Galileo Galilei kneels in front of the church
Galileo Galilei kneels in front of the church
Galileo Galilei, one of the biggest scientists of the world was born in Pisa in 1564 and died in Florence in 1642. He was supported by the Medici family; Cosimo II invited him to stay in the "Villa il Gioiello" : Galileo discovered the four Satellites of Jupiter during his florentine period (1610) and he dedicated them to Cosimo.
In 1632 the scientist published his "Discorso sui massimi sistemi" and he risked to be burnt at the stake: in his treaty he supported Copernico's eliocentric theory against the geocentric one supported by the church. He was 70 years old when the Inquisition in Rome condemned him for heresy: he must deny everything to survive.
Florence celebrates Galileo:
1.The Galileo museum preserves his original telescope: it is situated next to a finger and some teeths of the scientist.
2. Galileo is one of the Illustrious men sculpted in XIX century for the porch of the Uffizi gallery: it is not a case if he directs his gaze to the sky!
3.The tribune at the first floor of the Specola museum celebrates Galileo: Leopoldo II commissioned it in 1841 for the third Congress of Italian Scientists with frescoes representing his most famous discoveries.
4. Galileo died in 1642: the Pope Urbano VIII didn't want his body to be buried together with the other illustrious men in the church of Santa Croce. Only in 1737 Gian Gastone dei Medici commissioned his tomb to Giovan Battista Foggini. It is situated in front of Michelangelo: a curious case because Galileo was born in 1564 and Michelangelo died the same year in Rome!
In 1632 the scientist published his "Discorso sui massimi sistemi" and he risked to be burnt at the stake: in his treaty he supported Copernico's eliocentric theory against the geocentric one supported by the church. He was 70 years old when the Inquisition in Rome condemned him for heresy: he must deny everything to survive.
Florence celebrates Galileo:
1.The Galileo museum preserves his original telescope: it is situated next to a finger and some teeths of the scientist.
2. Galileo is one of the Illustrious men sculpted in XIX century for the porch of the Uffizi gallery: it is not a case if he directs his gaze to the sky!
3.The tribune at the first floor of the Specola museum celebrates Galileo: Leopoldo II commissioned it in 1841 for the third Congress of Italian Scientists with frescoes representing his most famous discoveries.
4. Galileo died in 1642: the Pope Urbano VIII didn't want his body to be buried together with the other illustrious men in the church of Santa Croce. Only in 1737 Gian Gastone dei Medici commissioned his tomb to Giovan Battista Foggini. It is situated in front of Michelangelo: a curious case because Galileo was born in 1564 and Michelangelo died the same year in Rome!
The bust of Galileo sculpted by Marcellini
Galileo's telescope
Tomb in S Croce.
Altri articoli
The Marzocco, the symbol
A cage full of lions was situated behind Piazza Signoria in the actual Via dei Leoni in the middle of XIV century to protect priors.
Villa La Pietra
A historic villa becomes a university campus in '94. It has historical roots dating back to the 14th century, passing through the hands of bankers,
The Museum of La Specola
Home to a vast collection of zoology and anatomy, with lifelike wax models crafted by master artisans.
What is a grotesque decoration
This is the reason why you find grotesques in Florentine museums