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Vincenzo Viviani (April 5, 1622 – September 22, 1703) was an Italian
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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
and
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 ...
. He was a pupil of Torricelli and
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 ...
."Viviani" article
in the
University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...


Biography

Vincenzo Viviani was born in Florence to the nobles Jacopo di Michelangelo Viviani and Maria Alamanno del Nente. While attending a Jesuit school Viviani studied the
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
. Following the study of humanities, Viviani turned to
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
. He studied
geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...
under the instruction of Galilean follower Clemente Settimi. It was through Clemente that Viviani would gain recognition and meet Clemente's instructor, Tuscan Court
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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
Famiano Michelini. In 1638, Michelini initiated the Grand Duke Ferdinand II de’ Medici's interest in Viviani and arranged their introduction in
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
where Viviani would demonstrate his abilities. The Grand Duke offered Viviani a monthly salary to continue his education and introduced him to
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 ...
, whose deteriorating health required a capable and competent assistant. Later that year, Viviani was able to expand his knowledge over the philosophy of nature while assisting Galileo on '' Two new sciences'', in which Galileo studied the
acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the Rate (mathematics), rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Acceleration is one of several components of kinematics, the study of motion. Accelerations are Euclidean vector, vector ...
of free bodies along an inclined plane. Their frequent exchange over the subject inspired Galileo to elaborate on the mathematical theory and complete his demonstration on free bodies that would establish its connection to nature. Viviani would later use similar applications of mathematics in nature during a collaboration with Nicolaus Steno. In 1639, Viviani moved to Galileo's home in Arcetri to assist him in his studies before they were joined by Evangelista Torricelli in 1641. Apart from being Galileo's disciple, Viviani became a pupil of Evangelista Torricelli and worked on
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
and geometry. Viviani was the last disciple of Galileo until Galileo's death in 1642. After Torricelli's 1647 death, Viviani was appointed to fill his position at the Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno in Florence. Viviani was also one of the first members of the Grand Duke's experimental academy, the Accademia del Cimento, when it was created a decade later. Apart from his own career and endeavors, Viviani worked throughout his life to preserve the contributions and life of Galileo. In 1654, Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici tasked Viviani with gathering material in order to write a biography about Galileo's life and work. Carlo Manolessi also recruited Viviani to assist him and others in creating a compilation of Galileo's work and coordinating the frontispiece for Galileo's publication. From 1655 to 1656, Viviani edited the first edition of Galileo's collected works. Viviani tried to publish an account of the life of Galileo, but claimed that his efforts were halted by 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 ...
although this claim has been challenged. One of the primary interests of Viviani was the study of the mathematics of the ancients. Viviani spent much of his life restoring the works of Aristaeus the Elder and Apollonius. In 1660, Viviani and Giovanni Alfonso Borelli conducted an experiment to determine the speed of
sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...
. Timing the difference between the seeing the flash and hearing the sound of a
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
shot at a distance, they calculated a value of 350 meters per second (m/s), considerably better than the previous value of 478 m/s obtained by
Pierre Gassendi Pierre Gassendi (; also Pierre Gassend, Petrus Gassendi, Petrus Gassendus; 22 January 1592 – 24 October 1655) was a French philosopher, Catholic priest, astronomer, and mathematician. While he held a church position in south-east France, he a ...
. The currently accepted value is 331.29 m/s at 0 °C or 340.29 m/s at sea level. It has also been claimed that in 1661 he experimented with the rotation of pendulums, 190 years before the famous demonstration by Foucault. Specifically, during experiments with a pendulum, he observed it to veer to one side. He did not make a connection with the rotation of Earth. As it was an unwanted effect, he eliminated it by hanging the pendulum with two ropes. By 1666, Viviani started to receive many job offers as his reputation as a mathematician grew. That same year,
Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
offered him a position at the Académie Royale and John II Casimir of Poland offered Viviani a post as his
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
. Fearful of losing Viviani, the Grand Duke appointed him First Mathematician of the Tuscan Court. The position was previously held by Galileo, whose death resulted in Torricelli's appointment to the position, followed by Viviani years after Torricelli's death. Viviani accepted this post and turned down his other offers. From 1666 to 1667, Viviani guided Nicolaus Steno on the geometrical propositions of
anatomical Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
figures and
dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause of ...
s of
shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
muscle fibers. The shark dissection figures in ''Elementorum myologiae specimen, seu musculi descriptio geometri'' demonstrated the possible functions of anatomical structures by combining anatomy with geometry while observing
muscle contraction Muscle contraction is the activation of Tension (physics), tension-generating sites within muscle cells. In physiology, muscle contraction does not necessarily mean muscle shortening because muscle tension can be produced without changes in musc ...
s. In 1687, he published a book on
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
, ''Discorso intorno al difendersi da' riempimenti e dalle corrosione de' fiumi''. Upon his death, Viviani left an almost completed work on the resistance of solids, which was subsequently completed and published by Luigi Guido Grandi. In 1737, the Church finally allowed Galileo to be reburied in a grave with an elaborate monument. The monument that was created in the church of Santa Croce was constructed with the help of funds left by Viviani for that specific purpose. Viviani's own remains were moved to Galileo's new grave as well. The lunar crater Viviani is named after him.


Inscriptions

In
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, Viviani had Galileo's life and achievements written in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
on the façade of his palace, on huge stone scrolls. The palace was then renamed Palazzo dei Cartelloni.


Works (selection)

* ''Racconto istorico della vita di Galileo Galilei (Historical Account of the Life of Galileo Galilei)'' (composed in 1654, published in 1717);Vincenzo Viviani
on museo galileo
English translation, "Historical Account of the Life of Galileo Galilei", in ''On the Life of Galileo: Vincenzo Viviani's'' Historical Account ''and Other Early Biographies'', edited, translated and annotated by Stefano Gattei, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019, pp. 1–93. * "Relazione intorno al riparare per quanto possibile sia la città e campagne di Pisa dall'inondazioni" (April 12, 1684) *


See also

* Galileo's Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment * Viviani's theorem * Viviani's curve


References


External links

*
Viviani
page at
Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...
's Galileo Project
Viviani's Theorem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viviani, Vincenzo 1622 births 1703 deaths Scientists from Florence Scientists from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany 17th-century Italian mathematicians 17th-century Italian astronomers 17th-century Italian physicists Italian Roman Catholics Italian scientific instrument makers Fellows of the Royal Society Burials at Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence