My introduction to Capanni Bells was from a sporty red Citroën. Fellow ag journalist Joel Reichenburg and I were winding our way down from the Apennine Mountains when we whizzed past the bell yard. Joel asked, “What was that?” “Bells,” I said. “Turn around. We’ve got to check this out.”

And that’s how we met Paolo Capanni, the current owner of Capanni Bells, a 500-plus-year-old bell foundry. It is from here at the foot of the mountains in north central Italy that the manufacturer makes and repairs bells as well as electronic scoreboards and timers.