323
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
I. Chinnici, G. Consolmagno (eds.), Angelo Secchi and Nineteenth Century Science,
Historical & Cultural Astronomy, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58384-2_19
Chapter 19
Astronomy in Rome After Secchi and His
Legacy at the Astronomical Observatory
of Rome
Lucio Angelo Antonelli
19.1 Introduction
Rome’s artistic, architectural, and cultural history is well known and has influenced
the whole world for almost 3000 years. Much less known but no less significant is
the importance of astronomy in Rome over the centuries.
Astronomical studies have been carried out in the city since the time of Ancient
Rome, producing important contributions such as the Julian Calendar promulgated
by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C.E. Astronomical studies were also carried out in the
“Eternal City” during the Medieval Age. But the greatest development began during
the Renaissance when mathematicians and other scientists, along with artists and
philosophers, arrived at the Court of the Popes (Fig. 19.1).
In 1475 Pope Sixtus IV called the mathematician and astronomer Johannes
Müller von Königsberg (1436–1476), better known as Regiomontanus, to Rome to
work on the reform of the calendar. The final calendar reform took place under Pope
Gregory XIII, who gave a great impetus to this project by calling astronomers and
mathematicians to Rome to work on it, including Christopher Clavius (1538–1612),
Aloysius Lilius (1510–1576), Egnazio Danti (1536–1586), and many others
(Monaco 2000). Gregory XIII also built an observatory in the Vatican called the
Torre dei Venti. This building was contemporaneous with Brahe’s observatory at
Uraniborg in Denmark; it is now part of the Vatican Library. In those same years, the
Collegio Romano was established in Rome and Christopher Clavius joined it in
1564, teaching mathematics and astronomy.
In the seventeenth century, Rome was home to two of the most important lens
factories in Europe: one run by Eustachio Divini (1610–1685) and the other one by
Giuseppe Campani (1635–1715) (Monaco 2000; Buonanno 2008). Giuseppe
L. A. Antonelli (*)
INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Rome, Italy
e-mail: angelo.antonelli@oa-roma.inaf.it
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
I. Chinnici, G. Consolmagno (eds.), Angelo Secchi and Nineteenth Century Science,
Historical & Cultural Astronomy, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58384-2_19
Chapter 19
Astronomy in Rome After Secchi and His
Legacy at the Astronomical Observatory
of Rome
Lucio Angelo Antonelli
19.1 Introduction
Rome’s artistic, architectural, and cultural history is well known and has influenced
the whole world for almost 3000 years. Much less known but no less significant is
the importance of astronomy in Rome over the centuries.
Astronomical studies have been carried out in the city since the time of Ancient
Rome, producing important contributions such as the Julian Calendar promulgated
by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C.E. Astronomical studies were also carried out in the
“Eternal City” during the Medieval Age. But the greatest development began during
the Renaissance when mathematicians and other scientists, along with artists and
philosophers, arrived at the Court of the Popes (Fig. 19.1).
In 1475 Pope Sixtus IV called the mathematician and astronomer Johannes
Müller von Königsberg (1436–1476), better known as Regiomontanus, to Rome to
work on the reform of the calendar. The final calendar reform took place under Pope
Gregory XIII, who gave a great impetus to this project by calling astronomers and
mathematicians to Rome to work on it, including Christopher Clavius (1538–1612),
Aloysius Lilius (1510–1576), Egnazio Danti (1536–1586), and many others
(Monaco 2000). Gregory XIII also built an observatory in the Vatican called the
Torre dei Venti. This building was contemporaneous with Brahe’s observatory at
Uraniborg in Denmark; it is now part of the Vatican Library. In those same years, the
Collegio Romano was established in Rome and Christopher Clavius joined it in
1564, teaching mathematics and astronomy.
In the seventeenth century, Rome was home to two of the most important lens
factories in Europe: one run by Eustachio Divini (1610–1685) and the other one by
Giuseppe Campani (1635–1715) (Monaco 2000; Buonanno 2008). Giuseppe
L. A. Antonelli (*)
INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Rome, Italy
e-mail: angelo.antonelli@oa-roma.inaf.it