Antonio Maria MADDALENA was born in an old house built in the early 1700s near the main church of Gordevio, dedicated to Saints Philip and James, located in the hamlet of Villa. He probably attended school only in the late autumn, winter, and early spring months. The family operated a mill and was also involved in the coal trade. As a boy, he helped prepare coal on the Archeggio mountain, later carrying it to the village or perhaps as far as Locarno (10 km). He learned the blacksmith trade, but devoted himself primarily to the coal trade. Due to very poor economic and weather conditions, his family encouraged him to go to Australia where he could find work in the gold fields.

In 1854, at the age of 27, Antonio left his wife and unborn son in Gordevio and went, with his brother, Giacomo Antonio, to the gold fields of Australia. To pay the cost of the trip, it was necessary to reach an agreement with the municipality to obtain a burdensome loan of 1,200 francs, guaranteed by the family's assets, with 5% interest paid by the family. In about 1861, Antonio left Australia for New Zealand. After spending about 24 years in New Zealand, Antonio left for Eureka, Nevada to join his son, Aquilino, who, along with Aquilino’s uncle Giuseppe Morelli, is supplying charcoal to the silver miners. In 1879, after a violent uprising of the charcoal suppliers in which 5 charcoal suppliers were killed, Antonio and Aquilino moved to Idaho. On May 15, 1898, after having lived for 44 years in Australia, New Zealand, California, Nevada and Idaho, Antonio Maria wrote a letter to his son Celeste in Gordevio, asking if he would be willing to accept him and care for him "for a short time!" Antonio returned to his native Switzerland on September 26,1898 where he met his son, Celeste, for the first time. He lived in Switzerland until his death in 1899. Aquilino remained in Idaho.