Born in Alessandria when the town was still in Sardinia-Piedmont, he graduated from the Military Academy in Turin shortly after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Appointed sub-lieutenant in the Bersaglieri, he fought in the 1866 Austro-Italian War and in the capture of Rome in 1870. In the following years he was appointed captain in the Army Staff and started teaching logistics at the School of War. In 1888 he was assigned to the Special Operation Corps of Alessandro Asinari di San Marzano in Eritrea and took command of the 1st Cacciatori d'Africa Regiment. When the Corps was disbanded, he was reassigned to garrison duties in Massawa until 1890.