Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588- 1657) was born in Turin and brought up and educated in Pisa. In 1612 he moved to Rome, where he found himself among influential and cultivated patrons. After taking up a position in Cardinal Barberini’s household in 1623, Cassiano soon became a prominent figure in Rome’s aristocratic and intellectual life.  By that time Cassiano had been joined in Rome by his younger brother Carlo Antonio, who shared his brother’s artistic and scientific interests and played a significant role in augmenting the collection.

Cassiano’s patronage extended to both the well-known and the lesser known artists of his day, and his close connections with leading European scientists, scholars and philosophers kept him fully informed of the latest archaeological and scientific discoveries .  Through his association with Prince Federico Cesi and his membership of the Accademia dei Lincei, founded by Cesi, and the first modern scientific society, Cassiano provided visual evidence of scientifically, and for the first time microscopically, observed natural phenomena, thus establishing a firm basis for scientific classification.  Fruit, flora, fungi, fauna, minerals and fossils – all were meticulously recorded, whether commonplace or exotic.  As antiquarian, Cassiano applied the same rigour and systematic methodology: classical and early medieval monuments were painstakingly measured, drawn and annotated.  These were then classified thematically to reveal unique testimony of ancient religion, custom, dress, architecture and spectacle.