Mario Basiola was born in Annicco in the province of Cremona to Alessandro, an artisan basketweaver, and Marta Milanesi. He spent his youth mostly working in the fields, never receiving a proper school education. He began singing in church, but military service took him to Rome, where he remained as a soldier during World War I. 　　There he participated in a contest to enter the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and out of sixty competitors, he was one of five chosen. He was placed with the famous 19th century Verdi baritone turned pedagogue Antonio Cotogni., with whom he studied for six years. 　　In 1918, he debuted in La traviata at the Teatro Morgana in Rome.