For whom the bell tolls

The main bell of the Tarxien parish church was raised back to its full glory yesterday morning, after it was saved in the nick of time from serious cracking.

Campanologist Kenneth Cauchi, who co-ordinated and supervised the restoration project, explained how a committee has been set up to restore all seven historic bells of the Tarxien parish church.

The project was obviously close to the Tarxien people's hearts as it was thanks to their contributions that the restoration could be completed. Their philanthropy, however, has been appreciated and there is a Latin inscription on the obverse side of the bell commemorating its commissioning and their zeal.

The project's first target was the biggest and main bell, which has been christened Leonide in honour of Pope Leo XIII. The bell was cast by Maltese bell founder Giuliano Cauchi of Cospicua in 1887. The surface of the bell is adorned with the typical decorative reliefs characteristic of the Cauchi bell foundry, the most predominant being drapery motifs found in the top part of the bell which had been used for the first time by Giuliano's father, Salvatore, in 1863.

Other decorative relief consists of garlands and angels which were all originally made in 1877 for a bell at St Publius church in Floriana. The waist of the bell is further adorned by iconographic reliefs of the Annunciation, St Joseph and the child Jesus, and Pope Leo XIII.

A marble plaque affixed in the belfry commemorates the event in Italian and also provides weight for the bell, which is about 2,430 kilos.