The engineer Pietro Lestini was very active in his church community of San Gioacchino in Rome. He was a member of Catholic Action, a lay movement in the Catholic church. After German troops invaded Italy on September 8, 1943, Pietro Lestini and the priest gave refuge to men seeking protection in the church of San Gioacchino. Several Italian soldiers and carabinieri, Allied soldiers, political opponents, and Jews were hidden in the church basement. This did not seem safe enough, so on October 25, 1943, Lestini set up a hiding place for the men in an empty space in the church attic. The entrance was bricked up at the beginning of November. Along with his daughter Giuliana and the nun Marguerite Bernes, Lestini took care of delivering food and post to the men and disposing of waste. He also hid endangered people temporarily in his home.
In 1995 Pietro Lestini and his daughter Giuliana were honored by the Israeli Holocaust memorial center Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.
Members of the San Gioacchino lay organization Catholic Action, including Pietro Lestini (2nd from right) and Father Dressino (seated, front), Rome, 1943. Source: Parocchia di San Gioacchino in Prati, Rom
View of the hiding place in the Church of San Gioacchino with remains of the walled-up entrance, Rome, 2018. Source: Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand, Foto: Sara Berger
Inside view of the former hiding place with round window, Rome, 2018. Source: Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand, Foto: Sara Berger
Church of San Gioacchino, Rome, Piazza dei Quiriti, around 1930. Source: Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand
