She began her acting career as a small child, in a Paris production of Ernest Legouvé's Medea, sharing the stage with Adelaide Ristori.

[2][3] Mariani was a comic and dramatic actress who performed in throughout Europe and toured in the Caribbean and South America.

[7] She was head actress with her own touring company from 1894 to 1908,[8] with the other members including her husband Vittorio Zampieri [ca], Achille Majeroni, Maria Melato, Ernesto Sabbatini, and Arturo Falconi.

In 1898, she was the first actress to play Ibsen's Nora in Uruguay, when she starred in her company's production of A Doll's House in Montevideo.

[9] She sat for a portrait by Spanish painter Ramon Casas, who also used her image to illustrate the share certificates for Hispano Suiza Fabrica de Automoviles SA.