The majestic bell tower of the central church of Soresina (Cremona) was built a short distance from the temple in 1839 to replace the crumbling Romanesque tower. Since 1841, the bell tower has had a pharaonic concert of 12 bells, with a total weight of over 11 tonnes. In the course of their history, many original bells cracked during their use. The concert is pitched in the scale of B flat major.

The twelve bells are rung because the town celebrates Saint Syrus, the patron saint of Soresina (Italy). On this occasion, these twelve bells are once again rung manually. The bells now have ropes and are rung by bellringers, at least fifteen are needed to ring all the bells. I was invited to ring the inauguration of the new bell ropes.

B flat - c' - d' - e' flat - f' - g' - a' flat - a' - b' flat - c'' - d'' - e'' flat

Bells I, II, III, IV and VI original from 1841
V bell recast in 1969
VII bell recast in 1900
VIII bell recast in 1969
IX bell recast in 1909
X bell paid for by the state in 1950
XI bell recast in 2002
XII bell recast in 1850

The oldest document mentioning the existence of the church dates back to 1175, when a Romanesque building from the 10th century is mentioned. The new church was built in Mannerist style in 1588, after the laying of the foundation stone by the bishop who was to become Pope Gregory XIV. The interior is completely frescoed by the best local painter of the 17th century, helped by his most faithful pupil. The church houses a large number of Baroque and Renaissance art treasures, complemented by a huge, fully functioning pipe organ. The current façade of the church traces the interior style of a majestic temple and was built in 1941 to replace the second façade, which had ruined the original 16th century one.

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