Cieli Medicei - Galileo's followers

Portrait of Evangelista Torricelli
(1608 -1647)

The Jesuits of the Collegio Romano recognized in 1611 the need to revise the Ptolemaic system of the world on the basise of Galileo's telescopic discoveries. From this point on, the success of the telescope was such that neither the ecclesiastical censure of the Copernican theory in 1616, nor the condemnation of Galileo for heresy in 1633 could stop the spread of the instrument. In Florence, telescopes were made by Ippolito Francini, known as Il Tordo (1593-1653), Jacopo Mariani, known as Il Tordino (XVII century), and Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647). Their intruments competed with Galileo's, both in terms of lens-making and in magnifying power.

Related objects
	Inv. 2552 V.4 Ring for objective lens 1644 Evangelista Torricelli Cardboard Diameter 70 mm
	Inv. 3377 V.25 Telescope 1650-1670 Unsigned Cardboard, marbled paper, wood Length circa 3500-4000 mm
	Inv. 2554 V.26 Telescope 1647 / second half of the eighteenth century Objective by Evangelista Torricelli; maker of the tube unknown Brass Length 1115 mm
	Inv. 2632 V.13 Objective lens 1660-1670 Jacopo Mariani, Florence Glass Diameter 70 mm
	Inv. 2571 V.5 Objective lens 1646 Evangelista Torricelli, Florence Glass, cardboard, leather Diameter 115 mm
	Inv. 2572 V.3 Objective lens 1643 Evangelista Torricelli Glass, cardboard Diameter 54 mm
	Inv. 2592 V.58 Eyepiece lens 1640-1660 Ippolito Francini o Evangelista Torricelli o Jacopo Mariani [attr.] Glass, cardboard Diameter 39 mm
	Inv. 2584 V.12 Eyepiece lens 1640-1660 [attr.] Ippolito Francini or Evangelista Torricelli or Jacopo Mariani Glass, wood, paper Diameter 44 mm
	Inv. 2594 V.11 Eyepiece lens 1640-1660 Unsigned Glass, wood, cardboard Diameter 41 mm
	Inv. 2585 V.10 Eyepiece lens 1640-1660 [attr.] Ippolito Francini or Evangelista Torricelli or Jacopo Mariani Glass, wood, cardboard Diameter 39 mm