Stumbling stones in memory of the imprisonment of the D'Angeli family

After 8 September 1943, the province of Pistoia also became part of the Shoah, with raids organised by the Police Headquarters and carried out by local sections of the Carabinieri or the National Republican Guard, occasionally in collaboration with members of the German army or the SS.

The D'Angeli family was Jewish and lived in Montecatini Terme, viale Grocco. Mario worked as a Manager at the Melani company, and his wife Renata Fiorentini was a housewife. With them were their sons Carlo, born in 1938, and Massimo, born in 1942. The family had been displaced here for a few years and were known in the town. On the night of 5-6 November 1943, a raid by German soldiers, SS, Carabinieri and local fascists led to the capture of 21 people in a few hours. They also broke into the D'Angeli family home. All four members, alongside Clara Rosa Modigliani, Mario's mother, were arrested.

The moment of arrest was seen as crucial in the deportation process. Indeed, this was the first step, and a tragic one because it marked entry onto an obligatory path from which escape was difficult, if not impossible. The D'Angeli family was transferred to a prison in Florence within hours. On 9 November 1943 they left with convoy number 3 in the direction of Auschwitz, where they arrived on 14 November. They died that day. None of the others arrested in Montecatini survived.

In 2011, the Town of Montecatini Terme named a kindergarten in memory of Massimo D'Angeli, the youngest member of the family. On 27 January 2022 in Viale Grocco, near the house, the Town of Montecatini Terme laid five 'Stumbling Stones', created by German artist Gunter Demnig, in memory of the family members: Mario D'Angeli, Carlo D'Angeli, Massimo D'Angeli, Renata Fiorentini, Clara Rosa Modigliani. The inauguration was attended by municipal authorities, the Jewish community, several student groups and various local associations.