Vincenzo or Vincenzio Gamba (1606–1649), later Vincenzo Galilei (1619), was the
illegitimate
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...
son of
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 ...
(1564–1642) and his mistress
Marina Gamba
Marina Gamba of Venice ( – ) was the mother of Galileo Galilei's illegitimate children.
Marina Gamba was born around 1570 in Venice.
Relationship with Galileo Galilei
During one of his frequent trips to Venice, Galileo met a young woman na ...
(1570–1612). Vincenzo was legitimated to his father in 1619. Like his grandfather
Vincenzo Galilei
Vincenzo Galilei (born 3 April 1520, Santa Maria a Monte, Italy died 2 July 1591, Florence, Italy) was an Italian lutenist, composer, and music theorist. His children included the astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei and the lute virtuoso and ...
, the younger Vincenzo became a
lutenist
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.
More specifically, the term "lute" can refer ...
.
Life
Vincenzio was born in
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
like his two sisters: Virginia (1600–1634) (later Sister Maria Celeste) and Livia (1601–1659) (later Sister Arcangela).
He was named after his grandfather. In 1619, after his mother's death in 1612, his birth was legitimized by the
Grand Duke of Tuscany
The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region.
Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface
:These were origin ...
. As a consequence, the names of the older and younger
Vincenzo Galilei
Vincenzo Galilei (born 3 April 1520, Santa Maria a Monte, Italy died 2 July 1591, Florence, Italy) was an Italian lutenist, composer, and music theorist. His children included the astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei and the lute virtuoso and ...
became identical, sometimes leading to confusion in biographies.
Vincenzo was particularly gifted in poetry, music, and mechanics. His father encouraged him to study law in Pisa, entrusting him to
Benedetto Castelli
Benedetto Castelli (1578 – 9 April 1643), born Antonio Castelli, was an Italian mathematician. Benedetto was his name in religion on entering the Benedictine Order in 1595.
Life
Born in Brescia, Castelli studied at the University of Padua and ...
(1577/1578–1643).
In 1629, he married Sestilia Bocchineri (c. 1610–1669). After his marriage, he quarreled with his father over money. Their relationship later improved and Vincenzo lovingly assisted his father in the last, difficult years of Galileo's life, and supported Galileo to build
escapement
An escapement is a mechanical linkage in mechanical watches and clocks that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing the clock's hands. The impulse action transfers energy ...
.
Galileo's student and biographer,
Vincenzo Viviani
Vincenzo Viviani (April 5, 1622 – September 22, 1703) was an Italian mathematician and scientist. He was a pupil of Torricelli and a disciple of Galileo.Vincenzo Galilei junior brunelleschi.imss.fi.it