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Galileo's Finger
Middle Finger of Galileo's Right Hand
Galileo's finger is on display at the Museo di Storia del Scienza in Italy.
The finger was detached
from Galileo's body by Anton Francesco Gori (Florence, 1691-1757, literate and
antiquary) on 12 March 1737 when Galileo's remains were transferred from a small
closet next to the chapel of Saints Cosmas and Damian to the main body of the church
of Santa Croce where a mausoleum had been built by Vincenzo Viviani. Subsequently
the finger was acquired by Angelo M. Bandini, the librarian of the Biblioteca
Laurenziana and was exhibited for a long period in this library. Then, in 1841, it was
brought to the Tribuna di Galileo, which had just been opened in the Museo di Fisica e
Storia Naturale on the via Romana. Along with the instruments of the Medici and
Lorraine dynasties, it eventually became the property of the Museo di Storia del la Scienza.
For more information on the finger and other Galileo's artifacts, see the
Institute and
Museum of the History of Science Home Page in Florence, Italy.
Return to Project Galileo Homepage