Bell-ringing by hand
In 2017 two cultural associations, Hispania Nostra (based in Madrid) and Campaneros de Albaida (Campaners d’Albaida), in Valencia, with their partner the International bell-ringing museum or Museo MitMac (also in Albaida), joined forces to celebrate the European Cultural Heritage Year in 2018 with manual bell-ringing across Spain and Europe, as it is a common sound language which is in danger of extinction in some countries. The final objective of this initiative was that UNESCO declare it Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Having successfully organised the European bell-ringing in 21 st April 2018, with over 320 bell-towers taking part (top left image), Spain declared one year later bell-ringing by hand to be «Intangible Cultural Heritage». This has meant that this endangered heritage can be protected and that administrations such as the Spanish associations can work efficiently with their European and American counterparts, who share the same sound heritage, so as to achieve recognition by UNESCO.
Given the participation of civil society, Hispania Nostra, Campaners d’Albaida and MitMac joined forces in Sedano in Las Loras Geopark, where they presented a web page which georeferences bell-towers and includes videos and data about the bell-ringing on the 21st April 2018, and which has received special support from Europa Nostra in 2018 and Europa Nostra Digital Agora in June 2020, and from Queen Leticia in June 2019 (top right image).
Paz Cabello Carro, PhD in History of Art, is member of the Corps of Museum Curators. Master’s in Public Management;For 17 years she was the Director of the Museo de América (Madrid) and was also Head of Conservation of the National Heritage. She is on the Board of Hispania Nostra and Urbs Regia Orígenes de Europa and is Editor of Urbs Regia magazine. She has published widely.