giorgio nissim, a jewish accountant from pisa, was a member of delasem, founded by the union of the israelitic communities to help jewish italians escape persecution. the network in tuscany was discovered in autumn 1943 and all jewish members except nissim sent to concentration camps. with the help of the archbishops of genoa pietro boetto and florence elia dalla costa, the franciscan friars of assisi and others, nissim reorganized delasem in tuscany and helped 800 survive.