He was born in Biadene, in the Province of Treviso, to a family of modest means. He briefly enrolled in Padua in a technical institute but abandoned this for the institute of design started by Pietro Selvatico. From there, he moved to study sculpture for a year at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence under Aristodemo Costoli and then served a further year of study. He opened a studio, but, deprived of many commissions, he was indigent.
