Levi was born in Turin, Italy, at Corso Re Umberto 75 into a liberal Jewish family. His father Cesare worked for the manufacturing firm Ganz and spent much of his time working abroad in Hungary, where Ganz was based. Cesare was an avid reader and autodidact. Levi’s mother Ester, known to everyone as Rina, was well educated, having attended the Istituto Maria Letizia. She too was an avid reader, played the piano and spoke fluent French. The marriage between Rina and Cesare was arranged by Rina’s father. On their wedding day, Rina’s father, Cesare Luzzati, gave Rina the apartment at Corso Re Umberto where Primo Levi was to live for almost his entire life.
In 1921 Anna Maria, Levi's sister was born; he was to remain close to her all of his life. In 1925 he entered the Felice Rignon primary school in Turin. A thin and delicate child, he was shy and thought of himself as being ugly, but he excelled academically. His school record includes long periods of absence during which time he was tutored at home at first by Emilia Glauda and then by Marisa Zini, daughter of philosopher Zino Zini. Summers were spent with his mother in the Waldensian valleys southwest of Turin where Rina rented a farmhouse. His father remained in Turin partly because of his dislike of the rural life, but also because of his infidelities.
In September 1930 he entered the Massimo d'Azeglio Royal Gymnasium a year ahead of normal entrance requirements. In class he was the youngest, the shortest and the cleverest as well as being the only Jew. For these reasons, he was bullied. In August 1932, following two years at the Talmud Torah school in Turin, he sang in the local synagogue for his Bar Mitzvah. In 1933 as was expected of all young Italian schoolboys, he joined the Avanguardisti movement for young Fascists. He avoided rifle drill by joining the ski division, and then spent every Saturday during the season on the slopes above Turin. As a young boy Levi was plagued by illness, particularly chest infections, but he was keen to participate in physical activity. In his teens Levi and a few of his friends would sneak into a disused sports stadium and conduct athletic competitions.
In July 1934 at the age of 14, he sat the exams for the Massimo d'Azeglio liceo classico, a Lyceum (sixth form) specialising in the classics and was admitted that autumn. The school was noted for its well-known anti-Fascist teachers, amongst them the philosopher Norberto Bobbio, and for a few months Cesare Pavese, also an anti-Fascist and later to become one of Italy's best-known novelists. Levi continued to be bullied during his time at the Lyceum although he was now in a class with six other Jews. Upon reading Concerning the Nature of Things by Sir William Bragg, Levi decided that he wanted to be a chemist. Levi matriculated from the school in 1937 despite being accused of ignoring a call-up to the Italian Royal Navy the week before his exams were due to begin. As a result of this incident, and possibly some antisemitic bias in the marking, Levi had to retake his Italian paper. At the end of the summer he passed his exams and in October he enrolled at the University of Turin, to study chemistry. The registered intake of eighty hopefuls spent three months taking lectures in preparation for their colloquio (oral examination) when the eighty would be reduced to twenty. The following February Levi graduated onto the full-time chemistry course.
In the liberal period as well as in the first decade of the Fascist regime, Jews held many public positions. In 1929 Mussolini signed an agreement with the Catholic Church, the Lateran Treaty, which established Catholicism as State religion, allowed the Church to influence many sectors of education and public life and relegated other religions to the status of "tolerated cults". A year later, based on the new restrictions imposed on Italian public life by the Lateran Treaty, the regime created a legislation that defined the relations between the State and the Italian Jewish Communities. In 1936 the conquest of Ethiopia and the expansion of what the regime regarded as the Italian "colonial empire" materialized for the first time in the post-unification political narrative the question of "race". Within the context set by these two events and the alliance with Hitler's Germany, the situation of the Jews of Italy changed radically.
In July 1938 a group of prominent Italian scientists and intellectuals published the so-called Manifesto of the Race, a mixture of racial and ideological antisemitic theories from ancient and modern sources which underlay the Italian anti-Jewish legislation of September 1938. Italian Jews lost their basic civil rights, their positions in public offices, and their assets. Jewish students who had begun their course of study were permitted to continue them, but new Jewish students were barred from entering university. It was therefore fortunate that Levi had matriculated a year early, as he would not otherwise have been permitted to take a degree.
In 1939 Levi began his love affair with hiking in the mountains. His friend Sandro Delmastro taught him how to hike and they spent many week-ends in the mountains above Turin. Physical exertion, the risk and the battle with the elements supplied him with an outlet for all the frustrations in his life. In June 1940 Italy declared war against Britain and France, and the first air raids on Turin began two days later. Levi’s studies continued during the bombardments, and an additional strain on the family was imposed when his father became bedridden with bowel cancer.
In 1921 Anna Maria, Levi's sister was born; he was to remain close to her all of his life. In 1925 he entered the Felice Rignon primary school in Turin. A thin and delicate child, he was shy and thought of himself as being ugly, but he excelled academically. His school record includes long periods of absence during which time he was tutored at home at first by Emilia Glauda and then by Marisa Zini, daughter of philosopher Zino Zini. Summers were spent with his mother in the Waldensian valleys southwest of Turin where Rina rented a farmhouse. His father remained in Turin partly because of his dislike of the rural life, but also because of his infidelities.
In September 1930 he entered the Massimo d'Azeglio Royal Gymnasium a year ahead of normal entrance requirements. In class he was the youngest, the shortest and the cleverest as well as being the only Jew. For these reasons, he was bullied. In August 1932, following two years at the Talmud Torah school in Turin, he sang in the local synagogue for his Bar Mitzvah. In 1933 as was expected of all young Italian schoolboys, he joined the Avanguardisti movement for young Fascists. He avoided rifle drill by joining the ski division, and then spent every Saturday during the season on the slopes above Turin. As a young boy Levi was plagued by illness, particularly chest infections, but he was keen to participate in physical activity. In his teens Levi and a few of his friends would sneak into a disused sports stadium and conduct athletic competitions.
In July 1934 at the age of 14, he sat the exams for the Massimo d'Azeglio liceo classico, a Lyceum (sixth form) specialising in the classics and was admitted that autumn. The school was noted for its well-known anti-Fascist teachers, amongst them the philosopher Norberto Bobbio, and for a few months Cesare Pavese, also an anti-Fascist and later to become one of Italy's best-known novelists. Levi continued to be bullied during his time at the Lyceum although he was now in a class with six other Jews. Upon reading Concerning the Nature of Things by Sir William Bragg, Levi decided that he wanted to be a chemist. Levi matriculated from the school in 1937 despite being accused of ignoring a call-up to the Italian Royal Navy the week before his exams were due to begin. As a result of this incident, and possibly some antisemitic bias in the marking, Levi had to retake his Italian paper. At the end of the summer he passed his exams and in October he enrolled at the University of Turin, to study chemistry. The registered intake of eighty hopefuls spent three months taking lectures in preparation for their colloquio (oral examination) when the eighty would be reduced to twenty. The following February Levi graduated onto the full-time chemistry course.
In the liberal period as well as in the first decade of the Fascist regime, Jews held many public positions. In 1929 Mussolini signed an agreement with the Catholic Church, the Lateran Treaty, which established Catholicism as State religion, allowed the Church to influence many sectors of education and public life and relegated other religions to the status of "tolerated cults". A year later, based on the new restrictions imposed on Italian public life by the Lateran Treaty, the regime created a legislation that defined the relations between the State and the Italian Jewish Communities. In 1936 the conquest of Ethiopia and the expansion of what the regime regarded as the Italian "colonial empire" materialized for the first time in the post-unification political narrative the question of "race". Within the context set by these two events and the alliance with Hitler's Germany, the situation of the Jews of Italy changed radically.
In July 1938 a group of prominent Italian scientists and intellectuals published the so-called Manifesto of the Race, a mixture of racial and ideological antisemitic theories from ancient and modern sources which underlay the Italian anti-Jewish legislation of September 1938. Italian Jews lost their basic civil rights, their positions in public offices, and their assets. Jewish students who had begun their course of study were permitted to continue them, but new Jewish students were barred from entering university. It was therefore fortunate that Levi had matriculated a year early, as he would not otherwise have been permitted to take a degree.
In 1939 Levi began his love affair with hiking in the mountains. His friend Sandro Delmastro taught him how to hike and they spent many week-ends in the mountains above Turin. Physical exertion, the risk and the battle with the elements supplied him with an outlet for all the frustrations in his life. In June 1940 Italy declared war against Britain and France, and the first air raids on Turin began two days later. Levi’s studies continued during the bombardments, and an additional strain on the family was imposed when his father became bedridden with bowel cancer.