This work was painted when Serres returned to London in 1791 specifically to be exhibited at the prestigious annual Royal Academy exhibition the following year.  Serres was a consumed traveller and visited Genoa (Leghorn as it was called then) in 1790.  He became Marine Painter to George III in 1793 after the death of his father, Dominic Serres, and was then appointed Marine Draughtsman to the Admiralty in 1800 in recognition of his brilliance at detailed topography of foreign coastlines – something that the Admiralty attached great importance to with war looming.