Having obtained his diploma as a land surveyor in 1915, he attended the officers' school in Parma, but the Great War loomed.
His work took him to France and various locations in central-northern Italy, having returned permanently to Florence in 1923 with Piero Bargellini, Nicola Lisi and the engraver Pietro Parigi.
In 1934, he published his first poetic collection Reality conquers the dream (1932) in the magazine's column The most beautiful poetry.
In 1939, Betocchi left Florence and moved to Trieste where he was assigned the chair of literary subjects at the musical conservatory of Venice.
After World War II, Betocchi published News of prose and poetry (1947), A bridge over the plain (1953), and Poems (1955).