Cesare Emiliani was born as a son to Luigi and Maria (Manfredidi) Emiliani on December 8, 1922 in Bologna, Italy. He studied geology at the University of Bologna, specializing in micropaleontology. He received the DSc from the University of Bologna in 1945. His earliest publications concerned philately, an interest that continued throughout his life. After graduation he worked as a micropaleontologist with the Societa Idrocarburi Nationali in Florence from 1946-48. During this time he published several papers on taxonomy and stratigraphy of foraminifera of the Cretaceous argille scagliose near Bologna, and from Pliocene sections near Faenza.