• La Benemérita found her in a metal waste management center in Caravaca de la Cruz

• A crime of forcible theft and a crime of receptiveness has been clarified

• The recovered item, which topped a hermitage declared BIC, will return to its original place

July 25, 2024. The Civil Guard of the Region of Murcia, within the framework of the ‘Plan for the Defense of the Spanish Historical Heritage’, has developed the operation ‘Bell Espadaña’, in which a theft happened in 2013 has been clarified and has recovered a bell originating from the seventeenth century that crowned the hermitage of a popular Lorca estate, known as Colonia de Santa Teresa.

The delegate of the Government, Mariola Guevara, and the chief colonel of the Area of Murcia, Francisco Pulido, accompanied by part of the civil guards who have participated in the operation, have delivered to their legitimate owner the stolen bell for restitution to the hermitage, declared Asset of Cultural Interest.

The proceedings began when civil guards from the Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA), within their specific duties, carried out an inspection at a metal recycling company in Caravaca de la Cruz.

Guevara has valued the importance of acting and valued the patient and rigorous work of the Civil Guard, which always concludes in brilliant performances like this one. “The Civil Guard is absolutely committed to defending our historical heritage and today we are in luck because we return this valuable element to its rightful owner so that the bell can regain its place on the hermitage’s spade,” said the government delegate.

Operation development

During the inspection, the civil guards found a bronze bell with a weight of 57 kilograms and a height of 55 centimeters that caught their attention, among other things, for the inscriptions carried by it: a floristed cross and the inscription “Remelted for Fabio Carreño 1653”, so that, being part of a Good of Cultural Interest, it proceeded to its seizure and began the investigations to find out its origin and legal or regulatory situation.

A study of the piece in question, carried out by a doctor in History and Archaeology, of the Historical Heritage Service, General Directorate of Heritage of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia (CARM), has come to determine that we are facing a piece refused in 1959, incorporating a previous bell dating from 1653. Therefore, it is an element of historical value, originating in the 17th century, of unknown origin, but removed from the hermitage of the Colony of Santa Teresa.

The research came to fruition shortly after, when it was found that the bell had been removed in May 2013, from the popularly known hermitage of the Colonia de Santa Teresa estate, in the Lorca district of Doña Inés. In addition, the efforts made by the civil guards of the Investigation Area of Caravaca de la Cruz have led to the clarification of this theft and the identification and location of a person, who has been detained for his connection with both the theft of the bell and its subsequent reception.

The Colonel Chief of the 5th Zone, Francisco Pulido, has indicated that during the investigation carried out, the Civil Guard has found indications that the theft, due to the visibility and history associated with this historical element, was carried out on request and that, subsequently, it ended up selling it to the metal recycling company.

Fernando Sanchez, owner of the estate where the hermitage is located, has shown his joy for having recovered the bell stolen eleven years ago. “I no longer trusted to recover it, so I am crazy happy and grateful to the Civil Guard for finding it and returning it to me, because this encourages me to restore the hermitage itself and that we can all enjoy it,” he said.

The event to hand over the bell was also attended by the Director General of Cultural Heritage of the Autonomous Community, José Francisco Lajara, and the deputy mayor of the City of Lorca, Juan Miguel Bayonas.