What is Bell tower?
[[Image:Belfry (PSF).jpg|250px|right]] A '''bell tower''' (also '''belfry''' or '''''campanile''''') is a [[tower]] which contains one or more [[Bell (instrument)|bell]]s, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. They are usually built at a height that allows the [[sound]] to be heard at some distance.<ref name=Sturgis287>Russell Sturgis; Francis A. Davis, ''Sturgis' Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture and Building: An Unabridged Reprint of the 1901-2 Edition'', Vol. I, (Newburyport: Dover Publications, 2013), p. 287</ref> There are different ways to make the bells in a bell tower ring. In many cases, the bell is rung by pulling on a [[rope]] that is joined to the bell, making it swing on a [[hinge]] and the [[Clapper (musical instrument)|clapper]] hit the bell. Another way is to use a [[Keyboard instrument|keyboard]] called a [[carillon]]. Sometimes, the bells are controlled by a [[clock]] mechanism or a [[computer]]. This lets them ring at certain times without the need for a human to do it. == History == There are no examples of bell towers in [[Ancient history|antiquity]]. The first to use a bell tower in a [[Church (building)|church]] was [[Paulinus of Nola]], about the start of the [[5th century]].<ref name=Guthrie465.466>James Cargill Guthrie, ''The Vale of Strathmore: Its Scenes and Legends'' (Edinburgh: W. Paterson, 1875), p. 465</ref> Bell towers in [[Italy]] have almost always been plain [[wikt:vertical|vertical]] [[tower]]s not attached to a [[building]] ({{lang-it|campanile}}). From the beginning, bell towers in [[northern Europe]] have been attached to churches.<ref name=Sturgis287/> They were known of in [[England]] at least by the time of [[Bede]]. When [[Hilda of Whitby|Hilda, Abbess of Whitby]] died (680 [[AD]]), a nun reported hearing the sound of a [[bell]].<ref name=Guthrie465.466/> Bell towers are repeatedly mentioned during the [[8th century]]. One was the campanile of [[St. Peter's Basilica]] at [[Rome]].<ref name=Guthrie465.466/> === Bernini's bell towers === [[Gian