Neri Dario ; Father: Paolo

Neri, Paolo Neri, Dario Before World War II the Cabibbe family—Aldo, Elda, and their 6-year-old daughter, Rosanna—lived in Siena (Tuscany). In September 1943, following Italy’s capitulation and the subsequent German occupation of the country, the situation for the Jews changed overnight. Their lives were now under immediate threat, and many began searching frantically for places to hide so as to avoid deportation. The Cabibbes—including Aldo’s father, Arturo, and Fortunata, Arturo’s sister—decided to leave Siena. They found a temporary place at the house of some friends in a town nearby, but they could not stay there very long and needed to find a long-term solution. They turned to the local priest, asking him to help them find shelter. On his recommendation the Cabibbes made their way to the house of Dario Neri, in the small village of Campriano, and showed him the letter of recommendation that the priest had given them. Realizing they were Jews, and despite the great risk it entailed, Dario agreed to take them in. Dario and his family lived in a large villa that had several buildings surrounding the estate. It was decided that the Cabibbe family would be housed in a small apartment above a church on the grounds. This was very difficult for the family because the conditions were harsh there: it was very difficult for Elda, a woman from the city who was used to all the modern conveniences, to adjust to the reality of no running water, no electricity, and the scarcity of food. In her testimony to Yad Vashem, she also recounted how every Sunday a priest would come to the little church to hold Mass, and the family had to keep perfectly still and quiet. During their time there, from March 1944 until the liberation, they were supported by Dario and his father, Paolo, who brought them food and supplies. Life in the village was far from tranquil, and several times the Cabibbes were seen by the villagers. One time they were even discovered by a German soldier, but fortunately he believed their story that they were just refugees fleeing from the bombed cities. Eventually, German troops requisitioned the main house as their military headquarters. The Neris had to leave their home, and they headed to a shelter that Dario had made for the Cabibbes, to be used in times of danger. The Cabibbes survived in hiding until the liberation. Despite the fact that the two families did not stay in touch in the years after the war, the Cabibbes always remembered the kindness of their rescuers. “The Neris knew we were Jews, but still they hid us,” wrote Elda. “They were good people who risked their lives . . . I would never forget the people who did not hesitate to rescue me and my family from the clutches of the Nazis.” On October 3, 2012, Yad Vashem recognized Dario Neri and his father, Paolo Neri, as Righteous Among the Nations.