Scientific Inquiry

Astronomer, physicist, engineer and heretic, Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de’ Galilei was born in Pisa and moved to Florence with his family when he was 8 years old. 

With a curious mind and discipline for scientific inquiry Galileo changed our knowledge in various disciplines. While studying medicine he became fascinated by the swinging of a chandelier and changed his studies to physics. 

He invented telescopes to explore the skies and microscopes to see tiny things up close. 

He attempted to standardize tools for measurements and invented several. This is a compass used by Galileo. 

While studying the stars Galileo determined that the earth rotates around the sun, contrary to the then popular belief that the cosmos rotated around the earth. For this belief, which resulted from his years of careful and deliberate study, he was labeled a heretic. 

The Museo Galileo pays homage to the work of Galileo and his cohorts in the age of science in Florence. 

An interesting addition to the museum is Galileo’s middle finger from his right hand, which is displayed to seemingly point heavenward. 
It is said that the finger was removed when Galileo’s body was being relocated from its hiding place in the Medici Chapel to its final resting place in the Basilica di Sante Croce. 






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