Filippo was the son of the painter Domenico Pedrini. He studied at the Accademia Clementina in Bologna under Ubaldo and Gaetano Gandolfi, while Mauro Gandolfi and Felice Giani were fellow students. In 1790 Filippo became a member of the Bolognese Accademia and in 1821 he was elected to the Accademia Pontificia in Rome. He is best known for his frescoes for various palaces in Bologna, including the Palazzo Comunale and Palazzo Hercolani. In 1828 he decorated the vault of the Pantheon in the Certosa, Bologna. An interesting contribution to the knowledge of Pedrini's draughtsmanship, by Alessandro Zacchi and Antonella Mampieri, has been published online in 2009.