Franco Petracchi completed his double bass studies at the Collegio di Musica di S. Cecilia in Rome, where he also studied composition and orchestral direction under Franco Ferrara. He has performed as a solo double bass with renowned music institutions worldwide and is regarded by critics as one of the leading double bass players of our time.

For over 30 years, he has taught at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève and is one of the founders of the Accademia W. Stauffer di Cremona courses in Italy.

Petracchi has also worked extensively as an orchestra director, collaborating with ensembles such as the London Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and performing in France, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan (at Suntory Hall in Tokyo), Bulgaria, Poland, Denmark, and Spain. In Italy, he has worked with Accademia S. Cecilia, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Radio Orchestra of Rome, Milano, and Torino, as well as with the Filarmonica Romana, the Festival Rossini di Pesaro, and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

From 1960 to 1980, Petracchi served as Principal Solo Double Bass for the Radio (Rai) Orchestra in Rome. In 1979, he was awarded the Premio Italia for his contribution to the radio program "Un Contrabbasso in cerca d’Amore."