Luca Valerio (1553–1618) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History O ...

. He developed ways to find

volume Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The def ...

s and centers of gravity of solid bodies using the methods of

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists i ...

. He corresponded with

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

and was a member of the

Accademia dei Lincei The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Ro ...

Biography

Luca Valerio was born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's admini ...

in 1553 He entered in the

Jesuit order , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

in 1570. He studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some s ...

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the

Roman College The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school ...

as a student of

Christopher Clavius Christopher Clavius, SJ (25 March 1538 – 6 February 1612) was a Jesuit German mathematician, head of mathematicians at the Collegio Romano, and astronomer who was a member of the Vatican commission that accepted the proposed calendar inve ...

, and left the Jesuits in 1580. He later taught

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate partic ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

at the

Collegio Pontifico Greco The Pontifical Greek College of St. Athanasius ( it, Pontificio Collegio Greco di Sant’Atanasio, el, Ποντιφίκιο Ελληνικό Κολλέγιο Αγίου Αθανασίου) is a Pontifical College in Rome that observes the Byzant ...

and mathematics and ethics at the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

. In 1611 Valerio obtained a position in the

Vatican library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...

in addition to his post at Sapienza giving him close connection with the top people in the

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Galileo and Copernicus

Valerio met Galileo on a visit to

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city ...

in 1584. He corresponded with Galileo from 1609 until 1616 and in 1612 he became a member of the

, a group which also included Galileo as a member. On March 5, 1616 Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, chief theologian of the Roman Catholic Church, issued a

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

that the idea of a Sun centered

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

, the Copernican system, a theory supported by Galileo, was ''false and erroneous''. The prospect of being called before the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances ...

caused Valerio to end all correspondence with Galileo and resign from the ''Accademia dei Lincei''. The members of the Academy looked on Valerio's actions as aligning himself with Galileo's opponents and accusing the Academy itself of committing a crime. His resignation was rejected by the Accademia, but they took away his right to participate in Accademia meetings.

Federico Cesi Federico Angelo Cesi (; 26 February 1585 – 1 August 1630) was an Italian scientist, naturalist, and founder of the Accademia dei Lincei. On his father's death in 1630, he became briefly lord of Acquasparta. Biography Federico Cesi was ...

, the Accademia dei Lincei's founder, still hoped however that Valerio could re-enter in the ranks of the academics, but the mathematician died in January 1618. «Among the mathematicians who studied him and spoke highly of him were Cavalieri, Torricelli and J.-C. de la Faille. He also had a direct influence on Guldin, Gregorius Saint Vincent, and Tacquet.»Per Strømholm, Biography in ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' (New York 1970-1990).

Works

''Subtilium indagationum liber primus seu quadratura circuli et aliorum curvilineorum''
1582 * ''De centro gravitatis solidorum libri tres'', Rome 1604—Includes applying general methods to find volumes and centers of gravity of solid bodies. ** On line:
the 1661 edition

''Quadratura parabolae per simplex falsum''
Rome 1606

Notes and references

Bibliography

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerio, Luca 16th-century Italian mathematicians 17th-century Italian mathematicians Former Jesuits 1552 births 1618 deaths 16th-century Italian Jesuits Jesuit scientists Members of the Lincean Academy