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Federico Angelo Cesi (; 26 February 1585 – 1 August 1630) was an Italian
scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...
,
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
, and founder of the
Accademia dei Lincei The (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed"), 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 Rome, Italy. Founded in ...
. On his father's death in 1630, he became briefly lord of Acquasparta.


Biography

Federico Cesi was born to an aristocratic family highly connected in Rome and the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
. The family derives its name from Cesi, a little town near Rome. They had a close connection with the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Frederico's uncle Bartolomeo Cesi was a
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
in the church, and most of their wealth came from that connection. Federico was the first of eleven legitimate male children and was born in Palazzo Cesi, in via della Maschera d'Oro, Rome, on 26 February 1585. His father was Federico, marchese di Monticelli (1562–1630) and his mother was Olimpia Orsini of Todi. In 1614 Cesi was married to Artemisia Colonna, the daughter of Francesco, Principe di Palestrina; she died two years later. In 1617 he married Isabella, cousin of Filippo Salviati, the daughter of the Marquis of Lorenzo. In 1618 he moved to Acquasparta and lived there until his death at the age of forty-five.


The ''Accademia dei Lincei'' ("Academy of the Lynxes")

In 1603, at the age of eighteen, Cesi invited three slightly older friends, the Dutch physician
Johannes van Heeck Johannes van Heeck, (Deventer 2 February 1579 – presumably Sant'Angelo Romano c.1620), (also known as Johann Heck, Joannes Eck, Johannes Heckius, Johannes Eckius and Giovanni Ecchio) was a Dutch physician, naturalist, alchemist and astrologer. ...
(in Italy Giovanni Ecchio), and two fellow Umbrians, mathematician Francesco Stelluti of Fabriano and polymath Anastasio de Filiis of Terni to join with him in the founding of the ''Accademia dei Lincei'' ("Academy of the Lynxes"), aimed at the understanding of all
natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
through a method of research based upon observation, experiment, and the inductive method. Their goal was to penetrate the secrets of nature, observing it at both microscopic and macroscopic levels. The four men chose the name "Lincei" (
lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...
) from Giambattista della Porta's book "''
Magia Naturalis ' (in English, ''Natural Magic'') is a work of popular science by Giambattista della Porta first published in Naples in 1558. Its popularity ensured it was republished in five Latin editions within ten years, with translations into Italian (1560 ...
''", which had an illustration of the fabled cat on the cover and the words "...''with lynx-like eyes, examining those things which manifest themselves, so that having observed them, he may zealously use them''".''Della Porta's Life - From Giambattista Della Porta Dramatist'' by Louise George Clubb - Princeton University Press Princeton, New Jersey, 1965
/ref> Cesi chose the sharp-eyed lynx and the
eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
for the academy's symbols. The academy's motto, chosen by Cesi, was: "take care of small things if you want to obtain the greatest results" (''minima cura si maxima vis''). Since it was an uncertain time to conduct scientific research — in 1578 the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
by order of the Pope Gregory XIII had closed Giambattista della Porta's ''
Academia Secretorum Naturae The first scientific society, the Academia Secretorum Naturae was founded in Naples in 1560 by Giambattista della Porta, a noted polymath. In Italian it was called ''Accademia dei Segreti'', the Academy of the Mysteries of Nature, and the members r ...
'' in Naples under suspicion of
sorcery Sorcery commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Goetia, ''Goetia'', magic involving the evocation of spirits ** Witchcraft, the ...
— the ''Accademia dei Lincei'' had rough beginnings. Cesi's own father forbade Cesi's association with the other three men, suspecting them of undermining his authority and trying to separate his son from family interests. The four "Lynxes" soon returned to their native cities and continued to communicate only by letter, adopting astronomical pen names: Cesi, perpetual president, was ''Celívago''. During this time of separation, Cesi began collecting books for a library that he intended for personal use and for the use of the Academy. Cesi's activity in this endeavor was recorded by the Academy's librarian Giuseppe Gabrieli. Letters from Cesi to van Heeck revealed that Cesi was sending him money with the intention of buying rare books and manuscripts to send back. The Academy's chancellor and secretary Johaness Faber donated his entire scientific collection to Cesi and he acquired a number of other texts from other compatriots. Cesi travelled to
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
where he met della Porta, who he seemed to have been corresponding with for some time. There he described his academy to Della Porta, who encouraged Cesi to continue with his endeavours. The academy survived due to Cesi's personal wealth and his diplomatic skills in navigating the politics of
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
Rome. Cesi expanded the ranks of the academy, recruiting Giambattista della Porta himself in 1610 and
Galileo Galilei 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 ...
in 1611. Cesi's letter to Galileo of 21/7/1612 mentioned Kepler's ellipses. Cesi's Academy published Galileo's '' Istoria e dimostrazione intorno alle macchie solari'' (Letters on Sunspots) in 1613, ''
The Assayer ''The Assayer'' () is a book by Galileo Galilei, published in Rome in October 1623. It is generally considered to be one of the pioneering works of the scientific method, first broaching the idea that the book of nature is to be read with mathem ...
'' in 1623, and also had a hand in defending Galileo in his controversies with establishment leaders and ecclesiastical authorities. Cesi's own intense activity in the academy was cut short by his sudden death in 1630, and the original Accademia dei Lincei did not survive his death. It was revived in its current form of the
Pontifical Academy of Sciences The Pontifical Academy of Sciences (, ) is a Academy of sciences, scientific academy of the Vatican City, established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI. Its aim is to promote the progress of the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences and the study ...
, by
Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
in 1847. The plant genus '' Caesia'' was named in his honour.


Cesi and Astronomy

Cesi started gaining interest in the study of astronomy around 1605, when he became familiar with Johannes Kepler's and Tycho Brahe's research. He specifically looked into the theories pertaining to the permeability of the Heavens and the routes of different comets. These led to interest in the recently invented telescope and in meeting two well-known astronomers, Giovanbattista della Porta and Galileo Galilei. There is no evidence to prove exactly when Cesi was able to handle and use a telescope for the first time, but it is likely he was able to see through the invention before fall began in 1609. The first verification that Cesi had knowledge of the telescope is seen in a letter from August 28, 1609. The letter was sent by Giovanbattista della Porta, an Italian natural philosopher, and it depicted an illustration of the early telescope along with instructions on how to manufacture one. Cesi was intrigued by della Porta and wanted to learn everything from him, so he traveled to Naples in May 1610 to visit della Porta. While there, Cesi was able to see the advancements that della Porta came up with and was very impressed when he was able to see a man three thousand paces away. During his visit, he recruited della Porta to come join him at the Academy. His friendship with della Porta also led him to become familiar with another astronomer by the name
Galileo Galilei 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 ...
. Cesi played a critical part in bringing Galileo to Rome in 1611, where Cesi planned out his schedule and followed him everywhere. Cesi sought out to learn everything he could about Galileo and his discoveries, and even helped him plan out his presentations. Cesi went to all of Galileo's demonstrations of the telescope and was in amazement of the way he could prove Aristotelian views wrong. He backed Galileo and his research up, and he brought other people to observe Galileo and come to the same conclusion. Cesi formally invited Galileo to join the Academy and expand his knowledge in April, 1611. Galileo brought a new wave to the Academy, and they stopped looking into what was wrong with old science and started to build the new science. Shortly after the founding of the Accademia dei Lincei, the founding members began their first major project. In August of 1603, Cesi and his compatriots began design and construction of a large
astrolabe An astrolabe (; ; ) is an astronomy, astronomical list of astronomical instruments, instrument dating to ancient times. It serves as a star chart and Model#Physical model, physical model of the visible celestial sphere, half-dome of the sky. It ...
to which they referred to as "The Planisphere or the Great Astrolabe." The astrolabe's construction only lasted about two months, finishing on October 12. Upon completion, the three co-founders used the astrolabe to embark on their first philosophical task. The Linceans sought to align society with Christianity and
Platonic philosophy Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary Platonists do not necessarily accept all doctrines of Plato. Platonism has had a profound effect on Western thought. At the most fundame ...
. They believed that Catholicism and Aristotelianism had been causing a deterioration of contemporary knowledge and moral values. They trusted that replacing these ideologies could be countered by enforcing Plato's philosophy outlined in the Timaeus, describing the connections between man and the universe. Only a few years after their work began,1604-1608, the Holy Council tried Cesi's colleague, Joannes van Heeck, for heresy. During this trial, Federico's father sent van Heeck from Rome and halted his sons work until 1609.


Other contributions

* Had a hand in coining the name "''
telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...
''". * Directed excavations of Carsulae. * First to view fern spores under microscope.


Books by Federico Cesi

* ''Theatrum totius naturae'', a "Universal theatre of nature", which he began around 1615 and never completed; it was a project for a comprehensive encyclopedia of natural history.


Notes


References

* * Federico Cesi - Italian Wikipedia
COMMITTEE FOR THE NATIONAL IV CENTENNIAL OF THE FOUNDATION ACADEMY OF LINCEI - Federico Cesi

"''The sharp-eyed lynx, outfoxed by nature: Galileo and friends taught us that there is more to observing than meets the eye - Column''", Natural History, May, 1998 by Stephen Jay Gould


*
David Freedberg David Freedberg is Pierre Matisse Professor of the History of Art and Director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University. He was also Director of the Warburg Institute at the University of London from July 2 ...
, ttp://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo3618933.html ''Eye of the Lynx: Galileo, His friends, and the Beginnings of Modern Natural History'', Chicago University Press, 2002* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cesi, Federico 1585 births 1630 deaths Scientists from Rome Italian naturalists Members of the Lincean Academy Cesi family