Born in Camaiore in 1862, Pistelli was a pupil of Girolamo Vitelli and finished his philological studies in Florence. He became a Piarist in 1884. Since 1903 he taught Latin and Ancient Greek at the Istituto di Studii Superiori Pratici e di Perfezionamento (the modern University of Florence) and in 1921 became corresponding member of the Accademia dei Lincei.^[2]

He oversaw the publication of various works ranging from Giovanni Pascoli's poems to works about Dante Alighieri to ancient papyrus texts;^[2] as a papyrologist, he examined numerous manuscripts found at Oxyrhynchus, e.g. Papyrus 2, 35, 36, Uncial 0171, 0173. Pistelli also was a prolific writer of reviews, critical essays and prose works on various subjects, as well as works for young readers.^[2]

He died in Florence in 1927.

• 1901. De recentiorum studiis in Tyrtaeum collatis. B.Seeber: Firenze.
• 1917. Le pìstole d'Omero.
• 1921. Profili e caratteri.
• 1921. Per la Firenze di Dante.
• 1927. Eroi, uomini e ragazzi.
• Editions: Iamblichus, Protrepticus (Teubner, 1888)