Guiseppe Gianotto, the legal representative of the Pramaggiore church, has been fined over 1,312 euro by the regional environmental protection agency. The agency's officials stated that the church bells were too noisy and had exceeded normal noise pollution levels. Prammagiore is a town in the province of Venice.
The priest told his parishioners about the fine during the Sunday mass. The pastor believes that the complaint against the church was brought by a new resident unaccustomed to the sound of bells ringing. He noted that the permitted maximum was exceeded by only a few decibels.
In order to avoid new fines Guiseppe Gianotto reduced the duration of the bells ringing to 60 seconds, while in accordance with the centuries-old tradition the bells usually rang for several minutes. The environmental protection agency's experts elaborated that it was the only way to stay within the authorized limits of noise pollution.
However, the decision of the authorities to penalize the priest has outraged the church parishioners. They pledged to support Guiseppe Gianotto, who is going to appeal against the fine, which many of Pramaggiore residents consider unfair.
