Ugolini was born in the small town of Bertinoro in the Italian Romagna, the son of a poor watchmaker.

He was soon talent spotted by major figures in the Italian archaeological establishment of the early years of the fascist government and in 1924 was offered the chance to lead a mission to Albania.

He is chiefly interesting today though for his position vis-a-vis the geopolitical situation of the time; and is an example of the many ambitious scientists of the age who were, with greater or lesser conviction, to serve the totalitarian regimes of interwar Europe.

Likewise he argued for strong links in the Bronze and Iron Ages between the Illyrian cultures of Albania and the pre-classical civilisations of southern Italy.

Ugolini is noted as a dynamic and charismatic personality who learned to work with and manipulate the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the fascist regime to his own advantage.