Angelo was born in 1927, the eldest of 12 children, the son of a fisherman in Catania in Sicily. He started work with a tailor (Agatino Distefano, of Distefano's Atelier in Via Etnea, Catania) but realised that to fulfil his ambitions he would have to move to Rome, which he did in 1952. Walking down Via Sicilia, he saw a tailor's workshop and asked for a job, which he was given. His success was ensured by a silk jacket he wore to the opera that was noticed by Rossano Brazzi, the actor best known for "Three Coins in the Fountain". With Brazzi as his first client, Litrico's fame spread and eventually he bought the shop where he had started as an apprentice. One of his innovations was putting on a men's fashion show, previously only women's wear had been shown on a catwalk.