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22 2026 | The Hill Visitor’s Guide & Business Directory Saint Ambrose Church & the Immigrant Statue By AbbyWojcik Saint Ambrose Catholic Church has served as the spiritual and cultural heart of The Hill for over a century. When the first Saint Ambrose Church burned down in 1921, plans for a new chapel mobilized immediately.Architect Angelo Corrubia drew the sketch for a new brick parish the following month, drawing inspiration from the Basilica of Saint Ambrose in Milan, Italy. Construction was completed in 1926 by the modest people of The Hill. Seating over 400, the new church was made possible by the devotion of the congregation who helped pay off remaining debt on the old church. Reverend Julius Giovannini suggested there be as many bells as there were Italian towns represented on The Hill, so four bronze bells were donated by former hometowns in Italy, and the people of the parish donated the fifth bell.They’re inscribed for the people of the Parish, as well as the faithful of Cuggiono, Inveruno, Marcallo and Casteltermini. Each bell also honors a specific patron saint. In June 1926, a blessing of the bells took place, and the five bells rang for the first time as a tribute to the parish’s faith and to the homelands that shaped The Hill. continued on page 24