Maria Scarpini graduated from the Universitá Internazionale dell'Arte in Florence in 1982 and began her restoration career in Milan in 1983 with frescoes and large-scale altar paintings on canvas at Studio Parma. She further expanded her work experience in Rome with Coop CBC in a variety of media: from monuments and frescoes to paintings on canvas and panel. In 1993 she established a private conservation practice in Milan. She worked for several institutions including PAC in Milan (Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea) and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome.

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In 1997 she moved to New York City where she has worked among other firms with Robert Sawchuck and the Conservation Department of the Guggenheim Museum. She was also an intern at the Museum of Modern Art. In 2003 she established  ScarpiniStudio.. She specializes in the restoration of old masters as well as 19th-century and contemporary art.

She translated into Italian Gerry Hedley's important essay "On Humanism, Aesthetics and the Cleaning Of Paintings" for the Italian Publisher Il Prato.

She is a member of AIC (American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works )

In addition to her work as an art conservator, Maria Scarpini is a painter in her own right