The son of a poor wool merchant, his talent with the lyre at a young age drew the attention of many patrons and led indirectly to his career in the Church.
In 1563 Pope Pius IV appointed him to the chair of belles-lettres in Sapienza University, a position in which he worked with St Charles Borromeo, who made him his personal secretary.
He was present at the acceptance of the Union of Brest, and two of his writings are inscribed on the north and south faces of the pedestal supporting the Vatican obelisk in Saint Peter's Square.
With the advent of Italian humanism in the late sixteenth century, Antoniano devoted himself to the study of educational problems and at the instance of St Charles Borromeo, wrote his principal work on the Christian education of children, (Tre libri dell' educazione cristiana de' figliuoli, Verona, 1584.)
His work passed through several editions in Italian and was translated into French by Guignard (Troyes, 1856; Paris, 1873), and into German by Kunz (Freiburg, 1888).