Rome and Galileo

Rome and Galileo

 

Although Galileo Galilei, the astronomer, physicist and engineer, spent  most of his life in Tuscany, Rome figured prominently

Born near Pisa in 1564, he moved to Florence in 1610. His many interests in speed, velocity, the tides, and motion are surpassed by the amazing discoveries with his telescope. His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the observation of the four largest moons of Jupiter, Saturn's rings, and the analysis of sunspots. Many consider him the father of modern science.

But it would be his interest in the theories of Copernicus, that is, the idea that the earth moved around the sun, that would cause him the most grief. In fact, the Catholic Church held to the views of Ptolemy and Aristotle, reinforced by the Bible that the earth was at the center of the universe. As early as 1616 he was cautioned by the Church not to “hold or defend” Copernican theory. 



For about a decade, Galileo stayed well away from the controversy. Then in 1632 he published his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, with formal authorization from the Inquisition and papal permission. The book is presented as a series of discussions, over a span of four days, among two philosophers and a layman. One of these, Simplicio, presents the traditional views and the arguments against the Copernican position. The other philosopher argues for the Copernican position and his arguments are more clearly based on observation. Unfortunately for his relationship with the Pope, Galileo put the words of Urban VIII into the mouth of Simplicio. 

Galileo had alienated one of his biggest and most powerful supporters, the Florentine Pope Urban VIII, and was called to Rome to defend his writings in September 1632. He finally arrived in February 1633, where he stayed as a guest at the Villa Medici, the residence of the Florentine ambassador, Niccolini. Villa Medici is situated near the top of the Spanish Steps in Rome and is now the home of the French Academy. (See the description in Walk 4 of the book Walk Rome.)

Villa Medici and gardens in Rome

On April 8, Niccolini informed Galileo that he would stand trial before ten cardinals. A more difficult chore for Niccolini was to break the news to him that the merits of his case, as a practical matter, had been decided already; all he could do was submit.
Four days later, Galileo officially surrendered to the Holy Office and faced Father Firenzuola, the Commissary-General of the Inquisition. Firenzuola informed Galileo that for the duration of the proceedings against him he would be imprisoned in the Inquisition building. This was in the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, which at that time was attached to the church of the same name. (A hundred years later Bernini would place his celebrated Elephant obelisk in the piazza in front of the church.)

Bernini's elephant in front of Santa Maria sopra Minerva

During the trial he admitted that, contrary to his intention, a reader of his Dialogue could have obtained the impression that it was intended to be a defense of Copernicanism. On the morning of June 22, 1633, Galileo, dressed in the white shirt of penitence, entered the large hall of the Inquisition building. He was required to recite a formal abjuration. He knelt and listened to his sentence: "Whereas you, Galileo, the son of the late Vincenzo Galilei, Florentine, aged seventy years, were in the year 1615 denounced to this Holy Office for holding as true the false doctrine....." The reading continued for seventeen paragraphs, and ordered him to submit to house arrest for the rest of his life. 

Two days later, Galileo was released to the custody of the Florentine ambassador. His book was prohibited and he went back to his home in Arcetri where he died in 1642.

Galileo is recognized for making important contributions to the study of motion and astronomy. His work influenced later scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton, who developed the law of universal gravitation. In 1992, the Vatican formally acknowledged its mistake in condemning Galileo.

Some Tips for Travel in Italy

Some Tips for Travel in Italy

Driving. Can I drive a car in Italy with my American driver’s license and passport?  No, you need an international driving permit. There is no reciprocity agreement. You can get one easily from any AAA office or apply online.

Be aware of pickpockets.  Use a money belt when walking around. Leave expensive jewelry at home and use common sense.  Often the thieves work in small groups, men and women, on buses and on subway and trains stations.  In particular, in Rome, they target the lines that connect the Termini Station to the Vatican.  They wait for the moment when the subway arrives, open the door and while one is pushing you the other tries to get your wallet. I knew about it reading articles and speaking with people when I was growing up in Italy.  Later after leaving in the USA and coming back to Italy on vacation, my wife and I were targeted at subway stations, first by gypsy and then by a group of South Americans.  Of course, other Italians can be responsible as well.  During the push and shoving, they were able to open partially the money belt, but could not get the wallet.

Tipping.  At a bar, a tip of 10-20 cents for the bartender is normally given at the counter when you buy an espresso, cappuccino or ice cream.  Otherwise not usually.  

Should I tip in Italy for taxis? No, there is no need and is not usually done.

At hotels, leave the housekeeper about one euro per day. 

Most restaurants have some kind of cover charge and sometimes the tip is already included in the bill.

Deciphering the bill at a restaurant

Servizio: A charge that might pop up is the servizio incluso. The fact that it will be added should be clearly stated on the menu.  The servizio is a tip, so if you have been charged this fee there is no need to leave anything more.

Coperto: There is sometimes a charge called a coperto and may range from 1-3 euro per person. A coperto is not a tip, it is a cover charge to offset the price of bread, oil, salt, and anything else you might be using. 

Pane: sometimes if there is not a coperto, you may pay 1 to 1.50 per person for bread (written on the bill as pane in Italian). You can try to send the bread back if you really don’t want to pay this, but the bread is good and is not really too much to charge.  Don’t you think?

Tip as much or as little as you like:  So how much should you tip when there is no servizio?   Well, then, it is your decision and in general is in the range of 1-2 euro per person.  Certainly not the 15- 20% that we give in the US – Of course if the service was terrible? Forget it.

The Legacy of Rome

The Alphabet and Latin

 Rome has a rich and long history that goes back 2800 years to the Etruscans and the Greeks and it has been the center of Christianity for the last 2000 years. It was the first city to reach a population of about a million people at the apex of the territorial expansion in the third century AD. Imagine a single political entity covering Europe, the British Isles, North Africa and the Middle East with long periods of peace, one language and one currency. Rome is called the eternal city as one of the great cities in history and for its vast contribution to western civilization. The Roman alphabet and Latin are among the most important.

Roman letters carved into stone

The alphabet used in the ancient Roman language is known as the Roman alphabet. It was influenced by the earlier Greek alphabet and the Etruscan alphabet but the Romans developed it further. With the passage of time, a script with upper and lower case letters was developed. Although over the centuries different letter-forms appeared, especially in the medieval period, the ancient forms the Romans carved into stone inscriptions are still used today. After all, the ubiquitous font Times New Roman is clearly a reflection of that early writing.

The Pantheon

Latin was originally spoken in the area around Rome, known as Latium. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it subsequently would quickly spread over a larger part of Italy, in direct correlation to Roman conquests. Latin became the language of conquered areas because local people started speaking it, and not because the population was displaced by Latin-speakers. Latin was not imposed officially on peoples brought under Roman rule. Latin was the official language and was necessary for anyone seeking to play an important role in administration, politics, and military.

With the foundation of the Roman Empire, a large portion of the western world would come to speak various forms of Latin or have it intermingled with their own tongues. The Roman Legions carried a spoken form of Latin throughout the Roman provinces. Especially in the rest of Italy, Gaul (France) and Spain, this would become mixed with the local languages, and lead to the new languages known as the Romance languages. Without Latin, very few of the tongues we speak today would be possible or recognizable in their current forms.

Latin survived the fall of the Roman Empire. As the centuries passed, it continued to be an international language of the educated and social elite, accompanying the modified tongues of the common people. The language of the Catholic Church was Latin, and all scholarly, historical, or scientific work was written in it. After the medieval period, with the Renaissance, interest in classical Latin as a means of artistic and literary expression grew. Many ancient manuscripts were re-discovered and appreciated during this time.

Latin continues to be important in scientific, medical and legal terms, which allow easy comprehension in the various western languages. For example, Latin is fre­quently used in medical terminology, such as “bacterium”, “umbilicus”, “cerebellum”, etc. Latin was used in creating the scientific names for flora and fauna.  After the Dark Ages, from the twelfth century on, the economic and social development in Europe led to the rediscovery of Roman law, which was then assimilated by many European countries. Still today, we use terms like “modus operandi”, “habeas corpus”, “veto”, “quid pro quo”, “ad hoc” and “ipso facto.”

The Latin language is the bedrock of the language of Western Civilization. Modern students find that having a basis in Latin is useful for learning Romance languages, and even to improve their vocabulary in English.

Inscription from the time of emperor Claudius

As you are walking in Rome, you naturally see Latin inscriptions in the Forum and on ancient monuments like the Pantheon. A place to see more, where they are described in context, is at the the Terme di Diocleziano (Baths of Diocletian) in front of the Termini station. (This is described in the book WALK ROME as part of Walk 6.)

The museum includes an epigraphy section dedicated to Latin inscriptions, including vases, sarcophagi, tombstones and objects worked in metal. The ground floor includes the most ancient writings in Latin and in Greek in Italy. Among the most important are ceramic fragments with the writing REX (Latin for “king”), found near the Regia in the Roman Forum, and the dedica­tions to Castor and Pollux found near Lavinio, a town near Rome. Also on the ground floor are inscrip­tions which describe the popular asso­ciations in “colleges of occupations” which, according the historian Plu­tarch, go way back to the king Numa, that is to the sixth century BC. There are traces of writing of merchants and artisans, freemen and slaves, butch­ers and sellers of flowers, flutists, and associations for actors and singers.