He was born to a large family with eight other children.

He was born to a large family with eight other children. His family was poor, and when he was 10, his father fell sick and Robertino helped the family by delivering bakery products to restaurants. He enjoyed singing folk songs on his way and was noticed by people for his singing voice. After a request to perform at a wedding in a restaurant, Robertino was sought after by other restaurants who competed for his service.

Robertino was singing at Cafe Grand Italia where Neapolitan actor Totò and Danish TV producer Volmer Sørensen noticed him. Sørensen was vacationing in Rome with his wife, singer Grethe Sønck, who noticed the boy. Sørensen persuaded his father to sign a contract, which stated that the boy would sing till age 17, and became his producer. That led to performances on Danish TV shows, tours of Scandinavia and Europe. Robertino would spend months on tour, singing up to three concerts a day, until his voice started to change. He recorded an album while in Copenhagen, and later published several albums and appeared in movies.