Piccolo was born in Palermo, Sicily on 25 March 1654, then part of the Kingdom of Spain.
[1] Eusebio Francisco Kino, S.J., the original driving force behind the Jesuit effort who had made two unsuccessful attempts at establishing a mission, was unable to participate when his project finally became a reality.
As a consequence, Juan Maria Salvatierra, S.J., was the lone missionary in establishing Mission Loreto among its Monqui inhabitants in 1697.
He then returned to Mexico City where he worked for the interests of the Baja California Jesuit missions.
[1] His Informe or Report of 1702, published in Mexico City, was an influential early account of the peninsular missions, although its optimism about the potential of Baja California was something of an embarrassment to later Jesuit apologists.