Museums: The Galileo Museum

Florence is home to the Galileo Museum, which houses exhibits about Galileo and scientific achievements during and after the Renaissance.  Galileo lived a large part of his life in or near Florence and some of the Medici were among his patrons.  The Medici family and descendants collected many scientific artifacts which formed the basis for the museum.

In 2010, the museum was extensively renovated and is now very modern in its design.  The exhibits cover many scientific fields, including astronomy, navigation and medicine.  It is worth a visit, even if science is not your bag.

Bust of Galileo Galilei by Carlo Marcellini (1674-1677) and some random hottie

Galileo's actual telescopes from 400 years ago

Exploded replica of Galileo's telescope

A very large astrolabe with a mirrored ball in the center.  Is that someone's reflection?  Let's take a closer look. 

On closer look, it's some random dude.

The 900 year old Palazzo Castellani, the building that houses the Galileo Museum, is on the bank of the River Arno--a great location unless the river overflows its banks.  So, in 1966, when the Arno flooded, the building was flooded--the basement and the ground floor.  The upper floors were spared. 

To commemorate the 1966 flood, the museum hosted an exhibition called Fishing in the Mud (Pescare nel Fango).  A lot of mud filled the basement and ground floor.  The staff of the museum went "fishing" for museum artifacts buried in the mud.  Many artifacts were recovered and restored but some were permanently damaged or destroyed.  Fortunately, most of the priceless artifacts, such as Galileo's telescopes, were safe on the upper floors.     

The Galileo Museum is the square building in the center of the photo.