Galileiana Academy of Arts and Science
Encyclopedia
The Galileiana Academy of Arts and Science is an Italian academy of arts and sciences and cultural center in the city of Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

 in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It was originally founded as the Academy of the Ricovrati in Padua in 1599, under the initiative of a Venitian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 nobleman, Federico Cornaro. The original members were professors in the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...

 such as professor Georgios Kalafatis
Georgios Kalafatis (professor)
Georgios Kalafatis was a Greek professor of theoretical and practical medicine who was largely active in Padua and Venice in the 17th century Italian Renaissance.- Biography :...

; one of its original members was Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...

. In 1779 the academy merged with the "Accademia di Arte Agraria" (founded in 1769) and became the "Accademia di Scienze Lettere e Arti"; in 1949 it became the "Accademia Patavina di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti"; its name was finally changed to "Accademia Galileiana di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti in Padova" in 1997, in honor of Galileo. The academy is currently lodged in the Carraresi
Carraresi family
The Carraresi were an important family of northern Italy in the period 12th-15th centuries. As signori of Padua, their overwhelming power and patronage placed them in an isolated position far outshining any other single family...

 Palace in Padua.

The "Ricovatri"

The name "ricovrati" literally means "sheltered" and the academy took its name from a line from Boethius, "Bipatens animis asylum" (Latin: "a sanctuary of the soul open at both ends"), which described a cave, open at both ends, and sheltered by an olive tree. This image was used in their heraldic badge
Heraldic badge
A heraldic badge is an emblem or personal device worn as a badge to indicate allegiance to or the property of an individual or family. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance...

.

Female members

At the end of the 17th century, the Academy of the Ricovatri was one of the few in Europe which had female members. These included the first woman in Europe to receive a university diploma, Elena Cornaro Piscopia
Elena Cornaro Piscopia
Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia was a Venetian philosopher of noble descent, and the first woman to receive a degree.She was born in the Palazzo Loredan, at Venice, Republic of Venice on 5 June 1646. She was the third child of Giovanni Battista Cornaro-Piscopia, and his wife Zanetta Boni. ...

. Other female members included Anne Dacier, Madeleine de Scudéry
Madeleine de Scudéry
Madeleine de Scudéry , often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. She was the younger sister of author Georges de Scudéry.-Biography:...

, Maria Selvaggia Borghini, and Marie-Catherine de Villedieu
Marie-Catherine de Villedieu
Marie-Catherine de Villedieu, born Marie-Catherine Desjardins and generally referred to as Madame de Villedieu was a French writer of plays, novels and short fiction...

. Female membership in this period was only honorary and female members did not have the right to vote or occupy administrative posts in the academy. Of the 25 women admitted to the society between the 17th and 18th century, only four were Italian; the others were French and did not attend meetings.

The Enlightenment

Antonio Vallisneri
Antonio Vallisneri
Antonio Vallisneri was an Italian medical scientist, physician and naturalist.-Life:Vallisneri was born in Trassilico, a small village in Garfagnana, and graduated in medicine in 1684, in Reggio Emilia, under the guidance of Marcello Malpighi.He studied at Bologna, Venice, Padua and Parma and held...

 became president of the academy in 1722, and proceeded to enact a series of reforms based on the principles of the Enlightenment. He also instigated a series of debates on the education of women and their inclusion in such academies.

Notable members

Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...

 • Cesare Cremonini
Cesare Cremonini (philosopher)
Cesare Cremonini, sometimes Cesare Cremonino , was an Italian professor of natural philosophy, working rationalism and Aristotelian materialism inside scholasticism...

 • Elena Cornaro Piscopia
Elena Cornaro Piscopia
Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia was a Venetian philosopher of noble descent, and the first woman to receive a degree.She was born in the Palazzo Loredan, at Venice, Republic of Venice on 5 June 1646. She was the third child of Giovanni Battista Cornaro-Piscopia, and his wife Zanetta Boni. ...

 • Antoinette Des Houlières • Anne-Marie Du Boccage • Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier de Villandon • Catherine Bernard
Catherine Bernard
Catherine Bernard was a French poet, playwright, and novelist. She composed three historical novels, two verse tragedies, several poems, and was awarded several poetry prizes by the Académie française...

 • Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy • Marie-Catherine de Villedieu
Marie-Catherine de Villedieu
Marie-Catherine de Villedieu, born Marie-Catherine Desjardins and generally referred to as Madame de Villedieu was a French writer of plays, novels and short fiction...

 • Charlotte-Rose de Caumont La Force
Charlotte-Rose de Caumont La Force
Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force or Mademoiselle de La Force was a French novelist and poet. Her best-known work was her 1698 fairy tale Persinette which was adapted by the Brothers Grimm as the story Rapunzel....

 • Anne Dacier • Madeleine de Scudéry
Madeleine de Scudéry
Madeleine de Scudéry , often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. She was the younger sister of author Georges de Scudéry.-Biography:...

 • Maria Selvaggia Borghini • Georgios Kalafatis (professor)
Georgios Kalafatis (professor)
Georgios Kalafatis was a Greek professor of theoretical and practical medicine who was largely active in Padua and Venice in the 17th century Italian Renaissance.- Biography :...


Note and References

This article is based in part on the articles Accademia galileiana di scienze, lettere ed arti and Académie des Ricovrati from the Italian Wikipedia
Italian Wikipedia
The Italian Wikipedia is the Italian-language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was created on May 11, 2001 and first edited on June 11, 2001. As of 2011 it has over articles and more than registered accounts...

 and French Wikipedia
French Wikipedia
The French Wikipedia is the French language edition of Wikipedia, spelt Wikipédia. This edition was started in March 2001, and has about articles as of , making it the third-largest Wikipedia overall, after the English-language and German-language editions...

, retrieved on November 8, 2010.


External links

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