Editing Banco Ambrosiano (section)

==Banco Ambrosiano==
Founded in 1896 in Milan by Giuseppe Tovini, Banco Ambrosiano was established as a Catholic counterbalance to Italy’s secular banks, named after Saint Ambrose, Milan’s patron saint. Known as the “priests’ bank,” it served religious organizations and maintained close ties with the Vatican’s Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), commonly called the Vatican Bank, which became its main shareholder. Under [[Roberto Calvi]], who joined in 1947 and became chairman in 1975, the bank expanded aggressively, creating a complex network of offshore subsidiaries in Luxembourg, the Bahamas, and Latin America. This expansion, however, laid the groundwork for illicit activities that led to its collapse.