BREISLAK, SCIPIONE. - Scolopio geologist, b. in Rome on 16 Aug. 1750, d. in Milan on 15 Feb. 1826. He taught physics and mathematics in various houses of the Piarist Schools, and above all at Ragusa and Urbino. Appointed in 1781 to the Nazarene College in Rome, he made his name famous with magnificent academies, in which experiments in physics and chemistry were performed such as had never been seen in Rome before. In 1787 he went to Naples, where he devoted himself to volcanological studies, from which derived his specialization in geological subjects, in which he later acquired great credit, also through the publication of fundamental works. A fervent Plutonist, he was opposed to Hutton's metamorphic theories, maintaining that gneisses and the other crystalline rocks represent the product of the cooling of the magma of the upper zone of the fluid terrestrial globe, that is, the primitive crust of the earth. He studied in particular central-southern Italy, especially the volcanic regions, publishing various works on terrains and on phenomena.
He was appointed by Napoleon inspector of the manufacture of saltpeter and gunpowder in the Kingdom of Italy and later director of the alum works at the Solfatura. From B.'s surname derives breislabite, very delicate fibers of a reddish-brown color, which are found in the cavities of the lava of Capo di Bove and in the trachytes of Monte Olbano: it presents the form of pyroxene.
Bibliography
Leodegario Picanyol