A historic view from Galilei’s window in Arcetri
On 17 May 2013, a new EPS Historic Site was inaugurated in Florence, Italy.
The site is the “Hill of Arcetri”, rich in buildings of considerable historical and scientific interest:
- the former Institute of Physics where, in 1926 Enrico Fermi wrote his fundamental work on the statistics that bears his name, and where young Gilberto Bernardini, first President and founder of the EPS, made his debut as a physicist;
- the National Institute of Optics, built in 1927;
- the Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, built in 1872;
- Villa “Il Gioiello” where Galileo Galilei spent the last years of his life, from 1631 to 1642, and finished writing his fundamental work: “Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations relating to Two New Sciences”.
The ceremony took place at the Institute of Physics, in the presence of local authorities from the University of Florence, the Italian National Research Council [CNR], the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics [INFN], and the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics [INAF]. During the ceremony, a new journal called “Il Colle di Galileo” was presented, which is meant to be a showcase (in Italian and English) of the many scientific and cultural activities that will be carried out by the renowned institutions of the Arcetri Hill.
The EPS Historic Site plaque was unveiled by the Rector of the University, Roberto Tesi, and the Vice-President of the EPS, Luisa Cifarelli. Finally, everybody was invited to a guided tour of Galilei’s Villa, from where the photo accompanying this news was taken: a view of the enchanting Tuscan countryside that one can admire from a window of the last residence of the great man.
