Galileo Galilei has been stagnant for the better part of four centuries . But he ’s still pointing fingers at the Museo Galileo in Florence , Italy .
When the famous scientist died at the age of 77 in 1642 , his soundbox was rather unceremoniously dumped in a closet - sized room in the basilica of Santa Croce in Florence . reposition was mean to be temporary while a monument was construct to befit Galileo ’s contributions to club . However , church officials were spry topoint outthat they did n’t approve of a fancy tomb for a man they believed to be a heretic , so Galileo ’s earthly remains lingered in this small closet for nearly 100 years .
In 1737 , Galileo finally received the inhumation the public thought he deserved . He was propel from his cramp infinite to this elevated monument in the main part of the church :
Wikimedia Commons //Public Domain
Though he did n’t have far to go , along the way , Galileo somehowlostthree finger’s breadth and a tooth to overzealous fans . One of the finger was recovered not long after , and was apparentlyexhibitedat the Biblioteca de Laurenziana for years . But the other two ( and the tooth ) were misplace to story for centuries . Turns out they were being return down privately within one family .
In 2009 , the long - missing fingerbreadth resurfaced at an auction . The vendee took his new acquisitions to the Museo Galileo . expert there were able to assert the authenticity of the point , so they added the finger’s breadth to the one they already had . you’re able to see them all there today , along with the onlysurviving instrumentsdesigned and built by the humans himself — two telescopes and a lens system used to discover Jupiter ’s moons .
Wikimedia Commons //Plidenbaum//CC BY - SA 3.0
