The Life and Times of Galileo: The Italian Renaissance Roots of Modern Science

Instructor: Don Salisbury

Moody Science 107

X2480

dsalisbury@austincollege.edu

This course will explore the historical roots and content of Galileo's scientific discoveries. Both themes will be explored in readings and discussions during ten regularly scheduled meetings in the Fall of 2006. This will be followed in January with visits to museums, churches, galleries, universities, and sites where Galileo lived, worked and worshiped. These visits will help to establish the intellectual, religious and social climate of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries in Italy. The travel itinerary will include all the major stations in Galileo's life, from his origins to triumphs and ultimate house arrest in Florence, with shorter-term appointments in Pisa and Siena, and a professorship in Padua with frequent contact with artisans in Venice. The final four days in Rome will be devoted to his conflict with the church.

Course Objectives

• Become familiar with some aspects of medieval and Renaissance northern Italian history
• Begin to develop an understanding of the nature of the Renaissance, a recognition of some of the key players and an appreciation of Florence's central role
• Study the emergence of perspective drawing and new ways of seeing developed by Italian Renaissance artists and architects, and appreciate the extent to which Galileo's science was influenced by and itself influenced some of these developments
• Explore the craft and engineering origins of the scientific revolution
• Learn what distinguished Galileo's science from that of his predecessors
• Try to discern other Renaissance roots in Galileo's thought and action
• Learn Galileo's contribution to modern science, in particular the role of experimentation, his contribution to Newtonian mechanics, and the relation of his cosmos to Einstein's universe
• Gain a deeper understanding of the conflict between Galileo and the Catholic church.
• Recognize contemporary parallels of the Galileo affair in the interaction of science and religion
• Savor the Italian culture that bore Galileo

Course Requirements

Required reading

Galileo's Daughter, Dava Sobel, Penguin Books

Galileo on the World Systems, Galilleo Galilee, (Stillman Drake, editor and translator), Modern Library

Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, Galilleo Galilee, (Stillman Drake, editor and translator), Anchor Books

Paper

You are asked to research and write a paper on a topic related to the course theme. You must obtain my approval of the topic. The paper must have a length of five to ten pages double-spaced, with additional pages for the title and bibliography. Sources must include at least two web sites, a journal, and a book (other than the required readings). The paper may be submitted prior to the end of the Fall semester, or by February 5, 2007

Journal and Portfolio

You required to keep a journal reflecting on experiences and insights gained relating to the course objectives. The portfolio will contain relevant documentation, and may include pertinent diary entries, sketches, photographs, music, art, etc. Please note: neither the journal nor the portfolio will contain personal reflections or observations not pertaining to the course objectives.

Participation

Let us each try to enrich each other's experiences in our Fall meetings and on our journey. I envision unexpected revelations which will follow from an openness in observation and a readiness to reflect upon and discuss what we have seen and experienced.

Grading

The course grade will be based in part on three one half hour quizzes which will be taken in the Fall, a course journal and portfolio, and a final examination administered on the return flight from Rome.

Fall quizzes will address readings and class discussions, with the following themes.

• Quiz 1: Italian renaissance cultural and political history, medieval and renaissance science, Galileo's life
• Quiz 2: Galileo's science, including his principle of inertia, free fall and parabolic motion experiments and analysis, observational and theoretical support for the Copernican world system
• Quiz 3: Galileo's place in the Newtonian and modern Einsteinian universes

In addition a grade will be assigned for participation in Fall discussions and active engagement in activities in Italy. If either effort is judged to be inadequate during the course, students will be notified in a timely manner.

Grades will be calculated as follows

Three fall quizzes	30
Fall course participation	10
Journal/ Portfolio	20
Paper	20
January course engagement	10
Final examination	10

Fall Class Meetings

The first formal class meeting will be at 8 am on Tuesday, September 26. PLEASE READ “GALILEO’S DAUGHTER” BEFORE THIS MEETING. The full schedule of reading assignments, lecture and discussion topics, and quiz dates will be distributed on September 26.

Some Important Dates

	Date	Event
Aug	29	Informal class meeting
Sept	26	First formal class meeting at 8 am in MS 10
Oct	2	Deadline for initial payment (half of total) to the Business Office
Nov	1	Balance of payment is due the Business Office
Jan	4	Departure at 12 Noon from DFW for Rome, via Toronto, on Canada Air flight 1247
Jan	24	Return at 9:14 pm to DFW on Air Canada flight 1048
Feb	7	Paper due

Fall Predeparture Class Schedule

Date	Topics	Readings
9/26	Aristotelian mechanics and Ptolemy’s cosmos	Galileo’s Daughter
10/3	Renaissance art and perspective	Readings from M. Kemp, The Science of Art (online)
10/10	Renaissance engineering, scientific instruments, and culture	Readings from T. Settle (online)
10/17	Quiz 1 Astronomy before Galileo	Readings from T. Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution (online)
10/24	Galileo’s life through 1609 Galileo’s telescopic discoveries and support for the Copernican world system	S. Drake, Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, pp 1-51, 59-108
10/31	Galileo’s life as a courtier through 1633 The Galileo Affair: conflict with Rome	S. Drake, Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, pp 175-216
11/7	Quiz 2 Galileo’s discoveries in mechanics	S. Drake, Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, pp 231-258; S. Drake/Galileo, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, pp. 106-157
11/14	The Newtonian universe	Readings from J. Gleick, Isaac Newton (online)
11/21	The world according to Einstein	Readings from M. Kaku, Einstein’s Vision (online)
11/28	Quiz 3 Final January preparations

The full schedule of travel, site visits, and hotel accommodations will be distributed during the Fall semester. The activities will be similar to those of the January 2005 course, listed below:

Date	Activity	General highlights	Scientific highlights
Monday - 1/3/05	Walking tour of city center	Cathedral dome (Duomo) Orsanmichele Piazza della Signoria Palazzo Vecchio Uffizi Museum Bargello Palace Dante's Church (Chiesa di S. Martino del Vescovo)
Tuesday - 1/4/05	Discussion of Armillary and gnomon by Egnatio Danti (1536-1586)
	Santa Maria Novella church	Strozzi chapel fresco by Filippino Lippi Major chapel fresco by Ghirlandaio (1449-1494) Brunelleschi's wooden crucifix	Armillary and gnomon by Danti
	Museum of Santa Maria Novella	Spanish chapel frescos by Buonaiuto (1343-1377) Courtyard frescos by Uccello (1397-1475)
	Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo)	Design by Arnolfo di Cambio (1245-1302)	Meridian line (gnomon) of Toscanelli
	Climb of Dome (cupola)	Universal justice fresco by Vasari (1511-1574)	Amazing architectural achievement of Brunelleschi (1377-1446)
Wednesday - 1/5/05	Talk by Galileo expert Tom Settle at the Science History Museum
	Science History Museum		Objective lense of telescope used by Galileo in discovering moons of Jupiter Two of Galileo's original telescopes Model of type inclined plane used by Galileo in his motion experiments Military compass given by Galileo to young Cossimo II
	Brancacci Chapel in Church of Santa Maria del Carmine (Cappella Brancacci)	Frescos by Masaccio (1401-1428), Masolino (1383-1440) and Filippino Lippi
Thursday - 1/6/05	Uffizi Gallery	Compare Madonna and child by Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1318), Cimabue (1240-1302) and Giotto (1267-1337) Botticelli (1445-1510) Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Duerer (1471-1528) Mantegna (1431-1506) Corregio (1489-1534) Michelangelo Bronzino (1503-1572) Titian (1488-1576) Rubens (1577-1640) Raphaello (1483-1520)	Portrait of Galileo by Sustermans (1597-1681)
Friday - 1/7/05	San Gimignano (city with many medieval towers)
	Monteriggioni (small walled medieval town)
	Archbishop's palace in Siena		Galileo in Archbishop Piccolomini's custody here in 1633
	Siena Duomo	Pergamo by Nicola Pisano (1220-1278), Piccolomini library
	Palazzo Pubblico, Siena	Lorenzetti's (-1348?) fresco allegories of good and bad government, Maesta fresco by Simone Martini (1280-1344)
	Pasticceria Nannini (Siena)	Ricciarelli (almond pastry) and vin santo
Saturday - 1/8/05	Florence Topographical Museum	Maps and views of Florence through the ages, Model of Roman Florence
Wednesday - 1/12/05	Lecture by Galileo expert William Shea at the University of Padua
Thursday - 1/13/05	University of Padua (tour conducted by William Shea's graduate student Anne and physics student )		Galileo's lecturn (built by his students), World's oldest anatomical theater, 1594, (for human dissection), Aula magna Galileo Galileo (for formal university functions)
	Caffe Pedrocchi (Europe's oldest continuously operating café - since 1831)
	Scrovegni Chapel	Frescos depicting events in the lives of Mary and Christ by Giotto, painted1303-05
	Civic Museum	Roman funerary sculpture from Padua
	Galileo's house on Via Galileo
	Piazza del Santo	Statue of Gattamelata by Donatello (1386-1466)
	Saint Anthony Cathedral	Alter, Crucifix by Donatello, frescos by Altichiero da Verona (1330-1390)
Friday - 1/14/05	Walking tour of Venice from the train station over the Rialto bridge to Piazza San Marco (and pigeons)
	San Marco basilica	Bizantine reliefs and mosaics
	Accademia Galleries	Works by Lorenzo Veneziano (died 1372?), Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) Giorgione's (1476-1510) The Tempest, Andrea Mantegno (1431-1506), Tintoretto (1518-1594), Veronese (1528-1588), Marco Ricci (1676-1730), Pietro Longhi (1702-1785), Special exhibit of works of Carravagio (1573-1610)
Saturday - 1/15/05	Naval history museum	Model of the bucintoro (used since thirteenth century in annual marriage of Venice with the sea)	models of venetian merchant and naval vessels historical navigation instuments
	Arsenale		Shipyard visited frequently by Galileo
	Ducal palace	Administrative, legislative and judicial rooms of the Venetian republic, Surprising display of paintings by Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) Paintings by Bellini, Frescos by Veronese and Tintoretto	Collection of arms beginning in early middle ages, Map room with restored 16th century maps (including Marco Polo's journey)
	Correr Museum		Manuscripts from 16th and 17th centuries, historical navigation instruments
	Murano island	Vaporetto pilot navigated closer to Arsenale and slowed, enabling us to take pictures	Galileo's first telescope lenses produced by glass artisans here
Monday - 1/17/05	Santa Croce basilica	Tombs of Machiavelli and Michelangelo, frescos by Giotto,	Medici chapel was Galileo's original burial site, Galileo's tomb now in basilica
	Santa Croce cloister	Pazzi Chapel, Brunelleschi architecture, crucifix by Cimabue
	Palazzo Vecchio	Building design and art by Vasari (1511-1574) Hall of Justice and chapel of the republican priors	Geography room - maps and globe by Danti and Buonsignori (?-1589)
	San Lorenzo basilica	Brunelleschi's design, Donatello's bronze pulpits and sarcophagus in form of wicket basket, Tomb by Verrocchio (1435-1488)	Celestial dome in Old Sacristy depicting night of July 4, 1442
Tuesday - 1/18/05	View of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo		City defensive walls designed by Michelangelo
	San Miniato al Monte	Benedictine monestary constructed between 1018 and 1207, crucifix by Michelozzo (1396-1472), fresco by Taddeo Gaddi (?-1366)
	Il gioiello (the jewel) in Arcetri (Florence)	We saw the entire house!	Galileo's house where he was confined from 1633 until his death in 1642
	San Matteo convent in Arcetri	Thanks to Nuvolina for persuading Father Guiseppe to let us inside, and to Father Guiseppe for his gracious hospitality and informative commentary	Home of Galileo's daughter, Suor Maria Celeste
	Leonardo Museum in Vinci		Reproductions of Leonardo da Vinci's plans with actual models
	Leonardo da Vinci's birthplace near Vinci
Wednesday - 1/19/05	Leaning Tower of Pisa (campanile)		You know the story
	Pisa Cathedral		Galileo's lantern (though story not true since the lantern was installed two years after Galileo left Pisa)
	Camposanto	Oldest public museum in Europe - frescos destroyed in WWII partially restored, frescos by Taddeo Gaddi, Benozzo Gozzoli (1420-1497)	Statue of the Pisan mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci (1170?-1250?)
	Galileo's University - Universita degli Studi		Galileo was both student and professor here
	Galileo's birth home
Thursday - 1/20/05	Academy Gallery	David by Michelangelo Medici musical instrument collection, Festival painting scene by Scheggio (brother of Massacio)
	San Marco Museum	Dominican monestary cell frescos by Fra Angelico (1387-1455), library by Michelozzo
	Medici chapel	Medici funerary sculpture by Michelangelo
Friday - 1/21/05	Bargello Museum	Donatello's David, sculpture by Giambologna (1529-1608), Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), competition door panels by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti
	Walking tour of central Rome	Spanish steps Piazza Navona Pantheon Trevi Fountain
Saturday - 1/22/05	coliseum
	Nero's gold house (domus aurea)	Recently excavated and opened, Renaissance artists snuck into rooms to copy (and imitate) frescos
	Roman Forum
	Quirinale	Monte Cavallo fountain
Sunday - 1/23/05	Saint Peter's basilica	Celebration of mass, Michelangelo's pieta
	Saint Peter's square	Pope's address
	Santa Maria Maggiore	Ceiling fresco by Cigoli (1559-1613) in Borghese chapel	Friend of Galielo depicted imperfect moon in 1611
Monday - 1/24/05	Vatican museums	Sistine Chapel frescos by Michelangelo (and other "lesser" artists like Botticelli, Ghirlandaio…), Raffaello rooms, including Athens School fresco, Belvedere torso by ancient greek Apollonius, Ancient Roman copies of greek sculptures of the muses	Map room with 16th century maps by Danti
	Pantheon
	Piazza Argentina	Ruins of Senate building where Cesar was assassinated
	San Luigi dei Francesi church	Paintings by Carravagio (1571-1610)
	Farewell dinner at the Galleria Sciarra Restaurant