Born in Ripafratta, he attended the University of Pisa, where he came into contact with such outstanding figures as Giuseppe Antonio Slop (1740-1808), Andrea Vaccà Berlinghieri (1772-1826) and Tito Manzi (1793-1801). Introduced to the grand-ducal court thanks to the success of his automotons, he was appointed assistent to the Florence Museum of Physics and Natural History in 1794. An exile in France starting from 1799, he was brought into the Parisian scientific sphere by the astronomer Pierre Méchain (1744-1804). Here he had the chance to extend his knowledge of chemistry and to confront the recent European achievements in the field of mechanics and particularly in the sector of textile applications. In 1801 he returned to Italy, to Milan, where he was given the title of "National Mechanic", and that same year he was named a member of the Accademia del Cimento. Aware of the need to modernise the antiquated Italian textile factories, he made several trips to France, Switzerland and Holland to purchase machinery and observe the recent industrial transformatins. From the first of these trips there remains today an important manuscript of over 250 pages titled Viaggio tecnologico [Technological journey] (1807), rich in annotations and drawings of textile, hydraulic and metallurgical equipment. An official in the Habsburg government from 1814 on, he was called to the service of the Grand Duke on several occasions to modernise the machinery of the Florentine Mint. Returning definitively to Tuscany in 1833, he devoted his last years to studying the mining and metallurgical sector. He was buried in the Pisa Monumental Cemetery.