The son of an Italian father and English mother, Faccini grew up in rural France, but was educated in England.
Having worked for many years at UNESCO in Paris (helping between 2008 and 2010 to run its My Life is a Story campaign, to raise awareness about street children),[2] Faccini has written extensively about educational innovations in the developing world.
[4] Faccini has also edited with an introduction a collection of stories by six Italian authors: Outsiders (Quercus, 2013).
His translation into English of Lydie Salvayre's Pas pleurer (as Cry, Mother Spain) was published by MacLehose Press in 2016.
His translation into English of Mahi Binebine's Le Fou du Roi (as The King's Fool) was published by MacLehose Press in 2020.