[1] Ezra Pontremoli was born in Ivrea in 1888, the son of rabbi Eliseo Graziado Pontremoli (born in Casale Monferrato in 1778 and died in Nice in 1851) and Bella Eleonora Olivetti (died in Nice in 1874, nephew of the banker Laudadio Formiggini), exponent of a wealthy family of bankers from Modena.

On his mother's side, he was related to Angelo Fortunato Formiggini and to Camillo Olivetti, founder of the eponymous typewriter manufacturer.

In 1844 Esdra Pontremoli became professor of Hebrew and French in the Foa College of Vercelli.

Giuseppe Levi (1814–1874), the newspaper "L'educatore Israelita", the first in Italy, which initially reports as a subtitle "Journal for Jewish families".

On 2 January 1882, he was awarded, upon decision of King Umberto I, the honor of Knight of the Order of the Italian crown as recognition of the important propaganda in favor of the unification of Italy carried out through the newspaper "L'educatore Israelita".