He was highly regarded for his virtuoso cello playing and his compositions were published and distributed throughout Europe.
In mid-1764, Zappa embarked on a tour of Europe with his friend Francesco Pasquale Ricci, visiting Dresden, Frankfurt, Mainz and Mannheim.
At the end of the 1780s Zappa was still gainfully employed as a music master based in The Hague (Maître de musique à la Haye), as noted in the 1788 manuscript of his Quartetto concertante.
The first recording of Francesco Zappa's symphonies was made by the New Dutch Academy directed by Simon Murphy; PENTATONE PTC 5186 365, released in 2009.
The recording features American Baroque cellist Caroline Kang in the solo role in Zappa's "cello symphonies".