Bell from Columbus's ship goes back to Spain

The bronze bell that rang out from Christopher Columbus's flagship Santa Maria when the explorer first saw America has been returned to a Spanish auction house after a legal dispute with Portugal, in whose waters the bell was found.

The bronze bell that rang out from Christopher Columbus's flagship Santa Maria when the explorer first saw America has been returned to a Spanish auction house after a legal dispute with Portugal, in whose waters the bell was found.

In a ruling 10 days ago, a Spanish criminal court judge rejected Portugal's claim that the broken bell - found by a professional diver in 1994 inside a Spanish galleon in shallow waters just off Portugal - had been stolen from Lisbon.

The bell, seized by Spanish police in February 2003 at the request of Portugal three days before its planned auction in Madrid, was returned on 11 June to the Barcelona-based auctioneers Gestion de Activos y Subastas, and is now in a safe in a Madrid bank. David del Val Catala, the director of the auction house, said: "We have won the first round."

A Spanish civil court judge has scheduled a hearing for 11 July on whether Portugal can still claim the bell. But even if the judge rules in favour of Portugal, its government would have to pay for it.Claudio Bonifacio, a Spanish historian specialising in shipwrecks and sunken treasures, says it is the oldest ship's bell ever recovered, and the only known relic from Columbus's first journey across the Atlantic. "For me there is absolutely no doubt as to its authenticity," he said yesterday. It also symbolises the moment when European settlers first glimpsed the New World.

The Spanish news agency Efe said yesterday the bell had been appraised at €30 to €50m (£20 to £33m). The Spanish government has the right to match the winning bid when the bell is auctioned and to take possession of it as part of the country's historical heritage.