Vincenzo Viviani and the Beginning of Galileo’s Mythography

Time: 12:00pm to 1:00pm

Location: Chemical Heritage Foundation, 315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Event Type: Open to the Public

Fee: Free

RSVP Online: No Registration Required

Galileo passed away on January 8, 1642, and was quickly (and quietly) buried in the vestry of a secondary chapel of the Santa Croce Basilica, in Florence. His last and most devoted disciple, Vincenzo Viviani, would spend his entire life trying to have a proper funeral monument built for his master. As all his efforts proved in vain, he decided to have the façade of his own palace turned into a private—yet publicly visible—celebration of Galileo’s life and achievements. In order to make his case stronger, he willingly distorted a few facts, turning Galileo from someone vehemently suspected of heresy into a pious martyr of science. A quarter of a century after Viviani's death, his wishes were eventually fulfilled, and Galileo's body was moved to his final resting place, opposite that of Michelangelo. If the inscriptions on Viviani’s palace still testify to the birth of Galileo’s mythography, the 1727 burial ceremony marked the beginning of a lay worship that, to some extent, still affects current scholarship.

For over two decades Stefano Gattei has worked on key issues of contemporary philosophy of science, such as the dynamics of theory change and conceptual change, the incommensurability thesis, realism, and relativism. He has published extensively on critical rationalism and Thomas Kuhn’s model for the growth of scientific knowledge, including a few books. In the past few years Gattei has focused almost exclusively on the history of early modern astronomy and cosmology, with special reference to Johannes Kepler, and the history of books.

Gattei taught history and philosophy of science, argumentation theory, and philosophy of the social sciences at various Italian universities, most recently at the University of Pisa and the IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca. He is also very active in the public understanding of science and philosophy: he is a regular contributor to Corriere della Sera, Italy’s main newspaper, and he was the scientific consultant for the theatrical play ITIS Galileo by Marco Paolini.

About Brown Bag Lectures

Brown Bag Lectures (BBLs) are a series of weekly informal talks on the history of chemistry or related subjects, including the history and social studies of science, technology, and medicine. Based on original research (sometimes still in progress), these talks are given by local scholars for an audience of CHF staff and fellows and interested members of the public.

For more information, please call 215.873.8289 or e-mail bbl@chemheritage.org.