May 30 – June 4, 2007 in Florence, Italy
Note: Course fee: $50. Participants will be responsible for all
costs and fees associated with transportation to and from
Florence, lodging, meals, and entrance fees. An estimation:
lodging sharing a double (including breakfast) $650.00 other meals
$170.00, course transportation and entrance fees (to be collected
in advance) $150.00.
Galileo Galilei’s (1564-1642) conceptual models and experimental
techniques evolved within rich Italian medieval and Renaissance
traditions. This course will review Galileo’s major discoveries in
astronomy and mechanics, and examine both the intellectual
framework and the vocational context in which he achieved these
advances. Discussion primarily of his two major works, Dialogue
Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1631) and Dialogues
Concerning Two New Sciences (1638) will be accompanied by visits
to related historical sites in and near Florence.
The wool industry helped create the conditions for Florence’s
leading role in the rediscovery and interpretation of ancient
wisdom. As early as the twelfth century hydraulic engineers were
learning to harness the power of the Arno river in extensive
mills. We will visit the the startling intact remains of a wool
fulling mill in Rimole, dating from the fourteenth century. The
skill of water engineers will also be on display in the
underground aqueduct system in Siena. The bottini date from the
twelfth century. Commercial activity fostered not only technical
progress, but also conceptual advance. The careful keeping of
ledgers is recognizeable as a significant forerunner of scientific
abstract mathematical modeling. We will be treated to a display of
fourteenth century accounting from the merchant Francesco Dattini
in the Dattini Archive in Prato.
We will visit and analyze Filippo Brunelleschi’s (1377-1446)
dome, his wondrous early fifteenth century engineering and
organizational feat. Not surprisingly, Renaissance military
exigencies dramatically influenced the march of science.
Fortifications were drastically altered with the advent of
cannons, requiring advanced geometrical and material science
expertise. In Florence and Siena we will observe the work of
master military engineers Sangallo (1483-1546) , Peruzzi
(1481-1536) – and Michelangelo (1475-1564).
Galileo’s military compass represented a culmination of centuries
of progress in astronomical and multi-purpose instrument building.
Among the examples we will view are the meridian line of
Brunelleschi’s friend Toscanelli in the Florence duomo, the
armillary of Egnazio Danti (1536-1586) on the façade of Santa
Maria Novella, his astrolabe in the Science History Museum in
Florence, and numerous additional instruments (including
Galileo’s) in the same museum. The influence of art will be
addressed in a visits to the Uffizi Museum. In the Palazzo
Vecchio, in addition to witnessing the cartographical skill of
Danti we will penetrate into some of the building’s sixteenth
century engineering design. The nearby church of Santa Croce
houses Galileo's tomb and memorial - opposite the tomb of
Michelangelo. The group will ascend the hills in the south of
Florence to visit Galileo's home in Arcetri and the nearby convent
of San Matteo where his beloved daughter Suor Maria Celeste lived
until her death in 1634.
For college teachers of: physics, astronomy, economics, history,
art history, science history, mathematics, engineering,
philosophy. Prerequisites: participants are urged to read a
biography of Galileo and familiarize themselves with some aspects
of Northern Italian Renaissance history. A recommended reading
list will be provided for those who wish to explore in more depth
before the trip.
Dr. Salisbury is a theoretical relativity physicist with a
special interest in the history of science. He has contributed
frequently to Austin College core courses dealing with scientific
heritage, and has conducted three January term courses on site in
northern Italy on the Life and Times of Galileo.
Dr. Settle is one of the world's leading Galileo scholars. Based now at the Florence History of Science Museum he has for many years explored and written about the deep Tuscan roots of modern science.
Tom maintained a great resource web page to consult at http://www.imss.fi.it/~tsettle/index.html
2007 Curse ArchiveLast Update October 13, 2019