Giovanni Rinaldo Carli (1720-1795) was Italian who had quite a diverse range of interests, from economics to ancient history to oenology.

In a book^[087] concerning the history of the Peruvians he expressed his belief that a close encounter with a comet altered the orbit of the earth, lengthened the year and was responsible for the Deluge. A consequence of this catastrophic fly-by was also the destruction of Atlantis, which he located in the Atlantic. His idea of a cometary interference with the earth is a development of the theories of William Whiston (1667-1752), the Anglican priest who sought to reconcile science and religion. The French astronomer, Jérôme Lalande, developed Carli’s cometary ideas further.