The bells of Burgio are very famous, this tradition has been handed down for more than 500 years. Forged with an ancient technique with a modern twist.
From Burgio, a small town in the province of Agrigento, handcrafted bells set off destined to echo in the five continents. There Virgadamo foundry forges bronze bells from 500 years with an ancient technique to which the last of the heirs has given a touch of modernity. A story that mixes art and sacredness and brings the Italian tradition all over the world.
An ancient passion becomes a modern art
For 5 centuries the Virgadamo foundry has been working bronze and making bells for churches. A ancient craft who from father to son gave birth to an art known and appreciated everywhere. Today Luigi Mulè Cascio, 36 years old, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo is the heir to an entrepreneurial activity that his grandfather Mario Virgadamo has kept up for more than 70 years.
Don Mario has forged bells all his life, a passion rather than a job that has taken him far. The classic bells of the Virgadamo foundry resound in Oceania, in the Far East and in South America while those with carillons typical of northern Europe ring out in Sweden and Norway.
In 1993 Don Mario gave Pope John Paul II an octagonal bell with a bas-relief depicting the pontiff holding up the world. The bronze work is located in Paul VI Hall of the Vatican where it tells the value of craftsmanship and the history of the foundry.
Luigi takes up the baton of Don Mario and of an activity born in the XNUMXth century, bringing a little innovation without upsetting the bell manufacturing process. The technique of lost wax in fact it remains unchanged but the young artist has chosen to use computers for the design phase and also to obtain a clearer sound.
Tradition meets innovation
A bronze bell is made in approx 3 months and the project provides for the definition of the diameter, the profile and the sound which varies according to the size and weight of the work. There first stage of realization takes place with the construction of an empty space limited by refractory bricks and clay called "soul". There second stage involves making the bell in a clay and wax model which is encapsulated in the refractory model.
When the material has solidified, a fire is lit to melt the wax, and lo is formed with this technique bell mould. In fact, the melted wax leaves a cavity in which the craftsman pours an incandescent bronze alloy, made up of 78 parts of copper and 22 of tin.
The kiln temperature is 1.150 degrees and only after having cleaned, chiseled and polished the cold chamber can we proceed with thetuning. It is a delicate moment of work which in the past required a good ear, but which today can be done with the help of special software. The smell of smoke and the hot metal that slowly descends into the mold are the same as always, but Luigi puts technology at the service of art and makes the sound clearer and cleaner.
The future of bell art
A few years ago the municipal administration awarded the foundry the “La Campana di Burgio Award“. It is an important recognition for an ancient and creative work that brings this small town in the province of Agrigento all over the world. To celebrate the event Luigi has created a masterpiece, a carillon with seven bells each with the sound of a different musical note which has become a promotion for the foundry and also a good luck charm.
Luigi's activity, like that of his predecessors, never stops, the work is frenetic, but respectful of the careful movements that bronze requires. The success is therefore the same as always, only in recent months have been requested: five bells from Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Agrigento, as many from a church in Racalmuto in the province of Agrigento, three will cross the ocean and go to Dallas in Texas, four in Roma and one, however, was commissioned by a private citizen of Torino who wants to donate it to a church.
Less than a year ago 6 bells left Burgio to reach Abuja, the capital of Nigeria and now tower over a bell tower of a Catholic church in Africa. While waiting for the historical museum of disused bells to be built in Palazzo Mandile not far from the foundry, Luigi's studio has become a tourist attraction.
Many kids want to see the bells being made and are curious to discover the secrets of this ancient art which can also offer a job opportunity. In fact, a pupil of Don Mario has opened a foundry and is exporting bells all over the world. A trip to Burgio is therefore an encounter with the tradition and history of our country, but it is also an opportunity for the future not to be missed!
