He was born in San Costanzo, province of Pesaro, on November 8, 1884, the son of Augusto Pascolini and Filomena Alessandri.

When the Kingdom of Italy entered the First World War on May 24, 1915, he was serving in the 73rd Infantry Regiment "Lombardia", with the rank of Lieutenant; he participated in the fighting on the Isonzo Front and in September 1915 he was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor for having rescued a wounded soldier under enemy fire in no man's land.

He spent two years recovering, after which he returned to active duty at his request, despite having been declared a disabled veteran, with the rank of major.

Having been promoted to colonel, he remained in Abyssinia after the end of the war, as commander of the 1st Colonial Infantry Regiment, tasked with completing colonial police operations against Arbegnoch groups led by Desta Damtew; in January 1937 he led his groupment of Libyan battalions in the battle that resulted in the annihilation of Damtew's remaining forces.

He remained a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union until May 1950, when he was released and repatriated along with Generals Ricagno and Battisti and thirty South Tyrolean SS soldiers.