Ambrogio was born in Rome to Count Alberto Condottori and his wife, the Countess Maria. Ambrogio served with the Italian Army in the 1890s and participated in their shameful defeat in Abyssinia in 1896. Ambrogio met his Serbian wife, Aleksandra aboard an ocean liner headed to New York. They were married in 1898 and soon moved to southern California. It was by chance that the Count and Countess decided to Holiday in Lovia (1901). They ended up purchasing a small cottage in southern Kings. Their car, a Renault was brought to Lovia that summer, becoming the first car in the country. It was here that Ambrogio heard locals talking about large animal skeletons and bones. This caught his interest and he led a small expedition up to the Abby Highlands. Largely unsuccessful, the expedition only fou