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02-02-2022