The Galileo Museum (Museo Galileo) in Florence is one of the most unique places where science and art meet on the banks of the Arno River, right next to the Uffizi Gallery. Housed in the former Palazzo Castellani, the institution is not just an exhibition space, but one of the most important collections of the history of science in the world.
The foundations of the collection were laid by members of the two great Florentine ruling families, the Medici and the House of Lorraine. The Medici not only supported painters and sculptors, but were also passionate about astronomy, mathematics and physics. Grand Duke Cosimo I began collecting precision instruments in the 16th century, and later members of the family, especially Duke Ferdinando II and Duke Leopoldo, who were themselves founders of the scientific society Accademia del Cimento, further expanded the collection.
The museum was founded in its current form in 1927 as the Institute and Museum of the History of Science. In 2010, it underwent a complete renovation and was renamed Museo Galileo, in honor of the city’s and the world’s most famous astronomer.
The museum takes visitors on a journey through scientific discoveries over two floors.
The most important pieces in the collection are related to Galileo himself. Here you can see the two original telescopes with which he discovered Jupiter’s moons and the craters on the Moon. A strange and creepy curiosity is that the museum also houses several of the scientist’s fingers and a tooth, which were removed from his body when his ashes were transferred in the 18th century and are now considered relics.
The first floor is home to impressive astronomical instruments from the Renaissance. There are huge armillary spheres (mechanical models of the heavens), astrolabes and beautifully decorated compasses. These objects are not only precise measuring instruments, but also jewels decorated with gold and precious stones.
The second floor houses the Lorraine Collection, instruments from the Age of Enlightenment. Here you can see the first electrostatic machines, microscopes, barometers and various physical experimental instruments. Also of great interest is the collection of anatomical wax models used to train medical students in the 18th century.
Cartography: The museum also boasts one of the most important collections of old cartography in the world, including huge globes and nautical charts that show the world view of the Age of Discovery.
