AMBROSOLI:

By: H. G. Enelow

An ecclesiastic dignitary of Rome, the events of whose life touched the history of the Jews of that city in 1848. He distinguished himself through his eloquent sermons on tolerance toward the Jews, and preached in Santa Maria di Trastevere during the agitation for the abolition of the Roman Ghetto. His eloquence was so effective that his audiences were said to have been anxious to tear down the walls of the Ghetto whenever he spoke on the subject. His influence, therefore, was quite marked in the movement which culminated in the edict signed by Pius IX. on April 17, 1848, to remove the walls and gates of the Roman Ghetto. Berliner relates that he heard from a prominent Roman Jew, Samuele Alatri, that on the eventful night when the Ghetto walls were torn down and the enthusiastic crowd cheered the torch-lit laborers, the pious and learned Ambrosoli was present. Under his coat he had concealed a crucifix, ready to draw it forth at any moment, and in the name of the Christian religion resist any possible interference.

H. G. E.