{"id":28848,"date":"2025-10-08T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beculture.it\/?p=28848"},"modified":"2025-09-25T12:16:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T10:16:21","slug":"museo-galileo-florence-what-to-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beculture.it\/en\/museo-galileo-florence-what-to-see\/","title":{"rendered":"What to see at the Museo Galileo: a journey through science, curiosity and inventions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Renamed Museo Galileo<\/strong><\/a> in 2010, the historic Institute of the History of Science of the University of Florence is dedicated to the material testimonies of Italian science and was the first of its kind in Italy. The collection \u2013 among the most important in the world \u2013 also includes instruments owned and devised by Galileo Galilei<\/strong>: the celebrated physicist and astronomer who, in the early seventeenth century, supported the Copernican heliocentric theory in opposition to the Church\u2019s geocentric vision. Accused of heresy, Galilei was forced to recant, but his discoveries were later confirmed, and today, in the museum dedicated to him, we can admire some of the objects that contributed to modern science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galileo Galilei, man of science and culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa in 1564 and a few years later his family moved to Florence. Here he studied at the Faculty of Arts but soon became passionate about geometry and mathematics, obtaining in 1592 the chair of mathematics at the University of Padua, where he taught for almost twenty years<\/strong>. It was a lively period, both scientifically and personally: all three of his children were born in the Veneto \u2013 his beloved Virginia (1600\u20131634), Livia (1601\u20131659) and Vincenzo (1606\u20131649). He created the geometric and military compass and, in 1610, published the Sidereus Nuncius<\/em><\/strong> (\u201cStarry Messenger\u201d), dedicating it to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo II de\u2019 Medici (1590\u20131621).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this work, Galileo set out his astronomical observations \u2013 conducted through the telescope \u2013 in support of Copernican theory<\/strong>. According to Copernicus (1473\u20131543), the Sun occupies the central position and not the Earth: a theory we know to be true today, but which at the time openly contradicted the geocentric vision of the Catholic Church, threatening its very foundations (the centrality and immobility of the Earth being upheld by the Scriptures). The ecclesiastical authorities reacted swiftly: Copernicus\u2019 writings were partially censored and Galileo was ordered not to defend the theory.
After a decade of relative quiet, however, the scientist once again asserted heliocentrism in his Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo<\/em> (1632). Summoned to Rome before the Inquisition, Galileo underwent a harsh trial the following year<\/strong> and was forced to renounce his position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physicist, astronomer, but also philosopher and writer, Galileo died at his home in Arcetri, in the hills of Florence, in January 1642, leaving behind instruments, writings, scientific discoveries and a working method (the famous experimental method) essential to the development of modern research.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Museo Galileo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Museo Galileo and its collections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Museo Galileo occupies the entire Palazzo Castellani, an ancient building already known in Dante\u2019s time<\/a>. Opened to the public in 1930 as the Institute and Museum of the History of Science under the visionary direction of Andrea Corsini, today it preserves over a thousand instruments from the Medici and Lorraine collections.<\/strong>
This impressive collection confirms the two dynasties\u2019 keen interest in promoting and supporting the sciences. Before reaching its present location, the collection had been set up and transferred by members of the two families to various symbolic sites: from the Guardaroba of Palazzo Vecchio to the \u201cStanzino delle Matematiche\u201d of the Galleria degli Uffizi<\/a>, then to Palazzo Pitti<\/a> with the Accademia del Cimento, and later to the Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History at Palazzo Torrigiani (today Museo La Specola). It was here that in 1841 Grand Duke Leopold II (1797\u20131870) had the Tribuna Galileo <\/strong>built to house the scientist\u2019s portrait and, above all, his famous instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galilean instruments and memorabilia to see<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The visit unfolds through eighteen themed rooms<\/strong> displaying numerous devices and experimental apparatus from different perspectives: representations of the world, war, astronomy and time, maritime science, Galileo\u2019s new worlds, and much more. In the three interactive rooms on the ground floor, visitors can explore Galilean discoveries and instruments both physically and virtually.
These can still be seen in the museum today, alongside the others: here are some of the rarest, most significant and curious objects in the entire exhibition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Museo Galileo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The geometric and military compass<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Room VII, the heart of the museum, is one of the compasses built by Galileo from 1597 onwards: probably the very one he gave to Grand Duke Cosimo II together with his Le operazioni del compasso geometrico et militare<\/em> of 1606. Unlike the common compass, this device was not intended for drawing but for carrying out complex geometric and arithmetic operations<\/strong>. Made of brass, it consists of two graduated arms joined by a disc (the \u201cnocella\u201d), a semicircular quadrant and a movable cursor allowing it to be kept upright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the object itself, it is interesting to know that the compass was at the centre of a dispute between its inventor and the Milanese scientist Baldassarre Capra, who claimed authorship of the invention and accused Galileo of plagiarism<\/strong>. Such an accusation was unacceptable to the Pisan, who responded with a forceful and categorical Difesa<\/em>, demonstrating beyond doubt the truth of the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The telescopes and the objective lens<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of misattributed inventions, Galileo is often credited with inventing the telescope. In fact, this is not the case, as Dutch models were already circulating at the beginning of the seventeenth century. However, it is true that the Italian made numerous improvements to the<\/strong> instrument<\/strong>, significantly increasing its magnifying power and adding accessories that allowed not only observation but also measurement of astronomical phenomena. After presenting it to the Venetian Senate as a military device for spotting ships from afar, Galileo was the first to turn it towards the heavens to explore the night sky<\/strong>.
Because of its long-range capabilities, in 1611 Prince Federico Cesi, founder of the Accademia dei Lincei, proposed the name \u201ctelescopio\u201d for Galileo\u2019s instrument, from the Greek words tele <\/em>(far) and scopeo<\/em> (to see).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The museum preserves two of Galileo\u2019s original telescopes<\/strong>, the only ones that have survived: one of wood, paper and copper, the other of wood and leather. Also on display is the objective lens<\/strong> of the telescope with which, between 1609 and 1610, Galileo discovered the satellites of Jupiter (which he named Medicea Sidera<\/em> in dedication to the Tuscan rulers). Donated to Grand Duke Cosimo II, it was accidentally broken, as can still be seen today. The damage did not diminish its value, highlighted by the fine ebony frame dating from 1677, crafted by Vittorio Crosten on commission from the Medici.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Museo Galilei<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Iconography and relics: the bust and the middle finger<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The compass and the telescope are the instruments that most contributed to Galileo\u2019s renown, and they are the very objects with which he is portrayed in the marble bust that greets visitors in the seventh room<\/strong>. Commissioned by Cosimo III and created in 1674 by Carlo Marcellini, the sculpture depicts the bearded scientist with his face turned slightly to the right, clutching the two iconic objects. Among the many images present here, it attests to the prestige achieved by the Pisan, elevated to the status of hero and martyr of science<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n