Galileo Galilei

90 GALILEO GALILEI (1564-1642)

The astronomer who discovered the language of the universe

Referred to as “the father of modern science” by Albert Einstein, Galileo Galilei is best known as the first scientist ever to use a telescope to observe the sky. But he was not only an astronomer; he was also a mathematician, a philosopher, and a physicist who invented new methods and instruments to make discoveries.

Born in Pisa in 1563, Galileo moved to Florence with his family when he was 8 years old. At his father’s urging, he went on to study medicine at the University of Pisa, but later convinced his father to let him study mathematics and natural philosophy instead. Although he left university in 1585 without earning a degree, he studied on his own. He invented a hydrostatic balance and published a small book, drawing the interest and attention of the scholarly world. Galileo was later hired back at the University of Pisa to teach mathematics, where he completed the famous free fall experiment from the top the Pisa tower. In 1592, to earn a higher pay, he moved to the Venetian Republic to teach geometry, mechanics and astronomy at the University of Padua.

Becoming “father of science” - the starry messenger

In his 18 years in the university world, Galileo invented the air thermometer, the proportional compass, and improved the telescope in 1609 with 8x magnification. Later, he achieved 20x magnification of the telescope, which he then used to study the sky. He discovered that the moon was not a perfectly smooth and translucent sphere as previously believed, but instead had

GALILEO IN PRISON

1878 engraving, Carlo Piloty, 1826-1886

an uneven and rough terrain with craters and mountain-like bulges. He also detected that the Milky Way was made up of a multitude of densely packed stars, and discovered three of Jupiter’s four orbiting stars. In 1610, he published these telescopic astronomical findings in Sidereus Nuncius (“Starry Messenger”). Galileo dedicated the book to his patron, Cosimo II de Medici, then Grand Duke of Florence, who built him a lab. Galileo left Padua, in the same year, and became Florence’s court mathematician and philosopher.

Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems

The astronomical phenomenon documented in Sidereus Nuncius became important evidence that supported Copernicus’ heliocentric theory that the Earth and other planets revolved around the Sun. As a devout Catholic, Galileo knew very well that this theory was in conflict with the Aristotlelian geocentric model. Therefore he chose not to publicly defend the Copernican model. When his good friend and admirer Cardinal Maffeo Baberini became Pope Urban VIII in 1623, the pope permitted Galileo’s neutral discussion on the discrepancies between the theories of Copernicus and Aristotle. In 1632, Galileo published “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems,” featuring three characters: Filippo Salviati, Galileo’s friend and a Florentine noble, who argued for Copernicus; Giovanni Segredo, an intelligent mathematician who served as a neutrality; and Simplicio, who presented the traditional view and was supposedly named after Aristotlelian philosopher Simplicius of Cilicia but whose name also suggested the connotation of “simpleton.” Galileo wanted his work to reach a wider audience to convince them of the Copernican model. This lack of neutrality brought him trouble in the papal court for its seeming attack on geocentrism. Galileo was eventually tried, forced to plead guilty and sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life. “Dialogue” was banned, and Galileo was forbidden to publish any future works.

Death and legacy

While under house arrest, Galileo completed one of his finest works, “Discourse concerning Two New Sciences,” featuring a summary of his works, which was sent for publication in Holland in 1636 to avoid the censor. Galileo went blind two years later, and died in 1642. His student, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand II, wanted to bury Galileo in the main body of the Basilica of Holy Cross and erect a marble mausoleum in his honor. However, since Galileo’s scientific theories were condemned by the Catholic Church, the Grand Duke’s plans were eventually dropped.

In 1737, after heliocentrism was proven by Issac Newton, Galileo was reinterred in the Basilica. During the move, three of Galileo’s fingers, a rib and a tooth were removed, as was the practice of preserving saintly relics. One of the fingers is exhibited at Florence’s Institute and Museum of the History of Science (the only human remains on display in the science museum). The museum was renamed Museo Galileo in 2010. All of Galileo’s works were eventually removed from the banned list in 1853, and the Copernican model that the Earth revolved around the Sun was commonly accepted as truth by the 20th century. Some have argued that Galileo’s argumentative and sarcastic nature made him many enemies, leading to his eventual lack of acceptance during his lifetime. However, his curiosity and steadfast pursuit of proven truths made many major advances in science possible. His inquisitive and dogged spirit serve as an inspiration not only for scientists but also for anyone promoting new and unpopular ideas within the established boundaries. Galileo showed us through ardent persistence that advancement can be achieved towards a better informed world.

View from the Galileo suite: from left, Bargello museum tower, Badia fiorentina bell tower and Palazzo Vecchio

Palazzo Portinari Salviati dedicates the charming attic room to Galileo Galilei, for those curious minds wishing to explore Florence and observe the sky as Galileo once did so brilliantly. Standing on the private balcony, three historical Florence towers in different architectural styles can be seen at a glance. On right: the famous tower of Palazzo Vecchio, also called Torre di Arnolfo, was once used as a prison cell. Middle: the tower of Badia Fiorentina with a pointed gothic top, located right across from Dante’s birthplace, a mere 70 meters away from Palazzo Portinari Salviati. Left: the medieval style tower of the Bargello museum, a former barracks and prison, now containing one of the largest collections of gothic and Renaissance sculptures, including Donatello’s less famous but equally captivating version of “David.”

94 REFERENCES

Accademia della Crusca: Il piu bel fior ne coglie 2015. The Sala delle Pale.

Allori, Alessandro, and I. B. Supino. 1908. I ricordi di Alessandro Allori. Firenze: Biblioteca della Rivista d’Arte.

Borghini, Raffaello and Lloyd H. Ellis, Jr. 2012. Francesco Bocchi - Il riposo. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Botke, Klazina. 2017. La gloria della famiglia Salviati: Het kunstmecenaat van de Salviati in Florence tijdens de heerschappij van de Medici. Groningen: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

Dooley, Brendan. 2014. A Mattress Maker’s Daughter: The Renaissance Romance of Don Giovanni de’ Medici and Livia Vernazza. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Frangenberg, Thomas, and Robert Williams. 2006. Francesco Bocchi - The beauties of the city of Florence: a guidebook of 1591. London: Harvey Miller Publishers.

Nardini, Brun. 1982. Banca Toscana: storia e collezioni. Firenze: Nardini.

Pampaloni, Guido. 1960. Il palazzo Portinari-Salviati oggi proprietà della Banca Toscana. Firenze: Le Monnier.

Salviati, famiglia. L’archivio presso la Scuola Normale Superiore. 2015. La famiglia.

Treccani. 2017. SALVIATI, Giovanni di Marcello Simonetta - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 90 (2017).

CREDITS

This is a joyful collaboration between Julie Chang and Monica Shen

Contributors texts and editing: Elaine Chang, Nelson Chang, Sharon Lin, Teresa Orfanello and Tom Rosenfeld

Art design Cristiana Rinaldi

Photo sources Accademia della Crusca, Biblioteca Civica Queriniana di Brescia, Salviati-Centro Archivistico SNS, Damiano Chiesa and Uffizi Galleries

Publication date July 2022, first edition

Published by LDC Italian Hotels

© All rights reserved, do not reprint

MARY MAGDALENE WITH CHRIST THAT APPEARS AS A GARDENER

by Alessandro Allori, in the Palazzo’s Chapel

96 next pages

MARBLE STATUE OF COSIMO I DE’ MEDICI

Fragmentary Roman statue in lorica cuirass (a form of ancient Roman armour) to which the head of Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici was added, executed by Giovanni Francesco Susini (Florence,1585). On the base of the sculpture: HAS INTER/MATERNAS AEDES/PUER REPTAVIT/ COSMUS/ QUAS NUNC STABILI/FULCIT PEDE/ IN DIADEMATIS MAIESTATE Free translation: In this maternal rooms, Cosimo crawled as an infant. He, who now with firm stance radiates in the majesty of the diadem.

MADONNA AND CHILD WITH ST. ZENOBIUS, ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

The center of the wall painting depicts the Madonna with the child Jesus, in which she is enthroned in majesty as the Queen of Heaven. On the proper right side stands St. John the Baptist, protector and patron saint of Florence, with his camel skin and astylar cross. On the proper left there is Saint Zenobius, who was the first bishop of Florence. His relics are currently preserved in a bronze shrine designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti located in the Santa Maria del Fiore.