Sephardi Jewish Jean-Baptiste (Giovanni Battista) Ventura, born Rubino (25 May 1794 – 3 April 1858), was an Italian soldier; training officer (colonel) in the Persian Shah's army; general in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Punjab army, and early archaeologist of the Punjab region of the Sikh Empire.Ventura was born in Finale di Modena (now Finale Emilia) in the Duchy of Modena to Gavriel Massarani, a Jewish merchant . The surname Ventura derives from Buonaventura, Italian for "Mazal Tov", a Hebrew-Sephardic surname originating in Iberia following the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. Ventura received a conventional Jewish education. At the age of seventeen, enrolled as a volunteer in the militia of the Kingdom of Italy, later serving with Napoleon's imperial army in the Queens's Dragons. In 1822, he took service with Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab, modernizing the Sikh army and commanding several difficult campaigns and greatly expanded the boundaries of the kingdom of Punjab.Ventura was highly esteemed by the Maharaja, and in addition to the rank of General he was appointed Kazi (i.e., Supreme Judge), and Governor of Lahore. He quickly rose through the ranks at the court and became the de facto Commander in Chief of the Darbar forces. A monument donated by the Sikh community was inaugurated on May 26, 2019. It was placed in Via Ventura in Finale Emilia opposite the house in which the General was born. It is a bas-relief which represents Ventura with Maharaja Ranjit Singh with dimensions 160x120 cm, sculpted in India.