He was born in Torre del Greco on 26 October 1882, and entered the Naval Academy of Livorno in 1901, graduating as ensign on 17 November 1904.

After promotion to sub-lieutenant, he served on the battleship Napoli, participating in the rescue operations after the 1908 Messina earthquake.

[1] After promotion to rear admiral on 9 November 1936, he was appointed naval commander of the Dodecanese, with headquarters in Rhodes.

For his organizational skills in the management of Albanian ports, he was formally commended by Benito Mussolini and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Savoy.

[1] At the end of 1941 he was promoted to admiral and appointed commander-in-chief of the Corpo Regi Equipaggi Marittimi (Corps of Royal Naval Crews), with headquarters in La Spezia.