He consecutively won the prestigious 1st class Marsili-Aldrovandi prize with his works Enea condotto dalla Sibilla ai Campi Elisi (1774) and Un Romano che rapisce una Sabina (1775).

In the 1789 edition he saw the neoclassic style typical of Antonio Canova, in the marble relief Le arti incoronate dal Genio by Giacomo De Maria.

During this period he decorated the Palazzo Braschi near Piazza Navona, and sculpted a large bas-relief for the main altar of the church of San Pantaleo, Rome.

However, in the only two works that are known to be his in the cemetery (another pair is attributed to him with the consensus of experts), the artistic level has diminished and the monuments are of a modest nature with sparse detail.

[2] Acquisti, along with Giacomo Rossi, helped promote the transition from the graceful figures of the baroque and the flowery rococo to the heroic scenes inspired by Benedetto Alfieri.