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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joe Golder, Agency: Newsflash

The bishop of this beautiful 18th-Century church in Italy has stopped ringing its bells over fears that that could send it toppling over the edge of the cliff.

The San Martino church is located in Valle di Cadore, a small in the Belluno province in the Italian region of Veneto, just over 100 kilometres north of Venice, and the slightest vibration could send it over the edge after landslides suddenly left it standing on the edge

Monsignor Renato Marangoni, who is the Bishop of Belluno-Feltre, has therefore decided to stop ringing the important historical monument’s bells completely.

The Mayor of Valle di Cadore, Marianna Hoffer, had already banned the locals from attending the church back in February due to safety concerns.

Now the diocese has intervened and put a stop to the bells being rung as the vibrations alone could be enough for the last remaining bits of ground under the church to crumble away and send it crashing down the side of the cliff.

A team of experts has also been called in to collect data by using sensors in the desperate bid to determine the right course of action to save the church.

The experts were called in from the University of Parma and the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics of Trieste.

The locals are hoping for a miracle solution to save their church, with Mayor Hoffer quoted in local media are saying: “Everyone here in Valle, but also in the rest of Cadore, would be happy to lend a hand to consolidate and reopen this building for worship. But we need the technical conditions to do so.”