UPDATE - Temporary Post

I've been in Italy 16 days now on the path of mathematician Gerolamo Cardano (Cardano primarly, but others as well). I only have one post so far about the history of mathematics of the lives of mathematicians. I've been too busy tracking down places, details, and information - and posting on facebook and writing in my journal - to keep up at all with blogging. Some posts need pictures from multiple cities, so I've had to put off posting. I'll have quite a few posts to put up, but I think this will be it until I am home (end of May), at which point I can pull it all together. But I'll put a few "teasers" here.

Bologna Duomo

Cardano lived in Bologna between the time his son was executed for murdering his wife in 1560 and the time he himself was arrested by the Inquisition in 1570. He taught at the university here, which is pictured below.

University of Bologna - oldest in the world - founded 1088

There's a big mathematical feud that took place between mathematicians Gerolamo Cardano and Nicolo Tartaglia - part of which has to do with information Cardano got in Florence from the son-in-law of another mathematician.

Florence Duomo

This relates to earlier work by mathematician Scipione del Ferro who used to participate in mathematical duels in the quadriportico behind the Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi:

Quadriportico of the Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi

And how could I be following in the footsteps of Girolamo Cardano were I not to have gone to Sirmione surrounding which is a story of him nearly being shipwrecked in a storm?

Scaliger Castle, Sirmione, Italy

Scaliger Castle, Sirmione

And in Padua (Padova) I have checked out the second-oldest university in Italy and one of the oldest in the world. It is where Girolamo Cardano graduated with a medical degree (yes, he was a doctor as well as mathematician) and where Galileo spent 18 years teaching and holding the position of chair of mathematics. He called these years the best years of his life. The pictures below relate to Galileo.

Galileo's Teaching Podium

Galileo's Classroom

I hope you'll check back in again in June 2024 to see the lives of 16th-century mathematicians unfold in more interesting ways than I've had time to post here! For now, I'm pounding the pavement and finding everything I can!