What can Giorgio Ambrosoli’s 1975 letter teach us about today’s banking battles? Explore the power struggles, the Davide Rossi case, and why looking away can leave citizens paying the price. History isn’t just the past—it’s a reminder to stay informed and speak up.
Subscribe for more stories that bring history to life.
Comment and tell us what you liked most about the video. #History #Banking #Italy
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@dentrolastoria
0:00 - The Rossi Case and Civic Responsibility
0:40 - Giorgio Ambrosoli’s Letter and Sacrifice
3:38 - Serving the State, Not the Powerful
5:57 - Ambrosoli’s Enduring Message
7:22 - Citizenship, Indifference, and Public Bailouts
10:40 - Learning from History and Staying Vigilant
Subscribe for more stories that bring history to life.
Comment and tell us what you liked most about the video. #History #Banking #Italy
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@dentrolastoria
0:00 - The Rossi Case and Civic Responsibility
0:40 - Giorgio Ambrosoli’s Letter and Sacrifice
3:38 - Serving the State, Not the Powerful
5:57 - Ambrosoli’s Enduring Message
7:22 - Citizenship, Indifference, and Public Bailouts
10:40 - Learning from History and Staying Vigilant
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00dear friends of dental astoria today i decided to dedicate a special video a video responding to recent events simply
00:07because it is the result of a reflection a reflection that starts from recent events
00:12and i'm referring to the new investigations and the new findings regarding the death of davide rossi the head of
00:21the communications office at mps who was found dead after being thrown from his office balcony rather than taking his
00:29own life several years ago
00:31and that leads to our role as citizens regarding social and civic responsibility and also the role of the banks
00:39i want to start not with the rossi case but with something older dating back more than half a century
00:45ago
00:45it's a letter a letter that a great man who was defined by corrado stiano as a bourgeois hero wrote
00:53to his wife a letter that his wife found among his papers only after her husband was killed i will
00:58read you a few passages
00:59dearest anna it is february 25 1975 and i am finally ready to file the schedule of creditors claims for
01:08banca privata italiana an act that obviously will not satisfy many and that has taken quite an effort
01:13i have no fears for myself because i see no possibility other than pressure to have me replaced but it
01:19is certain that matters like versato's and the very fact of having to deal with people of every shade and
01:24stripe are not reassuring at all
01:26there is no doubt that in any case i will pay a very heavy price for this assignment i knew
01:31it before accepting it so i am not complaining i'm not complaining at all because it was a unique opportunity
01:36to do something for the country
01:37remember the days of the monarchist union the unrealized hopes of going into politics for the country rather than for
01:44political parties well suddenly at 40 i became involved in politics in the name of the state and not for
01:51a party
01:51with that assignment enormous completely discretionary power and i have always acted and i am fully aware of it solely
01:59in the interest of the country
02:01making only enemies in the process of course because everyone who received what was due to them thanks to me
02:06is certainly not grateful
02:07because they believe they only got what was rightfully theirs and they're right even if it hadn't been me they
02:14would have recovered their assets several months later
02:16still enemies don't help and they'll try in every way to make me slip up on some stupid thing
02:23unfortunately when you have to sign hundreds of letters a day you can end up signing some nonsense no matter
02:28what happens
02:29anyway you know what you have to do and i'm sure you'll do a great job
02:33you'll have to raise the kids and bring them up respecting those values we believed in
02:37they should be aware of their duties toward themselves toward family in the transcendent sense that i hold
02:44toward the country whether it's called italy or europe you'll do wonderfully i'm sure of it because you're very capable
02:50and because the kids are each one better than the next it will be a hard life for you
02:55but you're such a wonderful girl that you'll always get by and do your duty as always
03:01something like that you'll have so many friends you can count on and who will be able to help you
03:07here this letter was written by the lawyer giorgio ambrosoli the middle class hero we have already met
03:13him he was the protagonist of our features of our stories of our videos the lawyer giorgio ambrosoli
03:20did what so many others didn't want to do and i'm not just in exclusively referring to his role as
03:26liquidation commissioner of the banca privata italiana the empire of michele sindona he took on a role
03:32a role that others would have never wanted the role of an actively engaged citizen he wrote it to
03:38engage in politics for the country and not for the parties it is something truly beautiful and doing
03:43it among other things in such a difficult environment as that of italian finance an environment that has
03:49always seen and still sees today sharks on the attack always ready to take something at the expense
03:56of others not so much just for the almighty dollar as for the prospect of power giorgio ambrosoli had
04:02power at his disposal that power which had been entrusted to him by the then governor of the bank
04:08of italy guido carli and which had been reaffirmed to him by his successor buffy but giorgio ambrosoli
04:16didn't use that power for himself he could have of course why not he had broad discretion even if he
04:22himself said i was put in charge of a mountain of debts but in that position he could have still
04:27profited from it why not he could have let himself be corrupted and there were plenty of opportunities
04:33because his great enemy sindona wasn't alone he had his sponsors he had his lackeys he had his allies
04:40and all of them tried to flatter giorgio ambrosoli to throw him a bone or even to tempt him in
04:47some
04:47very underhanded way giorgio ambrosoli didn't give in he engaged in politics for the country
04:53and not for the parties he worked in politics for the state which he always said was made up of
04:58citizens not the powerful he served the country's interests today as we increasingly witness these
05:04power struggles we saw it in the case of last year the hostile takeover of medio banca by mps
05:13with the intention of attacking generale as well now instead the risk once again involves mps but
05:20in another role defending itself from an other hostile situation with banca in tessa always backed
05:28by powerful figures who switch factions whenever it suits them we must remember giorgio ambrosoli what he
05:34did his ideas and this letter which can be defined as the manifesto not so much or just his own
05:42but the
05:42manifesto of the honest italian of the italian who believes in the state and not in the status quo
05:48not a state run by parties party leaders parliamentarians ministers and under secretaries
05:54but one made up of all of us italian citizens when i find out about certain matters when i become
06:00aware
06:01of certain behind the scenes dealings when i read the news written by colleagues that reconstructs
06:09specific nexus of power specific negotiations some takeover bids or cash and share offers in other
06:16cases when stock swaps are also involved when i read about these stock rating operations i always
06:22wonder what one should be advised to do the exact opposite which is to give in who made giorgio
06:29ambrosoli stand up to the overwhelming power of michele sindona of giulio andriati of the mafia
06:39no one and yet giorgio ambrosoli stood as a bulwark allowing us to learn the truth about the italian tracks
06:51and not just that also thanks to his sacrifice long before his assassination and that letter that letter
06:59from february 25 1975 that letter that has more than half a century behind it if we reread it setting
07:07aside of course a few deeply personal remarks regarding his wife and children or the monarchist union which
07:14also no longer exists which was a personal belief of ambrosoli himself well that letter is still
07:20remarkably relevant today and must spur us on to be aware and responsible citizens because let's be
07:26honest it's easy to look the other way and say it's none of my business if i don't have an
07:31account in a
07:32bank that is in crisis at that moment or is the victim of speculation or is itself engaging in speculation
07:38i could not care less excuse the expression i can just look the other way and say it's none of
07:44my
07:44business if i don't own shares in a company that's in crisis at that moment and might blow up
07:49or if i don't hold any bonds or if i simply have no stake in something that's in crisis or
07:55at risk
07:55i can avoid worrying about it after all it's none of my business but when that business whether it's a
08:01company or a bank is bailed out using public money which is our money because it comes from our taxes
08:06then yes then it becomes my business then i complain then i say why why do i have to put
08:13up
08:13my own money collected for other purposes to fix what others have done why should i do that it's
08:18not right it's not fair i'm right but before i should have been vigilant i should have informed
08:23myself i should have monitored what was happening and kept a close eye on it just like so many others
08:28who were more involved but i didn't do it because it's none of my business i don't have shares i
08:33don't
08:33have bonds i have no stake in it i don't have savings in there no problem it's none of my
08:37business giorgio ambrosoli could have said that it's none of my business i refuse the assignment
08:42it's none of my business i step down from the role it's none of my business i'll take the bribe
08:48it's none of my business i'll write what they tell me to write it's none of my business they present
08:53me
08:53with a bailout plan that practically absolves those responsible for the crash from all liability
08:59but in return i know that i'll have peace of mind i sign because it's not my problem anyway
09:04i can't wait to get that mountain of debt they saddled me with off my back i'd better hurry it's
09:09not my problem someone else will deal with it all of this it's so relevant today and not just today
09:15it's been more than 20 years ever since the days of the the so-called neighborhood wheeler dealers
09:20remember them gian giampiero fiorani ricucci coppola all those characters who raided the
09:25exclusive inner circles of high finance well this story has been going on for over 20 years
09:30banks swallowing other banks and then getting swallowed by others and then a crisis hits
09:35because something didn't add up because the books weren't in order because the price paid was exorbitant
09:40but when each deal goes through most of us turn away and say well come on it doesn't affect me
09:48or at
09:48best we smile because maybe we had some shares that could go up and we made something but when we
09:54then
09:54find out that it was all a scam that only a few people truly got rich and that the rest
09:59of us are
10:00left to foot the bill then we get mad we blame others why didn't those in charge keep watch right
10:06but why did we look the other way too because public opinion and i include myself as a representative of
10:13public opinion as a journalist who gives voice to public opinion we didn't get involved we didn't check
10:18we didn't ask we didn't make our voices heard why why that is the question we must ask ourselves
10:24why is it that every time we see something so enormous we think that's fine it's none of my
10:29business it's wrong it's the wrong attitude because then as we've already said we're the ones who pay the
10:34bill that is the lesson of giorgio ambrosoli that is the lesson of that letter i found it again after
10:42i
10:42already read it in the past when i picked up that book whatever happens the book written by one of
10:47giorgio ambrosoli's sons and it's a book that retraces all of this and it makes us understand
10:52the sacrifice of giorgio ambrosoli must not only be remembered but neither underestimated
10:57nor seen as something distant in time as a historical channel we are committed to making sure that
11:03history isn't just memorized like a list of dates and facts but is actually understood because history must
11:11serve as a lesson so that we don't repeat the mistakes made in the past otherwise what are we
11:16even doing here can we just forget about history can we just pretend nothing happened can we say
11:21that it's none of our business none of our business but it is our business our business and not just
11:27to
11:27honor the memory of the attorney ambrosoli it's our our business because every time in the end whether
11:32we like it or not we get dragged into it in one way or another most often as taxpayers because
11:37the
11:37various financial collapses to a greater or lesser extent have been paid for by the italian taxpayer
11:42by the average citizen paying out of pocket that's just the way it goes and so it is our right
11:48as
11:48citizens to demand justice to demand transparency in the case of davide rossi of what happened to him
11:54and what has recently emerged with the entrance of the indrangheta onto the scene the shadow over sports sponsorships
12:01the shadow over the secret contracts of the santorini and alexandria funds of the derivatives
12:06it is our duty to know more about the banking power struggle that continues sometimes behind our backs
12:11and it is sometimes sold to us as something positive beautiful useful or even fundamental strategic for
12:19the country are we sure about that are we sure that's how it is are we sure that tomorrow we
12:25taxpayers
12:25won't have to step in once again with our own money to fix the negative situation created by someone
12:31else under the pretext of building a great banking empire or creating prosperity let's think carefully
12:36about this and i invite each and every one of you to reread that letter from february 25 1975.
12:44internalize it understand ambrosoli's message be responsible citizens then in the face of all this
12:50you'll realize that lawyer ambrosoli is not just a relic of the past his legacy lives on today all these
12:56years
12:57after his murder he is a figure who admonishes us to be vigilant to keep a close watch to be
13:03responsible
13:03citizens towards a country as he used to say called italy or called europe only then will we be able
13:10to avoid
13:11more troubling cases only then can we truly be citizens of this country only then can we avoid more troubling
13:20cases that have reverberated over time and which keep coming back to haunt us only then can we say
13:27thank you mr ambrosoli because you warned us against what is very easy to do turning the other way and
13:35you spurred us to do what is much harder getting directly involved i bid you farewell and wish you a
13:42good day
13:50you
13:54you