Felice Ravenna

Born in Ferrara, Italy, to a family prominent in the local Jewish community, Felice Ravenna made his career practicing law. His father, Leone Ravenna, was president of the Jewish community of Ferrara. Beginning with the Third Zionist Conference in 1899, Felice Ravenna served as a delegate to a number of Zionist congresses, befriending Theodore Herzl and becoming among his primary contacts in Italy. Intensely dedicated to Jewish causes, Ravenna helped establish the Zionist movement in Italy and served as president of the Federation of Italian Zionists (1902–1922), head of the Jewish community of Ferrara (1923–1931), and president of the Unione delle comunità israelitiche italiene (the Union of Italian Jewish Communities).