Giuseppe Levi (1872-1965) was born to a wealthy Jewish family (his father was a banker) in Trieste – which was still under Hapsburg rule – and shared the ideals of the irredentist movement. Like many of his fellow citizens he loved hiking and travel. After his father’s premature death, he moved with his mother to Florence, where he enrolled in the Medical School at 17 and obtained his degree in 1895.