Born on 5 July 1865, as son of Giovanni and Rosa (née Volpino), he attended the Modena Military Academy and the Cavalry School in Pinerolo, then he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Genova Cavalleria Regiment and later promoted to First Lieutenant in the Piemonte Cavalleria Regiment. After six years of service he asked for a discharge and, thanks to his connections to Colonel Girolamo Emilio Gerini, a military advisor in Siam (now Thailand), he moved there and took up the organization of the local army and the education of one of the King's sons. He also worked as a war correspondent, sending reports from China and Ethiopia (some speculate he might have taken part in the battle of Adua). In 1895 he joined General Emilio Aguinaldo as a mercenary in his struggle for the independence of the Philippines from Spain.