The restoration of “Spirale per Galileo Galilei”
In 1992, the fourth centenary of Galilei's arrival in the city of the Saint, where he spent the best eighteen years of his life, Fidia Farmaceutici supported the restoration of the world's first permanent Anatomical Theatre and the Great Hall of Palazzo del Bo, named after the great Pisan scientist. What is more, it wished to honour his memory by donating to the University of Padua a masterpiece by the maestro Giò Pomodoro: the “Spirale per Galileo Galilei”, a monumental stele in bronze and granite, created from those same mathematical figures and formulae which, according to Galileo, constituted the alphabet in which the Universe is written.
On the front, the work traces a logarithmic spiral, a type of spiral often found in nature. It is an ideal reference to Galileo Galilei's statement in his work Il Saggiatore: «Philosophy is written in this vast book that is continually open before our eyes (I mean the universe). [...] It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures». The engraved dates recall the anniversary celebrated by the Galilean Year (1592-1992) and the years Galileo spent in Padua (1592-1610).
On the reverse is a reworking of the title page of Sidereus Nuncius, the work published by Galileo in 1610 at the end of his Paduan period. In this work, Galileo describes an “imperfect” Moon with mountains and craters, and records the existence of four small planets never observed before – the satellites of Jupiter.
Also engraved on the stele, in stylised form, is the ideal section of a telescope, the instrument improved and used by Galileo in his night-time observations of the celestial vault.
Initially placed along the Paduan Listòn, between Palazzo del Bo and Palazzo Moroni, symbolising the indissoluble bond between the city and the University under the banner of tolerance as a moral and civic value, the stele was moved a few years later to the Cortile Nuovo of the University’s central headquarters, where it still stands today.
The initiative has been made possible thanks to the generous donation from Fidia Farmaceutici.
The restoration project is aimed at removing surface corrosion and repairing the damage caused by prolonged exposure to the elements, and is developed in several stages: a preliminary phase of study and documentation collection, followed by the execution of cleaning samples, essential for identifying the most suitable methodologies and products, as well as their respective application times. Finally, the cleaning interventions and conservation treatments are carried out directly on the work.
All activities are conducted under the close supervision of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le province di Padua, Treviso e Belluno, in collaboration with the Centro di Ateneo per i Musei (CAM). This project is part of the Art Bonus - MiC initiatives, intended for the protection and restoration of cultural heritage.
Thanks to Fidia Farmaceutici for having chosen, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of its foundation, to renew its historic bond with the University of Padua, confirming its commitment to the protection and enhancement of the University's historical and artistic heritage.
Fundraising Office
Palazzo Storione
Riviera Tito Livio 6, 35123 Padua
Tel. +39 049 8273498
E-mail fundraising@unipd.it