Pompeo D'Ambrosio
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Pompeo D'Ambrosio (1 January 1917, in
San Marco Evangelista San Marco Evangelista is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples and about south of Caserta. San Marco Evangelista borders the following municipalities: Capodrise, ...
(near
Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
), Italy – 15 April 1998, in
Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
, Venezuela). He was very renowned in the Italian community in Caracas and was very active - with his financial activity in one of the main Venezuelan banks (" Banco Latino") - for the promotion of many successful Italian entrepreneurs in Venezuela. He was even a financial manager for
Deportivo Italia Petare Fútbol Club (until summer 2010 called Deportivo Italia Fútbol Club and known as Deportivo Petare Fútbol Club until summer 2015) is a Venezuelan football club based in Caracas. Formed in 1948 as "Deportivo Italia F.C.", the club after ...
, the soccer club of the Italian community in Venezuela, during its "golden" years (in the sixties and seventies), when was named by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics as "the best football team of Venezuela in the XX century". Those years, when he ruled the team with his brother Mino, are remembered as the '' D'Ambrosio Era''.


Life

Pompeo D'Ambrosio lived his first years in
Campagna Campagna (Italian: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Its population is 17,148. Its old Latin name was Civitas Campaniae (City of Campagna). Campagna is located in one of the v ...
, a little town in the Province of Salerno, where his uncle was the Municipal Major who distinguished himself helping the Jews during the Nazi persecution of Jews. In the mid 1930s, Pompeo D'Ambrosio studied "Administration of Italian Colonies" at the University of Naples. In the late 1930s he was a pilot of the Italian Air Force, but an accident forced him to be discharged from aerial service and so he became a lieutenant of the Italian Army in 1940: During World War II, he was a Lieutenant in the Italian Army in North Africa ( Libya and Egypt), where he was wounded and taken as a POW during the Battle of El Alamein, receiving a military Medal of Honor signed by the same Mussolini. When he returned to Italy from an
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
Prisoner of War Camp in Egypt, in 1946 co-founded in
Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
the local section of the
Movimento Sociale Italiano The Italian Social Movement ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national c ...
, a national-conservative Italian Party later named
Alleanza Nazionale National Alliance ( it, Alleanza Nazionale, AN) was a conservative political party in Italy.Luciano Bardi - Piero Ignazi - Oreste Massari, ''I partiti italiani'', Egea 2007, pp. 151, 173n. It was the successor of the Italian Social Movement (MSI) ...
and in 2022 governing Italy with the name "
Fratelli d'Italia "" (; "The Song of the Italians") is a canto written by Goffredo Mameli set to music by Michele Novaro in 1847, and is the current national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as the "" (, "Mameli's Hymn"), after the author of the ...
".


Influence in the Italian community of Venezuela

In 1951 Pompeo D'Ambrosio moved to Venezuela, where started to work as Director of the "Banco Francés e Italiano" (called later "Banco Latino"), financing the Italian community of
Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
,
Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...
and Puerto La Cruz. Many companies of Italian-Venezuelans, like "Vinccler" and "Constructora Delpre" (that made the skyscrapers of the Parque Central Complex, actually the tallest of South America), received his experienced advice and financial help in order to grow at the first levels of the Venezuelan economy. He was even co-founder of the "Casa de Italia" and the "Centro Italo-Venezolano" of Caracas, and participated in many other associations for the health and social assistance of the Italians with a low-level income. He even promoted the diffusion of the Italian language in Venezuela. Santander Laya-Garrido cites him, in his book "Los Italianos forjadores de la nacionalidad y del desarrollo económico en Venezuela" (The Italians creators of the nationality and the economic development of Venezuela), as an example of honesty and dedication to the community. His honesty made him to fight the growing but corrupted power of Pedro Tinoco (and his group called " Twelve Apostles") when he became President of the
Banco Central de Venezuela The Central Bank of Venezuela ( es, Banco Central de Venezuela, BCV) is the central bank of Venezuela. It maintains a fixed exchange rate for the Venezuelan bolívar and since 1996 is the governing agent of the Venezuelan Clearing House Syste ...
. But in the eighties, D'Ambrosio was forced to resign by Tinoco from the Banco Latino, a bank that was - soon after his resignation - involved in the biggest financial crisis of Venezuela. When the Banco Latino went bankrupt in 1994, Pompeo D'Ambrosio received an outstanding applause (appeared on all the Venezuelan media) from the "Association of Employees of the Latino Bank", during a conference denouncing the corruption of Tinoco and his group (Siro Febres Cordero, etc..). Furthermore, Pompeo D'Ambrosio is mainly remembered by the Italian community of Venezuela because of his ''D'Ambrosio Era'', when ruled with his brother Mino the
Deportivo Italia Petare Fútbol Club (until summer 2010 called Deportivo Italia Fútbol Club and known as Deportivo Petare Fútbol Club until summer 2015) is a Venezuelan football club based in Caracas. Formed in 1948 as "Deportivo Italia F.C.", the club after ...
(from 1958 to 1978, when soccer rose in prominence in Venezuela).


The ''D'Ambrosio Era'' of the Deportivo Italia

In 1958 Mino D'Ambrosio took control of the
Deportivo Italia Petare Fútbol Club (until summer 2010 called Deportivo Italia Fútbol Club and known as Deportivo Petare Fútbol Club until summer 2015) is a Venezuelan football club based in Caracas. Formed in 1948 as "Deportivo Italia F.C.", the club after ...
and with his brother Pompeo D'Ambrosio (who financially controlled the team) made the soccer team of the Italian community reach the top level in Venezuelan football. The ''D'Ambrosio Era'' of the team lasted twenty years until 1978 and was characterized by four championships of the
Primera División Venezolana Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...
and the famous "
Little Maracanazo Little Maracanazo was a football match played between Fluminense FC of Brazil and Deportivo Italia of Venezuela in the group stage of the 1971 Copa Libertadores. Fluminense, managed by Lobo Zagalo who had just won the 1970 World Cup, were defeat ...
" of 1971 (when the Deportivo Italia won in the Stadium Maracanã of Rio de Janeiro the Fluminense, Champion of Brasil). The team obtained even three times the Copa de Venezuela: in 1961, 1962, and 1970 (and was Runner-up in 1976). Furthermore, the team participated six times to the South American
Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
: in 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, and 1972. The sixties were the "golden" years of the Deportivo Italia, because they were Venezuelan Champions in 1961, 1963, and 1966. The fourth title for the team was earned in 1972 (and was Runner-up in 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971). Indeed, between 1961 and 1972, every year, the Deportivo Italia of Pompeo and Mino D'Ambrosio obtained first or second place in the Venezuelan Championships (and/or a good performance in the South American Copa Libertadores). Additionally - in those golden years of the ''D'Ambrosio Era'' - the Deportivo Italia won in international tournaments some renowned European teams (like the Milan of Italy in 1968) and was the first Venezuelan team - in all the history of the Venezuelan soccer - to reach the second round of the Copa Libertadores (in 1964).
Copa Libertadores 1964 The 1964 Copa de Campeones de América was the fifth edition of South America's premier club football tournament. For the first time since its inception, every member of CONMEBOL was represented in the competition. Deportivo Italia became the f ...


See also

*
Deportivo Italia Petare Fútbol Club (until summer 2010 called Deportivo Italia Fútbol Club and known as Deportivo Petare Fútbol Club until summer 2015) is a Venezuelan football club based in Caracas. Formed in 1948 as "Deportivo Italia F.C.", the club after ...
* Italo-Venezuelans * Italian language in Venezuela * D'Ambrosio Era (1958-1978) *
Little Maracanazo Little Maracanazo was a football match played between Fluminense FC of Brazil and Deportivo Italia of Venezuela in the group stage of the 1971 Copa Libertadores. Fluminense, managed by Lobo Zagalo who had just won the 1970 World Cup, were defeat ...


References


Bibliography

* Briceño Javier. ''Un Sueño llamado Deportivo Petare''. Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (Publicaciones y Tesis). Caracas, 2013
Pompeo D'Ambrosio, p.33
* Santander Laya-Garrido, Alfonso. ''Los Italianos forjadores de la nacionalidad y del desarrollo economico en Venezuela''. Editorial Vadell. Valencia, 1978. * Vannini, Maria. ''Italia y los Italianos en la historia y en la cultura de Venezuela''. Oficina Central de Informacion. Caracas, 1966. * Velásquez Ramón. J., Silva Carlos Rafael. ''El Ejecutivo Nacional y la Intervencion del Banco Latino''. Talleres Gráficos de Joaquín Ibarra/Impresores. Caracas, 1994. * Zapata, Juan Carlos. ''Dr. Tinoco. Vida y muerte del poder en Venezuela''. Colección Claroscuro. Caracas, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Ambrosio, Pompeo 1917 births 1998 deaths Italian emigrants to Venezuela Italian military personnel of World War II Italian soldiers People from Caracas 20th-century Venezuelan businesspeople Venezuelan sportspeople People from Campagna