Leopoldo Moscati came from a Jewish family; his father Alberto was a sales representative, his mother Virginia a teacher. He had to attend a Jewish school from 1938.
Italy was occupied by German troops in the fall of 1943. The occupiers planned a raid for October 16, intending to arrest and deport all Jews living in Rome. The Moscatis were warned the night before the raid, and went into hiding.
In October 1943 Leopoldo Moscati and his father Alberto found refuge in San Gioacchino Church. Leopoldo’s mother Virginia was taken into the convent opposite. At the beginning of November, the men bricked up the entrance to their hiding place under the dome for safety. Leopoldo’s father suffered from claustrophobia and looked for a new place to hide. Leopoldo Moscati stayed in the attic until the spring of 1944. At 15, he was the youngest in the group. When his health deteriorated, his parents found him a new hiding place. He experienced the liberation in the Cristo Re Collegium at the beginning of June 1944.
Leopoldo Moscati completed his schooling and went to university, before opening a clothing store. He married and had two daughters.