 Panizza was born in Bad Kissingen, northern Bavaria (Lower Franconia), to Karl (1808–1855) and Mathilde Panizza, née Speeth (1821–1915).Karl was descended from a family of Italian fishermen on Lake Como.Mathilde, herself a prolific writer under the pseudonym Siona, was descended from an aristocratic Huguenot family by the name of de Meslère.