Pedrini was born in Fermo; Italy. He was the founder of the Xizhimen Church in Beijing. He was teacher of music of some Emperor Kangxi's sons and co-author of the first treaty about Western Music theory ever written in Chinese. He left Europe for China in 1703; eventually arriving in Beijing in 1711. He died in Beijing in 1746 and is interred there. His funeral expenses were paid by the Qianlong Emperor.