) was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was the son of Amalia Marcano Intriago, of Spanish ancestry, who was born on the island of Margarita, Venezuela, and of Domingo Paoli Marcatentti, a Corsican immigrant. Antonio Paoli's parents met in Caracas, and immediately fell in love. But Amalia's father, a rich landlord, opposed their relationship because of class differences. The young couple escaped to the Dominican Republic without getting married and later returned to Puerto Rico. They established themselves in the city of Yauco and lived there for several years. Later they moved to Ponce, into a house given to them by Amalia's aunt, Teresa Intriago. It was located on Calle Mayor (Mayor Street), House No. 14. Paoli had two notable sisters, Olivia Paoli (1855–1942), who was a suffragist and Amalia Paoli (1861–1941), a notable opera soprano who together with her sister joined the Suffragist Social League and fought for the rights of Puerto Rican women. Ponce at the time was the financial and cultural capital of the island, and an ideal place to Paoli's development. When Paoli was young, his parents would often take him to operas at Ponce's La Perla Theater located a block from their residence. They saw a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore, sung by Italian tenor, Pietro Baccei. At that moment, Paoli decided what he wanted to become. His parents were very supportive of his ambition and guided him on this route during his youth, enrolling him in a school of "voice" directed by Ramon Marin. His sister Amalia was a soprano who performed at La Perla in Emilio Arrieta's opera, Marina. In 1883, when Paoli was only 12 years old, both his parents died. He traveled to Spain to live with his sister Amalia and study music and opera. Debut Amalia was taking singing classes under Napoleon Verger. She was under the patronage of Isabel de Borbón, Princess of Asturias and sister of the King of Spain, Alfonso XII, In 1884, Amalia helped Paoli to obtain two scholarships from her Majesty Queen María Cristina, Queen Regent of Spain. Paoli started his studies at the Royal Monastery of El Escorial. He entered Toledo's Military Academy and in 1892 graduated with honors. He was assigned to the Queen's escort and named personal custodian and guard of the child King Alfonso XIII. Paoli wanted to continue singing and in 1897 went to study at the Academia