Born in Arezzo on 20 July 1304, a boy, he had to follow his father Ser Petracco, a Florentine notary banned from Florence for his political ideas, in Avignon, then the papal seat. At the nearby University of Montpellier, at the request of his father, he began to study the legal subjects that he continued at the University of Bologna. At this last university he had among his law professors what would become his future master of poetry: Cino da Pistoia. He soon realized, however, that the juridical subjects were not made for him and abandoned those disciplines he became passionate about the study of Cicero and ancient poets. In Bologna, among the studies and entertainment that Francesco did not disdain, he cultivated numerous friendships, among which the one with the Roman prince Giacomo Colonna.
In 1326 his father's death recalled Francesco, together with his brother Gherardo, to Avignon, where the two brothers found that his father's inheritance would not allow him to live much longer without finding accommodation. Brother Gherardo later entered the 'lesser order of the Carthusians and perhaps Francesco also embraced this order. The return to Avignon was characterized by the encounter of Francis with what would become the inspirer of all his love lyrics. It was Good Friday of 1327 when the poet saw in the church of Santa Chiara Laura the woman he will love for a lifetime. The love of Francesco for Laura, already married for two years with Ugo de Sade, was unique and continued even after his death which occurred, due to the plague, in 1348.
In 1330, as a chaplain, he entered the service of the Colonna family. The occupation gave him the opportunity to travel to France, Flanders and Germany. He was welcomed by the Lords who then dominated the Italian cities knowing among the most distinguished writers and poets of the time. During these trips, from superficial relationships, the two sons Giovanni (1337) and Francesca (1343) were born.
On 1 September 1340 while he was in retreat in Valchiria, a few miles from Avignon, he was informed by the Roman Senate and the University of Paris of the offer to be crowned Poet. He chose, perhaps for vanity, the invitation of Rome and after having been solemnly examined, for three days, in Naples by King Robert of Anjou, on Easter Day in 1341 he was encircled by the crown of Poet in the Campidoglio.
From 1353 he lived in Italy in Milan and later in Venice and Padua to finally settle in Arquà, on the Euganei hills, where he died on July 19, 1374.