 Laparelli was born in Cortona on 5 April 1521, a member of one of the richest and most illustrious families of Cortona.As a young man, he practiced in the exercise of arms, studied mathematics and architecture along the models defined by Euclid and Vitruvius, and practiced drawing.He was strongly influenced by meeting and working with Gabrio Serbelloni, who was sent to Cortona by Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany to provide for the city's defenses during the conflict between Florence and Siena.