Ascanio Piccolomini (1596–1671) was the archbishop of Siena from 1629 to 1671. Ascanio was a mathematics pupil of

Bonaventura Cavalieri Bonaventura Francesco Cavalieri (; 1598 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian mathematician and a Jesuati, Jesuate. He is known for his work on the problems of optics and motion (physics), motion, work on indivisibles, the precursors of infin ...

. He hosted

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

. According to

Dava Sobel Dava Sobel (born June 15, 1947) is an American writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. Her books include ''Longitude'', about English clockmaker John Harrison; '' Galileo's Daughter'', about Galileo's daughter Maria Celeste; and ''T ...

's ability "to rise from the ashes of his condemnation by the Inquisition" and complete perhaps his most influential book, the

Two New Sciences The ''Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Relating to Two New Sciences'' ( ) published in 1638 was Galileo Galilei's final book and a scientific testament covering much of his work in physics over the preceding thirty years. It was writ ...

, was "due in large measure to Piccolomini's solicitous kindness".Dava Sobel, '' Galileo's Daughter'' (2000), p. 287 He was an elder brother of the Imperial general

Ottavio Piccolomini Ottavio Piccolomini, 1st Duke of Amalfi (11 November 1599 – 11 August 1656) was an Italian nobleman whose military career included service as a Spanish general and then as a field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire. Early life Piccolomini was ...

. While bishop, he was the principal co-consecrator of Carlo Fabrizio Giustiniani, Bishop of Accia and Mariana (1656).

Notes and references

Sources

* *Suter, Rufus (1965). "A Note on the Identity of Ascanio Piccolomini, Galileo's Host at Siena," ''Isis'' Vol. 56, No. 4 (Winter, 1965), p. 452. 1596 births 1671 deaths Clergy from Siena Archbishops of Siena Bishops in Tuscany Ascanio II 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops {{17C-Italy-RC-archbishop-stub