The Maltese in the past used to ring church bells to drown out the thunder. They also used to ring them as a prayer for rain, to mourn the dead and celebrate birth, says Kenneth Cauchi, a campanologist who has written a thesis on bell restoration in Malta.
He tells Rosanne Zammit in an interview that Malta has an 'intangible cultural heritage' of bell-ringing which deserves to be preserved (see video)