Francesco's father died when he was eleven years old, and he was left to be educated in literature and rhetoric by his uncle Donato Bocchi, vicar general of the Bishop of Fiesole.
He also found employment in the composition of speeches (such as funeral orations) and treatises targeted to for prominent patrons.
Among his patrons was Lorenzo Salviati and his family, Filippo Valori, Piero Vettori, and other members of the Curia in the circle of cardinal and later Grand-Duke, Ferdinando de' Medici.
As a writer, he often elaborated works with courtly erudition, more style than reasoned content, although deep in facts.
Among his works was a guide to artwork in Florence: Le bellezze della citta' di Firenze, original 1594.