Emo, who was born in Venice, was assigned to hunt down the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean sea. In 1784 he sailed on board the ship Fama in command of twenty-four vessels. The siege of Tunis happened in 1785, and although Emo did not succeed in capturing Tunis, he reduced the Bey to terms and received thanks from Louis XVI of France. Admiral Angelo Emo died at Malta in 1792.