Colleoni Statue's Latin Inscription

On December 5, 2005 I showed here pix of a grand statue in Clinton Park, opposite Lincoln Park in Downtown Newark. One of the fotos showed a Latin inscription, which I could not translate. I asked for some assistance. Many months later, and months apart, I got two emailed translations, from widely separate points on the globe.
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So when I took another foto of that statue during the Newarkology walking tour August 10th, mainly to show the size of the group that attended the tour, I decided this would be an opportune time to share this information. (The foto isn't crisp, alas, due to the poor lite and resulting slow shutter speed.)

On June 9, 2008, I got an email from a guy at the Southridge School for Boys in Metro Manila, the Philippines. He offered a literal, line-by-line translation:

Here’s my take of the whole inscription including the name:

TO BARTHOLOMEW

AN INHABITANT (or SETTLER)

IN BORGOMENSI (this must refer to some place or maybe a family name?)

BECAUSE OF MILITARY

POWER

IN THE BEST WAY

CARRIED

The sense is that the monument was erected for this man named Bartholomew, in honor of his bearing (or carrying out) some military power in a very good (or best) way.

Earlier, on April 4, 2008, I got this email from Mark Walker, a writer in Britain:

I was googling for some Latin inscriptions and found your blog about the statue of Bartolomeus Coleonus. I'd hazard as an off-the-cuff translation:

[Dedicated ] to Bartolomeus Coleonus of Bergamo,
As a reward for having exercised supreme military power [imperium] most effectively
[Erected] by a decree of the Senate

S.C = Senatus Consulto

As you say, though, quite why this is applicable in New Jersey is anyone's guess!

Hope this helps!

Regards,
Mark Walker

p.s if you're interested in this sort of thing, you could do worse than have a look at my book, which is available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Annus-Horribilis-Latin-Everyday-Life/dp/0752442848/

Jeff said this fine statue was a gift of the beer baron Christian Feigenspan, whose mansion was across the street at the time, in celebration of Newark's 250th anniversary. He has a page on the Newarkology website that gives Colleoni's background and shows some more pix. Jule Spohn, who was in the group above (he's the white guy talking to the black guy closest to the camera) said he has seen the original statue, in Venice where it still stands, and it has seen better days. Our copy is in better shape.
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That page mentions that the sculptor of Newark's copy was J. Massey Rhind, who also created the statue of one-time Mayor Franklin Murphy in Weequahic Park, but neglects to mention that the statue of Washington by his horse in Washington Park is also by Rhind, who also has a statue of a Georgian dignitary in Statuary Hall, United States Capitol.
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My foto above shows the statue in its setting around the time that rain was just starting. The pix shown December 5, 2005 and June 22, 2006 are much better, taken in brite sunlite.
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The 2006 blogpost speaks to the lack of decorative fountains at that time. I am happy to report that not only do we now have two fountains in the Lake in Branch Brook Park, but I also saw a smaller fountain somewhere. I'm not sure exactly where, but it might have been near the Hall of Records.
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Part of the block between the Prudential Center and Market Street, where in June 2006 I proposed a great new fountain be built, has been cleared and is now a little park. A scaled-down version of my proposal could fit there. But why not clear a wider part of that block and create a grander fountain there, enclosed in glass for visitors' year-round enjoyment?