File:Galileo, his life and work (1903) (14766613255).jpg

Identifier: galileohislifewo00fahi (find matches)
Title: Galileo, his life and work
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Fahie, J. J. (John Joseph), 1846-1934
Subjects: Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642 Astronomy Astronomers
Publisher: London, J. Murray
Contributing Library: Wellesley College Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

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ence. —Rogers Italy. A chamber in the tower is arranged as aGalilean Museum, and is full of relics of thephilosopher and his contemporaries, as portraits,busts, engravings, autographs, and medals ; instru-ments of various kinds, as telescopes, thermometers,hour-glass, etc. Amongst the paintings we wouldparticularly direct the visitors attention to those ofGalileo before the Inquisition ; Galileo, blind andin bed, dictating to his son and his last disciplesViviani and Torricelli; and portraits of the twolatter.^ It is popularly supposed that Galileo usedthe Torre del Gallo as an observatory. Thereseems, however, to be no ground for this belief;but that he sometimes came here to enjoy thegrand panorama displayed from the top is likely enough. Not far from the Torre del Gallo, and still onthe way to Florence, one comes to the Piazza degliUganelli. Here the great painter Sustermans ^ Quite recently the Torre del Gallo has changed hands, and theGalilean relics, etc., have been dispersed.
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The Torre del Galln, Arcelri, Florence. (To/ace /. 238. 1632) OBSTACLES TO PRINTING 239 lived, and here in 1635 he painted his celebratedportrait of Galileo. A photographic copy of thisis reproduced as the frontispiece to this volume.This picture, which is thought by experts to beSustermans chef dceuvre, has a history. It wassent by Galileo as a present to his friend and cor-respondent, Elia Diodati of Paris. Twenty yearslater, and as a special favour, it was returned to theGrand Duke; and later still it was placed in theUffizi Collection by Cardinal Leopoldo de Medici—In order to show to all two marvels of nature, inthe person of him who is represented, and in the artof the painter. ^ All this time, from soon after his return fromRome, Galileo was tormented with the obstaclesand delays which he encountered in the printing ofhis Dialogues. It would detain us too long and belittle profitable to set out these complications indetail ; but they are so well summarised by Galileohimself i

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