Museo di Storia del Scienza

A bust of Galileo






Considered one of the most influential men of science, Galileo Galilei, was born in Pisa and buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence This museum is located right next to the Ponte Vecchio and is full of little trinkets of history, some gadgets causing some of the most dramatic leaps in medicine, astrology, and physics. I paid 5 euro for a group ticket, we went as part of my Physical Anthropology class, and it was really neat to see some of the things that are talked about and explained on the history channel or PBS.

Galileo has been called the Father of Modern Physics, and notably backed philosophy that the Earth was not the center of the universe but the sun - a heliocentric theory that placed him in immediate controversy.

Inside the museum, Galileo's actual middle finger is displayed in a glass egg-shaped container, which the guide suggested was his viewpoint of the Catholic Church - which is ironic, because he is buried in one now. 

Photographs were not allowed, but being the tricky guy that I am, here is what I came up with ( - though as a result, I do not have an explanation for many of these, but most are self-explanatory)

Galileo's Middle Finger, I know its really hard to see, but I couldn't take a picture fast enough!
sorry! I have a google photo of it later. :)

And here is the google image of Galileo's finger, which was my favorite part of the whole trip.

Now whether or not this is Galileo's defiance to the church or pointing upwards to a place where he often explored through his telescope....

well, you can decide. : )

Ciao for now blog buddies!