Domus Galilaeana, Pisa

If you are a bibliophile and an amateur scientist you shouldn’t miss a visit to the Domus Galilaeana, which you will find on the Via Santa Marie. Mid-way between a library and a museum, the Domus houses over 40,000 books and files published by notable scientists of the 20th century, while retaining important references to Galileo and his works. A domus was a house occupied by the Roman upper-classes, who in turn had borrowed the word from the ancient Greek “domi”. The building that now occupies the library dates back to the 17th century and was once part of an observatory tower, which was destroyed in the early 18th century.

The idea to dedicate a library/museum to Galileo and other scientists began in 1938, suggested by Giovanni Gentile and sponsored by the Italian Society for the Progress of Science, who wanted it ready for the first meeting of Italian Scientists in 1939. The whole idea was to promote Italian superiority in the scientific world, and in 1941 it received its official status as an important receptacle of historical scientific works. Since then it has collected and has registered all the ancient and modern publications relating to Galileo and has established a chronological History of Science with publications of Fermi and Pacinotti among other notable researchers.