Galileo Museum

Today, we occasionally look up at the stars and admire them as a thing of beauty, but often do not give them more than a few quick thoughts. Back in Galileo’s time, the stars took on a different meaning. To Galileo, his fellow astronomers, and people in general, they represented something much more. Surrounded by mysticism, but mainly used for practical reasons, the stars played a much more vital part in the lives of 16^th and 17^th century individuals.

Within the Galileo Museum, there were many pieces, which used the stars, specifically the zodiac, for conventional practices, such as directions. Two of these pieces, the Celestial Globe created by Vincenzo Coronelli and the Astrological Disk, inspired me the most for my project. Coronelli was one of the greatest geographers and cartographers of the second half of the 17^th century. Throughout his career, he became famous for his globes that were not only geographically on par, but works of art in their own right. Coronelli made both terrestrial and celestial globes throughout his lifetime. His celestial globe in the Galileo Museum stood out immediately to me.  Surrounded by globes depicting maps of the world, this one depicted a different kind of map – a map of the sky. By including this globe with the other ones, it can be seen just how practical a globe of the sky was to individuals at this time. The astrological disk also shown at the museum further reinforced this idea. On the disk, the 12 zodiac signs are represented, as well as a measuring device that goes across the entire piece. Astrological disks like these were used to measure distance and location based on zodiac constellations in the sky at any given moment. Together, these two pieces showed me that these stars were actually used for very practical reasons.

I have always been heavily interested in the concept of zodiac signs. Everything I read about my sign, Cancer, seems to be incredibly on point for my personality and habits. Information I read about my sign influences me and further confirms beliefs I already have. But I am not alone. Many people in today’s world are influenced by the zodiac signs, but for much different reasons than people in Galileo’s time. Whereas people in the 16^th and 17^th centuries used the zodiac constellations for more practical reasons, people today treat it more as a mystical determiner of fate. With my project, I wanted to explore this change in public perception of the zodiac between centuries. Because of all the tools and knowledge we have of the world, the zodiac constellations no longer have a practical utility in today’s world. As a result, public perception of the constellations and their corresponding signs has taken a more mystical approach. I have always viewed the zodiac as a mystical and almost magical thing. It was an eye-opening experience to go to the Galileo Museum and see that the zodiac constellations have both mystical and incredibly practical origins.