His journeys to Africa influenced his choice of subject matter and he painted African themes with vibrant colours.

Augusto Valli was born in Modena on 22 May 1867 into a family of modest means.

He enrolled in 1879 at the Royal Institute of Fine Arts in Modena under Antonio Simonazzi and Ferdinando Manzini completing his studies at the age of 18 years.

He returned from these voyages with many folders of sketches, some of which were purchased by the Geographic Congress of Rome and are now in the museum of La Società Geografica Italiana.

[3] He illustrated a book (1942) about African (Ethiopian) travels by the colonist Conte Augusto Salimbeni, where he was described as a pittore africanista.