Bresci was born at Coiano, near Prato, Tuscany, and emigrated from Italy to the United States, making his living as a weaver in Paterson, New Jersey, which had a large Italian-American community.[2] He became involved with and later a leading member of an Italian political group called "Gruppo diritti all' esistenza".[2] He was one of the founders of La Questione Sociale, the Italian language anarchist paper published in Paterson. According to Emma Goldman: