The author, born in 1965, is a volcanologist with a PhD, has produced numerous scientific publications and was the founder and editor of the Rivista Gemmologica Italiana.

He has thoroughly studied the genesis of agate and jasper and is probably the most prominent scientist in the world on this subject. Since childhood he has been a passionate collector of stones, and has always been curious to investigate their origin, amassing an important collection of minerals, mostly agates and jaspers.