Anton Lazzaro Moro

Anton Lazzaro Moro (16 March 16873 April 1764) was an Italian abbot, geologist and naturalist. He was one of the leading advocates of plutonism in the early debate that confronted plutonism with neptunism, making him described by some authors as an ultraplutonist. Moro's work was singled out for praise by Charles Lyell in his Principles of Geology.

Biography Born into a modest family in the small town of San Vito al Tagliamento, he attended the seminary in Portogruaro and was ordained a priest in 1710. In the following years, he deepened his studies in anatomy, physiology, and natural history. In 1721, he became director of the seminary in Feltre, where he also taught philosophy.

In his later life he was appointed as parish priest of the small village of Corbolone, a position he held almost until his death. Moro died in his hometown on 3 March 1764, aged 76. The lunar mountain Mons Moro is named after him.

Moro devoted in depth research to the study of natural history. From his personal observations of the mountains in the Friuli region and from accounts of the eruption near Santorini that led to the formation of the island of Nea Kameni in 1707, he theorized that inside the earth was a ball of liquid fire and that mountains were upheaved from the sea. He hypothesized that fossils of marine animals were found petrified inside rocks because they had grown in sea water before the mountains had risen above the sea level.