Even though secularisation is progressing even in the Mediterranean nation, the vast majority of Italians are still committed to the Catholic Church.
The fact that the church also dominates everyday life acoustically apparently went too far for some residents in the tranquil little town of San Dorligo della Valle near Trieste on the northern Adriatic.
The dispute even culminated in the confiscation of the bells by the public prosecutor's office.
But from the beginning.
The dispute began in 2022, when around 150 of the approximately 5,700 residents of San Dorligo complained about the ringing of St Ulrich's Church and signed a protest petition.
They felt that the bells were ringing too loudly and too frequently.
In fact, the two priests, Don Klemen Zalar and Don Roy Benas, had the bell tower programmed to chime every quarter of an hour between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. - with two strokes on the first quarter of an hour, two strokes on the half hour and six strokes on three quarters of an hour.
Bells have been ringing again since last April
The residents felt this was an unreasonable nuisance and called in the public prosecutor, who opened proceedings - and took action: in 2022, the bells were even confiscated because the authorities felt the disturbance was too great.
The dispute continued - and eventually ended up in court. The regional newspaper"Il Piccolo" documented the bizarre case and even labelled it a "bell war".
One release and another confiscation later, the church bells have been ringing regularly again in the small Italian town since last April - albeit less frequently.
The responsible diocese of Trieste issued a new decree for all parishes to calm the situation.
In some places, residents complain about church bells for certain reasons. katholisch.de explains when bells ring, how and how loudly - and why they are not allowed to ring even if the Pope dies.
The legal proceedings against the two priests continued.
Last Friday, the legal dispute ended with a fine. The two priests - who now work in other parishes - were in the dock for disturbing the peace. With a payment of around 400 euros each, further criminal prosecution was dropped.
The priests are not considered to have a criminal record. This ends a chapter that the priests' lawyer described as "painful", according to"Il Piccolo".
All's well that ends well?
"It is important that the bell tower, a point of reference for the entire town of San Dorligo, is put back into operation," said the lawyer. The other important aspect is that the proceedings end without criminal consequences for the clergy. The defence lawyer emphasised that there is now a much more relaxed atmosphere in the town than at the time of the legal dispute. So all's well that ends well?
Not quite. At the weekend, the accused priest Zalar confirmed to"Il Piccolo": "I am not guilty of what happened in connection with the bells of the parish church of Sant'Ulderico," said the 45-year-old.
"So I will sue those who have accused me of a crime for defamation." He had only wanted to defend the Catholic Church - and apparently literally heard something ringing: "I even believe that I was involved in a situation of village rivalries and antipathies that went beyond the issue of bells." Sounds like the last bell in this story hasn't been rung yet.