Don Giovanni Bosco was born in 1815 from a family of farmers in Piedmont, a region in the Northern part of Italy. Since early age, young Giovanni had a predisposition to entertain people and mostly to gather them in social activities, a very important quality that will come very useful later in his life; he often organized small theatre shows in his back garden.

His showman activities however were not the only thing happening to him as a child, as he used to have dreams that carried strong messages: these messages, along with his living conditions, strengthened his vocation, who lead him into priesthood. He left his native home at the age of 12 and truly struggled to find his way, as he could not go to school and he was forced to find random jobs.