Yesterday, we visited the Galileo Museum of Science (located on the backside of the Uffizi). While the inventions of Galileo are clearly the centerpiece of the exhibit, the museum houses scientific inventions gathered across several centuries. A large portion of the museum is devoted to the development of aides to navigation (e.g. Compasses, sextants, cartographic tools, etc.) as well as exploration of the heavens and of the microscopic world. Obviously, Galileo's work on improvement of the telescope was huge, but equally impressive were his studies of physics (i.e. The laws of motion).
This larger than life "Representation of the World" depicts the view of the earth as the center of the universe at the start of Galileo's career. This was in keeping with the teachings of the Catholic church at that time. Galileo refuted much of this thinking by his research and almost cost him his life. He was forced to repent.
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