[1] Pettinelli began his career at Calvisano in the Top12 before moving to Benetton ahead of the 2018–19 Pro14 season.

[5] Pettinelli was a member of the Italy squad at the 2016 Six Nations Under 20s Championship,[3] and he scored a try against Ireland in the fourth round.

[2] On 14 October 2021, he was selected by Alessandro Troncon to be part of an Italy A 28-man squad for the 2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals, having made his test debut against Argentina during the 2021 Autumn Nations Series.

[8] Pettinelli was called up to the Italy squad for the first time ahead of the 2020 Six Nations Championship.

[9] On 31 October 2021, he was selected by Kieran Crowley to be part of an Italy 34-man squad for the 2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals.He made his debut against Argentina.