Born in Salerno, Esposito went on to study at L’Accademia di Belli Arti in Naples. Like many other Neapolitan painters he tended to shy away from the more formal aspects of academic teachings and over time concentrated on painting marine vedute - the genre of topographical paintings, initially of cityscapes, which had originated in Holland and which aimed to record a place or area accurately and in detail. An informal group of landscape painters established themselves in the waterfront Posillipo neighbourhood of Naples where the view across the lovely crescent shaped bay also took in the bustling shoreline and busy docks, and the distant land across the water. These idyllic, romantic views, both here and all along the southern coast of Italy, Sicily and Malta, provided not only beautiful vistas but also included the daily activities of the local sailors and fisherman and their families. Besides, by the early 19th Century landscape painting or vedute was beginning to be accepted as a respectable, and hence profitable, style Such detailed land and seascapes were increasingly popular amongst the many and mainly aristocratic travellers from Northern Europe, undertaking their obligatory Grand Tour and seeking decorative and relevant mementoes that evoked memories of a particular place - in effect beautifully detailed, painted picture postcards.