Agostino Scilla

Agostino Scilla (10 August 1629 – 31 May 1700) was an Italian Baroque painter, paleontologist, geologist, numismatist, and a pioneer in the study of fossils and in scientific illustration.

In addition to his paintings, he published an early text on paleontology: La vana speculazione disingannata dal senso ("Vain Speculation Undeceived by Sense", 1670) which was introduced to English audiences by William Wotton of the Royal Society in 1696.

His only written scientific work is La vana speculazione disingannata dal senso ("Vain Speculation Undeceived by Sense", 1670).

[4] The book was dedicated to the Sicilian nobleman Don Carlo di Gregorio, who founded the Accademia della Fucina (1639–1678) in Messina.

In this work Scilla argues for a scientific explanation for fossils, as opposed to them being of fantastic origin or a test of faith from God.

Fabio Colonna in Dissertatio de glossopetris (1616) had burnt these fossils to show that they were made of lime, organic matter, rather than minerals.

[6] Scilla argued that fossils were not lusus naturae, whimsical simulacra of animals and plants created by God or divine Nature.

Scilla may have seen fossil collections in Rome belonging to Cardinal Francesco Barberini (1597–1679) and his secretary Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588–1657).