TO REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF LUIGI BERGAMO OF VILLEDIEU-LES-POÊLES, MANCHE, FRANCE, AND TO EXTEND DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS LOVING FAMILY AND HIS MANY FRIENDS.
Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives was saddened to learn of the death of Luigi Bergamo at the age of seventy-six on Wednesday March 17, 2021; and
Whereas, born in the Italian Tyrol, in Bolzano, in 1945, Mr. Bergamo immigrated with his family to Lyon, France, after the Second World War; and
Whereas, a brilliant secondary education and a diploma in higher mathematics allowed him to enter the Ecole Centrale Paris, where he earned a degree in general engineering in 1968. A few years later, he created an art foundry in Dinan, in the Côtes-d´Armor, before taking over the management of the Villedieu bell foundry, where he succeeded Marguerite Cornille in 1981 and led the flagship Cornille Havard establishment for twenty-five years; and
Whereas, with a keen concern for innovation, Mr. Bergamo used his engineering expertise to perfect the technical quality of the bells. The foundry began using computers to digitize the profiles of the bells and set up the differential tuning to improve their sound; and
Whereas, another of his innovations involved the casting of the bells with the mold upside down to obtain a more compact alloy and to increase their tonnage; and
Whereas, with his beloved wife Françoise, who ran the establishment side of the foundry, he helped to restore the bell to its status as a sacred art that broadcasts a message by creating the sets and adding an additional symbolic dimension with the assistance of art historians, theologians, and artists; and
Whereas, in 1998, Luigi Bergamo was appointed master of art by Catherine Trautmann, then France's Minister of Culture, and in the early 2000s, the Villedieu foundry ranked among world leaders in bell founders; and
Whereas, he retired in 2006, and handed over the management of the establishment to his son Paul while he retained an advisory role in the company on the manufacturing and installation part of the bells. He wrote memoirs in the form of technical notes and was pleased that campanar art would long endure as a beautiful part of special events throughout Europe; and
Whereas, a bell cast by the Cornille Havard foundry was purchased by the French government, donated to the World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, and presented by Françoise and Luigi Bergamo when it opened; and
Whereas, Mr. Bergamo served as the 2006 Team Leader for the Rotary International Group Study Exchange Team from Normandy that spent four weeks in South Carolina, including a full week in Aiken. In return, House staff member Richard Pearce led the Rotary Group Study Exchange Team from South Carolina that was hosted by Mr. Bergamo, his fellow Rotarians, his family, and his team members in Normandy for five weeks in the spring of 2006. Mr. Bergamo later became a Rotary International district governor who lived Rotarians' Four Way Test of the Things We Think, Say, and Do to its fullest; and
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are grateful for the life and legacy of Luigi Bergamo and for the example of excellence and joy he set for all who knew him. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, remember and celebrate the life of Luigi Bergamo of Villedieu-les-Poêles, Manche, France, and extend their deepest sympathy to his loving family and his many friends.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Luigi Bergamo.