Sarrocchi was born at
Siena to a humble family, as a boy was orphaned of mother. He had to help support his two sisters and his father, who had become nearly blind. At the age of thirteen, he began working under
Antonio Manetti in the restoration of the facade of the Duomo of Siena. he also worked as a scenographer for a dance theater company. In 1841 moved to
Florence, where he initially worked for a marble and alabaster merchant, Leopoldo Pisani. But in his free time, he attended courses at the
Academy of Fine Arts taught by
Lorenzo Bartolini. He later worked as the chief assistant to
Giovanni Duprè. He created his first independent work,
The Bacchante (1852) before returning to Siena. On the recommendation of Duprè he was chosen in 1855 to complete the monument to
Giuseppe Pianigiani in San Domenico, He would go on to complete several other restoration projects, working on
Giovanni Pisano's sculptures in
Pisa and again working with Partini on the restoration of
Siena Cathedral. In Siena, he also sculpted a Civil Monument to those fallen in the wars of independence (intended for and once found in
Piazza dell'Indipendenza but now moved to a park in San Prospero). and a statue of Sallustio Bandini for the piazza Salimbeni. He sculpted the relief placed over the facade of the church of Santa Croce, depicting the
Invention of the Cross. For the English Cemetery in
Alexandria, Egypt, he made four figures, monuments to three sons of Cavalier Baker. For the
cathedral of Massa Marittima, he sculpted a
Gothic monument for monsignor Traversi, with three statues and a bas-relief. For the suburban cemetery of
Pisa he made a monument for the Count Giuseppe Alliata and his son. For the cemetery of
Modena he made the monument for the family of marchesi Campori, including a relief of
La Morte al Sepolcro. The city of
Acquapendente commissioned him a statue in honor of the anatomist
Girolamo Fabrizio. ==Appointments and legacy==