Sotto il Cielo di Roma

A dramatisation of the wartime actions of Pope Pius XII, following his efforts to shelter Jewish refugees and others persecuted by the Nazi occupation within the Vatican and Roman churches during the Second World War. As German forces tighten their grip on Rome, the Pope must navigate the dangerous tension between diplomatic caution and moral obligation, quietly authorising the hiding of thousands of people at great institutional risk. The film portrays him as a figure of conscience acting behind the scenes to prevent deportations and save lives whilst maintaining the Vatican's precarious neutrality.