Galileo Museum

When we read about this museum, located near the Uffizi on the River Arno, we weren't sure how high it would be on our list of things to see. But yesterday we decided to go there. The two floors of scientific displays were more than amazing. I like to think I am not completely ignorant of scientific principles, but there were few items that I could understand at all. However, it was all interesting. We should be very grateful to these early scientists for the beginnings of our understanding of the world. And although it is called the Galileo Museum, the majority of items were not directly related to him, but were collections by the Medici and the later Lorraines.

The first thing we saw was this large perpetual calendar. I've no idea how it worked, but it was beautiful.

There was a good section on maps and globes (these I can understand). It was interesting that there were often two globes side by side: one showing the earth and one the heavens.

This giant armillary sphere almost filled one small room. It had a smaller earth globe in the center.

In a later scientific section, there were plaster casts of babies in the womb in all imaginable positions. These were used for teaching obstetrics. No photos!

This is a complete chemistry lab enclosed in a desk. There were many flasks and other items that would be used in a chem lab.

Some very early microscopes.

A bust of Galileo.

And, one of the salient points in the advertising of this place, the display of Galileo's fingers. Three of them, including a thumb. I still haven't quite figured out the desire to preserve these bones for veneration. But they are interesting to see!