[1] His mother was of Scottish descent and he was partly educated in England,[2] but he graduated from the Royal Naval School in Genoa in 1852 with the rank of ensign.

Racchia's mission arrived in Borneo and identified Gaya Island, near the modern Kota Kinabalu, as a suitable location.

The local ruler, Sultan Abdul Momin of Brunei was willing to come to an arrangement, but the British, whose presence in the region was long-standing, did not support the plan so it did not go ahead.

[6][7] In January 1871 Racchia made an official visit to Johor, where he invested the Maharajah Abu Bakar with the rank of Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy on behalf of King Vittorio Emanuele II in a move to begin friendly commercial relations.

[8] In the same month he visited Bangkok where he was received by king Chulalongkorn and the 1868 treaty of commerce and navigation between the two countries was ratified.

[9][10] On reaching Myanmar, Racchia travelled inland to Mandalay to sign a commercial treaty with a plenipotentiary of king Mindon Min.

He served as President of the Maritime Military Tribunal of La Spezia from 1875 to 1876, commander of the Royal Navy School of Genoa from 1876 to 1880,[17] and was subsequently naval attaché in London, President of the Commission for Experiments on War Materials, General Secretary of the Ministry of the Navy, Commander of the Squadron and the 1st maritime department.