Alziro Bergonzo (30 December 1906 – 22 May 1997) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

architect and painter. His primary style was the rationalized ''Stile Littorio''. He was the son of Luigi Bergonzo, an engineering graduate from Bern who had moved to Bergamo in the early 1900s. He studied at the Liceo Sarpi, before enrolling at the Faculty of Architecture at the

Polytechnic University of Milan The Polytechnic University of Milan () is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 42,000 students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and higher education courses in engineering, architecture and design. Founded in 186 ...

in 1925, where he met

Franco Albini Franco Albini (17 October 1905 – 1 November 1977) was an Italian Neo-Rationalist architect, designer and university instructor in design. A native of Robbiate, near Milan, Albini obtained his degree in architecture at Politecnico di Milano U ...

and . His studies were interrupted by military service, but he graduated in 1933. He worked in his father's established studio, which helped him get to know directly other renowned professionals and artists in the field of decoration. The quality of his early work was noted and he began to receive commissions from various public and private clients, most often in Bergamo. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

broke out, he moved his studio to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he participated in the competition of the EU42 and collaborated with

Luigi Moretti Luigi Walter Moretti (2 January 1907 – 14 July 1973) was an Italian architect. Active especially in Italy since the thirties, he designed buildings such as the Watergate Complex in Washington DC, The Academy of Fencing, and ''Il Girasole'' (" ...

for the

Foro Italico Foro Italico is a sports complex in Rome, Italy, on the slopes of Monte Mario. It was built between 1928 and 1938 as the Foro Mussolini (literally Mussolini's Forum) under the design of Enrico Del Debbio and, later, Luigi Moretti. Inspired ...

. After the war, he was purged from the professional register for political reasons, but in 1946 he was reinstated and won a competition for the

Lido di Venezia The Lido, or Venice Lido ( it, Lido di Venezia), is an barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy; it is home to about 20,400 residents. The Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido late August/early September. Geography Th ...

. Bergonzo's post-war work includes the Casa Trussardi in Bergammo, the

Teatro Manzoni The Teatro Manzoni is a theatre in the northern Italian city of Milan, located on the Via Manzoni. Opened in 1870 it was originally called the ''Teatro sociale di Milano'', before being renamed after Alessandro Manzoni following his death in 187 ...

in Milan, port works in Saudi Arabia, and a theatre in Cairo. He also designed the fourth City Gate of

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in the mid-1960s. After designing many public works, Bergonzo began to reserve his projects for private clients, at the same time devoting some of his time to painting, especially in the last few years of his life. He died in Milan in 1997, shortly after the opening of his last major work, the new Piazza della Libertà in Bergamo.

Works

* Hotel Franceschetti, passo Presolana (1929) * Casa Pellegrini, Bergamo (1932–33) * Casa del Balilla, Bergamo (1932) * Fountain of , Bergamo (1935) * Colonia elioterapica, Palazzolo sull'Oglio (1935–36) * Casa del Fascio, Caravaggio (1935–37) * Casa del'Opera Nazionale Balilla (now Auditorium Modernissimo), Nembro (1936) * Casa Littoria (now Casa della Libertà), Bergamo (1937–40) * Municipio, Palazzo Italo Balbo, Nembro (1940) * , casello autostradale di Bergamo (1940–41) * Casa Trussardi, Bergamo alta (1945) * , Milan (1946–50) * Palazzo dei congressi, Stresa (1956–57) * Reggiani divisione tessile factory (extension), Bergamo (1957–66) * Chiesa dei Tre Martiri, Rimini * Fourth City Gate, Valletta, Malta (1964–65) File:Bergamo (30807188774).jpg, Fountain of Porta Nuova, Bergamo, 1935 File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6356214.jpg, Extension of Reggiani divisione tessile factory, Bergamo, 1954-57 (photo by

Paolo Monti Paolo Monti (11 August 1908 – 29 November 1982) was an Italian photographer, known for his architectural photography. In his early period, Monti experimented with abstractionism as well as with effects such as blurring and diffraction. In 19 ...

) File:Palazzo dei Congressi - Stresa - Convention centre.jpg, Palazzo Congressi,

Stresa Stresa is a town and ''comune'' of about 4,600 residents on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, about northwest of Milan. It is situated on road and rail routes to the Simp ...

, 1956–57 File:Tempietto Sant Antonio Rimini 2.jpg, Church of Sant'Antonio, piazza Tre Martiri,

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

, 1963

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergonzo, Alziro 1906 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Italian architects 20th-century Italian painters Architects from Lombardy Painters from Bergamo Polytechnic University of Milan alumni