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120-530: Ferdinando II de' Medici (14 July 1610 – 23 May 1670) was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest son of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria . Remembered by his contemporaries as a man of culture and science, he actively participated in the Accademia del Cimento , the first official scientific society in Italy, formed by his younger brother, Leopoldo de' Medici . His 49-year rule

240-525: A cognatic descendant of the Medici, succeeded the family and ascended the throne of his Medicean ancestors. Tuscany was governed by a viceroy, Marc de Beauvau-Craon , for his entire rule. His descendants ruled, and resided in, the grand duchy until its end in 1859, barring one interruption, when Napoleon Bonaparte gave Tuscany to the House of Bourbon-Parma ( Kingdom of Etruria , 1801–1807), then annexed it directly to

360-593: A Tuscan colony in America , with the intention of establishing a Tuscan settlement in the area of what is now French Guiana . Despite all of these incentives to economic growth and prosperity, the population of Florence, at dawn of the 17th century, was a mere 75,000 souls, far smaller than the other capitals of Italy: Rome , Milan , Venice , Palermo and Naples . Francesco and Ferdinando, due to lax distinction between Medici and Tuscan state property, are thought to have been wealthier than their ancestor, Cosimo de' Medici ,

480-447: A decade later. The foundation of Academy was funded by Prince Leopoldo and Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici . The tenets of the society included: The Cimento published a manual of experimentation which began the process of standardizing processes, instruments and measurements throughout Europe. Their motto Provando e riprovando means “proving and disproving”, i.e. providing proofs of true facts and confuting false ones, while

600-534: A decade. Like the Empire's other loyal Italian subjects, the Tuscans were "hawks" who supported prosecuting the war to its conclusion. Francesco de' Medici , Mattias de'Medici, and Ottavio Piccolomini (an Imperial general of Sienese origin) were among the ringleaders in the plot to assassinate field marshal Albrecht von Wallenstein , for which they were rewarded with spoils by Emperor Ferdinand II . Tuscany participated in

720-456: A defeat on the forces of Pope Urban VIII in 1643. The treasury was so empty that when the Castro mercenaries were paid for the state could no longer afford to pay interest on government bonds. The interest rate was lowered by 0.75%. The economy became so decrepit that barter trade became prevalent in rural market places. Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 of apoplexy and dropsy . He was interred in

840-619: A flotilla of 5 Algerian pirate vessels (including a large flagship). In the 10-hour battle, punctuated by cannon fire and boarding actions, 600 pirates were killed or captured and they lost 4 of the 5 ships (3 sunk, 1 captured), while the Italians lost 60 dead. Accademia del Cimento The Accademia del Cimento (Academy of Experiment), an early scientific society , was founded in Florence in 1657 by students of Galileo , Giovanni Alfonso Borelli and Vincenzo Viviani and ceased to exist about

960-619: A full-fledged hearing and kept Galileo in Florence until December 1632, when the Roman Inquisitors finally threatened to bring Galileo to Rome in chains if he would not come voluntarily. In June 1633, the Roman Inquisition convicted the astronomer for "vehement suspicion of heresy" and sentenced him to imprisonment for life. After this was commuted to house arrest, Ferdinando came to visit the elderly scientist at his villa, where he lived out

1080-616: A larger portion, and that the specific origins of the troops have very little information to go on. He also cites the fact that many Italians served as mercenaries outside of Italy, though he admits that (other than the well-known mercenary tradition of Corsica) there is no information on their state origins. The duchy's largest military deployment came during this war, when in June 1643 over 10,000 troops (7,000 Tuscans in eight regiments of infantry recruited from militia, garrison troops, and veteran mercenaries; 1 regiment of German infantry; 2,400 cavalry,

1200-461: A liberal constitution in 1848. He was briefly deposed by a provisional government in 1849, but restored to power the same year by Austrian troops. The government was finally dissolved upon its annexation to the United Provinces of Central Italy in 1859. The court moved to Salzburg and lived there in exile until 1918. In addition to its regular army, the duchy maintained a citizen-militia. This

1320-570: A literal translation may read "trying and trying again". Unlike many of the other scientific societies formed in the seventeenth century, such as the Accademia dei Lincei (founded 1603), the Royal Society of London (founded 1660), and the Academie Royale des Sciences (founded 1666), the Accademia del Cimento never established rules to make it a formal body. There were no formal rules for joining

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1440-612: A marriage with Vittoria della Rovere , a granddaughter of the last Duke of Urbino , in 1633, in hopes of acquiring the Duchy. However, their political weakness prevented them from securing Urbino, and it was subsequently conquered by the Papal States . In his seventeenth year, Ferdinando embarked on a tour of Europe, traveling to Rome , Bologna , Ferrara , Venice , and finally Austria and Prague . One year later, his regency ended and his personal rule began. The dowager Grand Duchess Christina

1560-536: A marriage with Vittoria della Rovere , the granddaughter of Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino , in 1634. Together they had two children: Cosimo (III) , in 1642, and Francesco , in 1660. Ferdinando was obsessed with new technology, and had several hygrometers , barometers , thermometers , and telescopes installed in the Pitti . In 1657, Leopoldo de' Medici , the Grand Duke's youngest brother, established

1680-437: A month later, but fortunately for the Medici his successor Pope Paul V was also pro-Medici. Ferdinando's pro-Papal foreign policy, however, had drawbacks. Tuscany was overcome with religious orders, all of whom were not obliged to pay taxes. Ferdinando died in 1609, leaving an affluent realm; however, his inaction in international affairs drew Tuscany into the provincial yolk of politics. Ferdinando's elder son, Cosimo, mounted

1800-563: A patron of the "new science" on the publication of the document. Other studies show the influence the trial of Galileo had on Prince Leopoldo. He wrote Magalotti and informed him that the manuscript be sent to Cardinal Ranucci and that "nothing will be printed against his wishes." Leopoldo even sent parts of the manual to the Pope for approval. Boschiero argues that leaving out all astronomical experiments and not advancing theories of why things happened in nature, just recording what happened when nature

1920-475: A quarter of whom were Germans; and 1 regiment of Tuscan dragoons) with 18 cannons invaded the Papal States holding of Umbria, while other troops and militia were left garrisoning the grand duchy's major citadels, coastal forts, and border forts. Militia were recruited into the army as needed to replace losses. Tuscany's economic and military strength cratered from the second half of the 17th century onward, which

2040-433: A referendum that voted overwhelmingly (95% ) in favour of a union with Sardinia, Tuscany was formally annexed to Sardinia as part of the new Kingdom of Italy . Strongly attached to its ideal traditions, it remained the only region in Italy to maintain the abolition of capital punishment in force until 1889, when it was eventually extended to the whole Kingdom with the promulgation of the new Zanardelli penal code . Tuscany

2160-535: A remote claim to the grand duchy (through some Medici descent), but died before he could press the matter. The Treaty of the Hague reconfirmed the statuses of Tuscany and Parma-Piacenza as imperial fiefs. Cosimo married Marguerite Louise d'Orléans , a granddaughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. Their union wrought a high level of discontentment, but despite the tension they had three children, Ferdinando , Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Electress Palatine and

2280-556: A standing army of 3,000 poorly-trained troops. A modest plan to create a 5,000-strong Tuscan army under German officers was only semi-successful. Tuscan troops served the Emperor in Silesia during the Seven Years' War . The first contingent of 3,000 troops arrived in 1758, followed by a second contingent of 1,500, and subsequent smaller ones to replace losses from battle and disease. The fear that

2400-408: A starting point in the investigation of modern-day experimental methods such as parallel trials. Francesco Redi continuously disagreed with Athanasius Kircher in the proper way to conduct experiments. In one instance Kircher let meat out in the open. After a few days maggots appeared and Kircher said that the maggots were spontaneously generated. Redi conducted parallel trials where he took meat from

2520-606: A success). From 1560 to 1609, the Tuscan fleet captured 76 galiots, 7 galleys, 2 large roundships, and 67 minor craft, taking 9,620 slaves and liberating 2,076 Christians. The preponderance of small vessels among the prizes indicates that most of the trophies were easy victories. The Tuscans were early pioneers in the deployment of roundships, as technology made manpower-heavy galleys less efficient. They launched several big ships at Portoferraio after 1601, with an armament of 40 guns each yet only 60 seamen each. 8 of them around 1610 floated

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2640-534: A total of 200 guns. They began to raid independently of the galleys on long voyages to the Levant. In 1608, they intercepted a Turkish convoy of 42 vessels off Rhodes , seizing 9 and netting 600 slaves and a booty of 1 million ducats, equivalent to two years of revenue for the whole grand duchy. Under Grand Duke Cosimo II, 7 roundships carrying 1,800 soldiers were sent to the Mediterranean from 1609 to 1611. This expedition

2760-481: A two-month term); in their place was the consigliere , a four-man council elected for a three-month term, headed by the "Duke of the Florentine Republic" (and later the Grand Duke of Tuscany). The Senate, composed of forty-eight men, chosen by the constitutional reform commission, was vested with the prerogative of determining Florence's financial, security, and foreign policies. Additionally, the senate appointed

2880-540: Is best remembered for dying on the same day as his second wife, Bianca Cappello , spurring rumours of poisoning. He was succeeded by Ferdinando de' Medici, his younger brother, whom he loathed. Ferdinando eagerly assumed the government of Tuscany. He commanded the draining of the Tuscan marshlands, built a road network in Southern Tuscany, and cultivated trade in Livorno . To augment the Tuscan silk industry, he oversaw

3000-772: Is observed was driven by Leopoldo's concern with offending the church. The first part of the Saggi discussed the highly accurate instruments the Cimento used to perform their experiments. Measurement of physical phenomenon was a new area and this section of the manual laid out what and how physical properties were to be measured for a variety of disciplines, to include heat ( thermometer ), humidity ( hygrometer ), time ( pendulum ) etc. The first set of experiments relates to determining air pressure with mercury barometers. The second set reviewed work done by Robert Boyle on variant air pressure and vacuums. The third set discussed artificial cooling and

3120-581: The Accademia del Cimento , which set up to attract scientists from all over Tuscany to Florence for mutual study. Tuscany was one of the states of the Holy Roman Empire that sided with the Emperor in the Thirty Years War , sending thousands of troops to support the pro-Imperial side from 1631. Among the commanders of the detachment were three of the grand duke's brothers; two died and one, Mattias de'Medici , became general of artillery and served for

3240-631: The Basilica of San Lorenzo , the Medicis' crypt. Ferdinando was obsessed with new technology and had several hygrometers , barometers , thermometers and telescopes installed in the Palazzo Pitti . In 1654, influenced by Galileo Galilei , he is reported to have invented the sealed-glass thermometer by sealing the glass tip of a tube filled to a certain height with colored alcohol. Small glass bubbles filled with air at varying pressures hovered trapped within

3360-646: The Congress of Vienna , ceded the State of Presidi and the Principality of Piombino to a restored Tuscany. Ferdinand III resumed his rule, and died in 1824. Italian nationalism exploded in the post-Napoleonic years, leading to the establishment of secret societies bent on a unified Italy. When these leagues arrived in Tuscany, a concerned Ferdinand requisitioned an Austrian garrison, from his brother Emperor Francis of Austria , for

3480-538: The Duchy of Florence for 32 years. During his reign, Florence purchased the island of Elba from the Republic of Genoa (in 1548), conquered Siena (in 1555) and developed a well-equipped and powerful naval base on Elba. Cosimo also banned the clergy from holding administrative positions and promulgated laws of freedom of religion, which were unknown during his time. Cosimo also was a long-term supporter of Pope Pius V , who in

3600-555: The Duchy of Lucca , a state created by the Congress of Vienna solely to accommodate the House of Bourbon-Parma until they could re-assume their Parmese sovereignty upon the death of the Duchess of Parma for life, Marie Louise of Austria . In October 1847, as she was still alive and reigning, the Duke of Lucca decided to prematurely abdicate his throne in favour of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, while

3720-575: The First French Empire . Following the collapse of the Napoleonic system in 1814, the grand duchy was restored. The United Provinces of Central Italy , a client state of the Kingdom of Sardinia , annexed Tuscany in 1859. Tuscany was formally annexed in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy , following a landslide referendum, in which 95% of voters approved. In 1569, Cosimo de' Medici had ruled

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3840-661: The House of Habsburg-Lorraine was formally deposed by the Tuscan National Assembly on 16 August 1859. In December 1859, not before the provisional government had abolished the abhorred death penalty for the third time, the Grand Duchy was joined to the Duchies of Modena and Parma to form the United Provinces of Central Italy , which were annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia a few months later. On 22 March 1860, after

3960-471: The Kingdom of Naples . Vittoria della Rovere brought the Duchies of Montefeltro and Rovere into the family in 1631, upon her death in 1694, they passed to her younger son, Francesco Maria de' Medici . They reverted to the crown with the ascension of Gian Gastone. Gian Gastone, the last Medici, resigned the grand duchy to Francis Stephen of Lorraine. Under him, Tuscany was ruled by a viceroy , Marc de Beauvau-Craon, Prince de Craon . Francis Stephen altered

4080-428: The Saggi were completed within the first two years of the Cimento and the rest of the time the book went through revisions. These revisions were caused by Magalotti’s perfectionism, his growing uninterestedness with the experiments themselves, further compounded by the fact the book was being written by a committee. Recent studies show the adverse impact of the patronage culture and Prince Leopold's desire to be known as

4200-493: The Siege of Florence , Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor issued a proclamation explicitly stating that he and he alone could determine the government of Florence. On 12 August 1530, the Emperor created the Medici hereditary rulers ( capo ) of the Republic of Florence. Pope Clement VII willed his relative Alessandro de' Medici to be the monarchical ruler of Florence, and went about requisitioning that dignity carefully; he wanted to give

4320-508: The Treaty of Fontainebleau (27 October 1807), Etruria was to be annexed by France . The negotiations had been between Spain and France, and the Etrurian regent was kept entirely in the dark, only being informed that she would have to leave her young son's kingdom on 23 November 1807. She and her court left on 10 December. On 30 May 1808, Etruria was formally annexed to France. An "Extraordinary Giunta"

4440-490: The Wars of Castro (the last time Medicean Tuscany proper was involved in a conflict) and inflicted a defeat on the forces of Pope Urban VIII in 1643. The treasury was so empty that when the Castro mercenaries were paid for, the state could no longer afford to pay interest on government bonds. The interest rate was lowered by 0.75%. The economy was so decrepit that barter trade became prevalent in rural market places. The exchequer

4560-495: The "new" science, which meant emphasis on experiments and not causes. Giorgio Strano argues that the members of the Cimento, especially Galileo’s students, continued to use a deductive approach using ancient texts to drive their selection of experiments and how the experiments were conducted. In a debate about Galileo’s discovery of the Rings of Saturn these members developed an experiment which would demonstrate that Galileo’s discovery

4680-411: The Cimento is the Saggi di naturali esperienze fatte nell'Academia del Cimento sotto la protezione del Serenissimo Principe Leopoldo di Toscan e descrittedal segretario di essa Accademia usually referred to as the Saggi . This document has been called the laboratory manual of the eighteenth century. The manual was published anonymously and took over 6 years to write. Most of the experiments discussed in

4800-413: The Cimento to project their power and prestige throughout Europe. The members of the society knew this and envisioned the publication of the Saggi would "return the applause that is merited by the talent and dilligence of thies gentleman [the accadmeician], and first of all by the manganimity of Your Highness.[sic?]" This prestige could only come about if the society was seen as being at the forefront of

4920-413: The Congress had originally stipulated that they should be assigned to Modena, but, with the annexation of Lucca, they were no longer territorially separated from the rest of the Grand Duchy and loudly refused to be handed over to the unbeloved Modena House of Austria-Este . On taking possession of his new state, Leopold unexpectedly granted it the abolition of the death penalty, a measure whose effectiveness

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5040-466: The Electress Palatine, she should succeed and the republic be re-instituted following her death. The proposal sank, and ultimately died with Cosimo in 1723. As Grand Prince Ferdinando, Gian Gastone's elder brother, predeceased Cosimo III, Gian Gastone succeeded his father in 1723. Gian Gastone for most of his life, kept to his bed and acted in an unregal manner, rarely appearing to his subjects, to

5160-574: The Emperor during the Battle of Vienna . Tuscany was neutral during the War of the Spanish Succession , partly due to Tuscany's ramshackle military; a 1718 military review revealed that the army numbered less than 3,000 men, many of whom were infirm and elderly. Meanwhile, the state's capital, Florence, had become full of beggars. Europe heard of the perils of Tuscany, and Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor asserted

5280-668: The Emperor during the Thirty Years War . From 1629 to 1630 he also sent 6,000 troops to join the Spanish in the War of the Mantuan Succession , plus a naval detachment and funds to pay for 4,000 Swiss mercenaries. In 1643, during the Castro War, the Tuscan army was between 5,000 and 10,000 good troops, including foreign mercenaries but not including militia. Yves-Marie Berce figures that most of those troops were of French or Swiss origin, but Hanlon disputes this, saying that Italians comprised

5400-467: The Emperor would impose conscription on the duchy caused 2% of the population to flee to the Papal States . In 1763, when nuptial agreements for the marriage of the imperial couple's second surviving son, Leopold , and the Infanta of Spain , Maria Luisa of Bourbon , were stipulated, Tuscany was erected into a secundogeniture . Thus, upon the death of Francis I, it was Leopold who directly succeeded him on

5520-457: The Lucca exclaves of Montignoso , Gallicano , Minucciano and Castiglione were given to the Duchy of Modena in accordance with the resolutions of the Congress of Vienna. Tuscany in turn ceded its Lunigiana domains either to Modena (Vicariate of Fivizzano ), or to Parma (Vicariate of Pontremoli and other minor territories), retaining instead its ancient exclaves of Pietrasanta and Barga :

5640-614: The Medici acquired several territories, which included: the County of Pitigliano , purchased from the Orsini family in 1604; the County of Santa Fiora , acquired from the House of Sforza in 1633; Spain ceded Pontremoli in 1650, Silvia Piccolomini sold her estates, the Marquisate of Castiglione at the time of Cosimo I , Lordship of Pietra Santa , and the Duchy of Capistrano and the city of Penna in

5760-606: The Spanish Infante . The Tuscans despised the new occupying "Lorrainers", as they interfered with the Tuscan government, while the occupying Spaniards had not done so. On 9 July 1737, Gian Gastone died; the last male Medici of the grand ducal line. Francis I (as Francis Stephen became known) lived in Florence briefly with his wife, the Habsburg heiress Maria Theresa , who became Tuscany's grand duchess. Francis had to cede his ancestral Duchy of Lorraine in order to accommodate

5880-656: The Spanish Empire. The Holy League inflicted a crushing defeat against the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto . Cosimo's reign was one of the most militaristic Tuscany had ever seen. Cosimo experienced several personal tragedies during the later years of his reign. His wife, Eleanor of Toledo , died in 1562, along with four of his children due to a plague epidemic in Florence. These deaths were to affect him greatly, which, along with illness, forced Cosimo to unofficially abdicate in 1564. This left his eldest son, Francesco , to rule

6000-431: The Tuscan banner. Ferdinand I expanded the Tuscan fleet after expanding the arsenal at Livorno, and oversaw many raids by both the navy and Order, including on Chios in 1599 (a failure), Preveza in 1605 (5 galleys with 400 Tuscan militia; a success), various Turkish ports in 1606 (6 galleys, some roundships, and 750 Tuscan soldiers; a success), and Bone in 1607 (8 galleys, 9 bertoni , and 1 galleon, with 2,300 soldiers;

6120-420: The capital of his wife's realm, Vienna. He was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1745. He died at Innsbruck from a stroke in 1765; his wife pledged the rest of her life to mourning him, while co-ruling with her first son, her own heir apparent , and Francis' imperial successor Joseph II . The administrative structure of the grand duchy itself would see little change under Francis I. Since their accession to

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6240-551: The claim to the throne of his closest male relative, the Prince of Ottajano , he allowed Tuscany to be bestowed upon Don Carlos. During the War of the Polish Succession , Don Carlos conquered the Kingdom of Naples and was forced to give up the Tuscan succession by the Treaty of Vienna (1738) . Soon after, Francis Stephen of Lorraine became heir to the Tuscan throne. Gian Gastone had no say in events and had become quite attached to

6360-477: The commissions of war and public security, and the governors of Pisa , Arezzo , Prato , Voltera and Cortona and ambassadors. To be eligible, one had to be male and a noble. The Council of Two Hundred was a petitions court; membership was for life. This constitution was still in effect through the Medicean grand duchy, albeit the institutions were decayed and powerless by the rule of Ferdinando II . Over time,

6480-481: The cooperative effort that did not allow for individual recognition. The Cimento did not disband as much as it just fizzled out. The Accademia del Cimento existed during the period of European history when, arguably, the foundations of modern science were established; a period sometimes referred to as the Scientific Revolution . Using ancient authority and divine revelation as the ultimate source of knowledge

6600-475: The country's population continued to decline. By 1705, the grand ducal treasury was virtually bankrupt, and the population of Florence had declined by approximately 50%, while the population of the entire grand duchy had decreased by an estimated 40%. The once powerful navy was reduced to a pitiful state. Cosimo frequently paid the Holy Roman Emperor, his feudal overlord, high dues. He sent munitions to

6720-507: The country). An anonymous Venetian intelligence report from the late 16th century stated that Tuscany could spend 800,000 ducats annually on war (half as much as the Spanish-held Kingdom of Naples despite having a quarter of its population), and could raise 40,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry, counting soldiers, militia, and mercenaries from nearby Corsica and Romagna, a force massively out of proportion to its population. Hanlon considers

6840-429: The creation of medical experimentation protocols. From the fifteenth century through the age of enlightenment the intellectuals of Europe formed a network of knowledge exchange through the writing and sharing of letters and pamphlets known as the Republic of Letters . The scientific societies in the 17th century and their members were important members of this network. One of the most famous contributors to this Republic

6960-519: The deeply rooted convictions of his people and brought him into collision with the pope, were not successful. Leopold also approved and collaborated on the development of a political constitution, said to have anticipated by many years the promulgation of the French constitution and which presented some similarities with the Virginia Bill of Rights of 1778. Leopold's concept of this was based on respect for

7080-437: The defence of the state. Ferdinand aligned Tuscany with Austria. Following Ferdinand's death, his elder son, Leopold II , succeeded him. Leopold was contemporarily acknowledged as a liberal monarch. Despite his merits, most his subjects still dismissed him as a foreigner. His affinity for Austria was equally unpalatable. In 1847, in application of the 1844 secret Treaty of Florence  [ it ] , Leopold II annexed

7200-451: The deposed ruler of Poland, whose daughter Marie Leszczyńska was Queen of France. Marie's father Stanisław Leszczyński ruled Lorraine as compensation for his loss of the Kingdom of Poland . Francis was reluctant to resign the duchy, but Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (Maria Theresa's father) stated that if he did not relinquish his rights to Lorraine, he could not marry Maria Theresa. Francis did not live in his Tuscan realm, and lived in

7320-438: The duchy. Cosimo I died in 1574 of apoplexy , leaving a stable and extremely prosperous Tuscany behind him, having been the longest ruling Medici yet. Francesco had little interest in governing his realm, instead participating in scientific experiments. The administration of the state was delegated to bureaucrats. He continued his father's Austrian/Imperial alliance, cementing it by marrying Johanna of Austria . Francesco

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7440-498: The eleventh investigated the speed of sound. The twelfth set demonstrated falling body laws Galileo discussed but did not perform experiments to prove. The Saggi is replete with pictures of laboratory instruments and how-to instructions on the use of the instruments. A modern translation of the manual is provided in Middelton’s book, The Experimenters: A Study of the Accademia del Cimento The Cimento never became an institution. It

7560-486: The end of Spanish subsidies, in 1574 the navy shrunk to 4 galleys. Grand Duke Ferdinand I sought to expand Tuscany's naval strength during his reign, and cooperated with the Order of Saint Stephen , which often blurred the line between itself and the Tuscan navy. The Order in 1604 counted among its fleet 6 galleys, 3 roundships/ bertoni , 2 transports, 1 galleon, and 1 galleass, supplemented by other ships financed by corsairs flying

7680-607: The experiments. Recent studies have cast doubt about society member's acceptance of this new method for acquiring knowledge and determining truth. The intellectual elite of the early modern period functioned within a prestige-conscious society. At the top of the intellectual hierarchy were the philosophers; the people who used their ability to think and reason to determine how the world works. The prestigious chairs at universities were allocated to philosophy and theology , people who thought not mathematicians. Francis Bacon ’s utopia world, described in his book New Atlantis described

7800-484: The extent that, at times, he had been thought dead. Gian Gastone would repeal his father's puritan laws. In 1731, the Powers gathered at Vienna to decide who would succeed Gian Gastone. They drew up the Treaty of Vienna , which gave the grand ducal throne to Don Carlos, Duke of Parma . Gian Gastone was not as steadfast in negotiating Tuscany's future as his father was. He capitulated to foreign demands, and instead of endorsing

7920-503: The first of its kind to be introduced in Europe, allowing steps to be taken to hospitalize individuals deemed insane. A few years later Leopold undertook the project of building a new hospital, the Bonifacio. He used his skill at choosing collaborators to put a young physician, Vincenzo Chiarugi , at its head. Chiarugi and his collaborators introduced new humanitarian regulations in the running of

8040-597: The founder of the dynasty. The Grand Duke alone had the prerogative to exploit the state's mineral and salt resources. The fortunes of the Medici were directly tied to the Tuscan economy. Ferdinando, despite no longer being a cardinal, exercised much influence at successive Papal conclaves ; elections which chose the Pope , the head of the Catholic Church . In 1605, Ferdinando succeeded in getting his candidate, Alessandro de' Medici, elected as Pope Leo XI . Leo XI died less than

8160-460: The fourth set discussed natural cooling. The fifth set looked at the effect of heat and cold on various objects. The sixth set investigated the compressibility of water while the seventh series put a nail in Aristotle’s idea of the natural state of fire by proving that smoke does not rise in a vacuum. The eighth set discussed magnetism and the ninth discussed amber. The tenth set looked at color while

8280-450: The grand duke. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor proclaimed Alessandro de' Medici , Duke of Florence "for his lifetime, and after his death to be succeeded by his sons, male heirs and successors, of his body, by order of primogeniture, and failing them by the closest male of the Medici family, and likewise in succession forever, by order of primogeniture." Following the Republic's surrender in

8400-405: The hospital and caring for the mentally ill patients, including banning the use of chains and physical punishment, and in so doing have been recognized as early pioneers of what later came to be known as the moral treatment movement. Leopold attempted to secularize the property of the religious houses or to put the clergy entirely under the control of the government. These measures, which disturbed

8520-537: The impression that the Florentines democratically chose Alessandro to be their monarch. In April 1532, the Pope convinced the Balía , Florence's ruling commission, to draw up a new constitution. The document in question was officiated on the 27th of that month. It formally created a hereditary monarchy, abolished the age-old signoria (elective government) and the office of gonfaloniere (titular ruler of Florence elected for

8640-414: The last Medicean grand duke of Tuscany, Gian Gastone de' Medici . Cosimo contemplated restoring the Republic of Florence , a decision that was complicated by the Grand Duchy's feudal status: Florence was an Imperial fief, Siena a Spanish one. The plan was about to be approved by the powers convened at Geertruidenberg when Cosimo abruptly added that if himself and his two sons predeceased his daughter,

8760-467: The latter was called to Vienna, to assume the rule of his family's Austrian dominions and become Emperor, his second-born son Ferdinand immediately succeeded him as head of the Grand Duchy. Leopold himself died in 1792. Following the serious Sanfedist disorders that occurred in Tuscany upon Leopold's departure for Austria, the new emperor partially revoked the abolition of the death penalty ordered 4 years earlier, and in 1795 Ferdinand further expanded

8880-475: The laws of succession in 1763, when he declared his second son , Leopold, heir to the grand duchy. If Leopold's line were to become extinct, it would revert to the main line. Should Leopold or any of his direct successors somehow come into possession of the main domains of the Habsburg monarchy , the grand duchy would then pass on to their second son and the latter's successors. Every grand duke after Leopold resided in Florence. Grand Duke Leopold II agreed to ratify

9000-640: The light of Florence's expansion in August 1569, declared Cosimo Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title unprecedented in Italy. The international reaction to Cosimo's elevation was bleak. Queen Catherine of France , though herself a Medici, viewed Cosimo with the utmost disdain. Rumours circulated at the Viennese court that had Cosimo as a candidate for King of England. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and his cousin King Philip II of Spain reacted quite angrily, as Florence

9120-402: The liquid, changing positions as the temperature rose or fell. Marked off with 360 divisions, like the gradations or "degrees" of a circle, this type of device was called a "spirit thermometer", because it was filled with "spirit of wine" (distilled alcohol), or a "Florentine thermometer". In 1657, Leopoldo de' Medici , the grand duke's youngest brother, established the Accademia del Cimento . It

9240-500: The myth that the Cimento was exclusively concerned with experimentation, when reality paints a different picture. It was only when the Cimento decided to publish their work to their European colleagues, that they decided to describe an atheoretical experimental practice. Experimental procedures pioneered by one of the Cimento’s members crossed the boundaries between physician-mathematical and medico-anatomical disciplines and can be used as

9360-504: The natural philosophers quest as determining “...the knowledge of causes, and secret motions of things; and the enlarging of the bounds of human empire, to the effecting of all things possible. described a society ruled by nine levels of knowledge creators, and at the very top of the organization were the Interpreters of Nature, who raised the “discoveries by experiments into greater observations, axioms, and aphorisms.” Italian society of

9480-413: The new Tuscan alliance, he married the deceased Francesco's younger daughter, Marie , to Henry IV of France . Henry explicitly stated that he would defend Tuscany from Spanish aggression, but later reneged. Ferdinando was forced to marry his heir, Cosimo II , to Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria to assuage Spain (where Maria Maddalena's sister was the incumbent Queen consort). Ferdinando sponsored

9600-406: The planting of Mulberry trees along the major roads (silk worms feed on Mulberry leaves). He shifted Tuscany away from Habsburg hegemony by marrying the first non-Habsburg candidate since Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence , Christina of Lorraine , a granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici . The Spanish reaction was to construct a citadel on their portion of the island of Elba. To strengthen

9720-409: The political rights of citizens and on a harmony of power between the executive and the legislative. However, the constitution was so radically new that it garnered opposition even from those who might have benefited from it. In 1790, Emperor Joseph II died without issue before carrying out his project for the abolition of secundogeniture in Tuscany, partly due to Leopold's latent resistance. Thus, when

9840-572: The regime sprang up in August, in Livorno. Leopold II lent his support to the Kingdom of Sardinia in the First Italian War of Independence . In February 1849, Leopold II had to abandon Tuscany to republicans and sought refuge in the Neapolitan city of Gaeta . A provisional republic was established in his stead. It was only with Austrian assistance that Leopold could return to Florence. The constitution

9960-521: The register of prizes of the Order of Saint Stephen. It lists some 238 vessels captured from 1563 to 1688; enemy galleys captured from 1568 to 1599 were 11 (for the loss of an identical number), and another 17 were seized between 1602 and 1635. Only 1 was captured after 1635. A notable incident in this time was a naval battle off Sardinia in October 1624, in which 15 Tuscan, Papal, and Neapolitan galleys converged on

10080-420: The remainder of his life. From his unhappy marriage to Vittoria Della Rovere , Ferdinand II had four children, of which only two reached adulthood: Grand Duchy of Tuscany Having brought nearly all Tuscany under his control after conquering the Republic of Siena , Cosimo I de' Medici , was elevated by a papal bull of Pope Pius V to Grand Duke of Tuscany on 27 August 1569. The Grand Duchy

10200-691: The report overly optimistic, but with some basis in fact. In response to the Türkenkriege during the Long Turkish War starting in 1593, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany sent 100,000 scudi and 3,600 soldiers (3,000 infantry and 600 cavalry) to support the Holy Roman Emperor in Hungary , plus smaller detachments thereafter (there were 2,000 Tuscans in the Imperial army in Hungary by 1601). A Tuscan-Spanish treaty that bound

10320-405: The same animal and left some exposed to the air, some exposed to air, but covered so flies could not land on it and some under a glass cover. Only that meat which was exposed to flies generated maggots. In another experiment concerning the efficacy of SnakeStones Kircher used letters from other Jesuits in the field which said snakestones could counteract poison. Kircher poisoned a dog, placed

10440-473: The scope of its application. Leopold was succeeded by Ferdinand III . Ferdinand was the son of Leopold I, and Grand Duchess Maria Louisa . He was forced out by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars , first in spring 1799 when a jacobin provisional government was created by the French army, and then after the Treaty of Aranjuez (1801) , becoming instead Elector of Salzburg , ruling

10560-479: The seventeenth century was governed through a culture of patronage. In the book Galileo, Courtier , Mario Biagioli argues that many of Galileo's actions, the most famous Italian scientist of the time, were dictated by the patronage system. This patronage system also influenced the actions and output of the Cimento. The Medici family had long been a supporter of arts and culture within Florentine society and wanted to use

10680-571: The size and quality of the duchy's militia varied throughout its existence, as did its army. From 1553 to 1559, Tuscany raised 30,000 troops for their participation in the Last Italian War , which saw the Republic of Siena being added to the duchy. For the decades thereafter, the grand dukes only maintained a peacetime force of 2,500 soldiers, 500 cavalry to patrol the coasts and 2,000 infantry to man castles (Cosimo I having significantly expanded Tuscany's fortification network in an effort to defend

10800-459: The snakestone on the wound and the dog recovered. Therefore, according to Kircher, Snakestones worked. Redi, on the other hand conducted many trials using different animals, different poisons and found that the Snakestone did not work all the time. The historian Meli believes that further investigation into the spread of this type of experimentation may show the Cimento and its members as pioneers in

10920-528: The society can only be pieced together through the letters and diaries of the people associated with the operation. The National Library of Florence recently digitized all of these documents and they are available on-line. [1] Since the workings of the Academy were not formalized there can be no clear cut answer to the exact date of the founding of the Cimento suggests that the Cimento was the formal organization of meetings held by Prince Leopold in his study, and that

11040-410: The society did not exist, except when Leopold was present. Middleton agrees that the overall emphasis was on what Leopold and Ferdinand wanted to study but makes the case that the society performed experiments according to each individuals curiosity. Nevertheless they both agree with The Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza in Florence which gives the starting date of 1657. The main publication of

11160-465: The society they did not come to fruition. However, Lorenzo Magalotti made a special trip to London to present the Royal Society with a copy of the Saggi . It is argued that the reason no correspondence was established was that Robert Boyle was sensitive to having his ideas stolen and saw the Cimento as a direct competitor for priority and stature. A chance to have two prestigious societies collaborate

11280-573: The society, there was no established meeting calendar and the society never set up an organizational structure. Instead the society remained a close knit group of virtuosi under the direction of their patrons, Prince Leopold of Tuscany and Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany , both sons of Cosimo II de’ Medici. The society only published one manuscript during its existence, Saggi di naturali esperienze fatte nell'Academia del Cimento sotto la protezione del Serenissimo Principe Leopoldo di Toscana e descritte dal segretario di essa Accademia and all

11400-525: The supreme court of Florence hastened to extend to the entire territory of the Grand Duchy, at the beginning of 1848. In Leopold's years Italy was engulfed in popular rebellion, culminating in the Revolutions of 1848 . The said revolution toppled the throne of France, and caused disarray across Europe. In Tuscany, Leopold II sanctioned a liberal constitution; and instituted a liberal ministry. Despite his attempts at acquiescence, street fighting in opposition to

11520-405: The taxation and tariff system. Smallpox vaccination was made systematically available (Leopold's mother Maria Theresa had been a huge supporter of inoculation against smallpox), and an early institution for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents was founded. Leopold also abolished capital punishment . On 30 November 1786, after having de facto blocked capital executions (the last

11640-409: The territory of the former archbishopric . The Grand Duchy was then dissolved, and replaced by the Kingdom of Etruria under the House of Bourbon-Parma , in compensation for their loss of Duchy of Parma . In 1803, the first King of Etruria, Louis I , died and was succeeded by his infant son, Charles Louis , under the regency of his mother, Queen María Luisa . Etruria lasted less than a decade. By

11760-750: The throne following his death. Like his uncle, Francesco I, government held no appeal for him, and Tuscany was ruled by his ministers. Cosimo II's twelve-year reign was punctuated by his contented marriage with Maria Maddalena and his patronage of astronomer Galileo Galilei . When Cosimo died, his oldest son, Ferdinando , was still a minor. This led to a regency of Ferdinand's grandmother, Dowager Grand Duchess Christina , and his mother, Maria Maddalena of Austria. Christina heavily relied on priests as advisors, lifting Cosimo I's ban on clergy holding administrative roles in government, and promoted monasticism. Christina dominated her grandson long after he came of age until her death in 1636. His mother and grandmother arranged

11880-595: The throne of Grand Dukes, however, the Habsburgs continually tried to make Tuscany a source of military power, to little success, as Tuscany had declined and demilitarized in the 18th century. Such was the failure of their initial effort that Vienna declared Tuscany to be neutral during the War of the Austrian Succession , and enemy troops crossed it unopposed. At that time the Habsburgs' efforts had only managed to muster

12000-429: The throne of the Grand Duchy. Leopold , usually referred to in Italy as "Pietro Leopoldo", ruled the country until his brother Joseph's death and his own election as Holy Roman Emperor in 1790. He was unpopular among his subjects, though his many reforms brought the Grand Duchy to a level of stability that had not been seen in quite a while. Leopold developed and supported many social and economic reforms. He revamped

12120-575: The two at the end of the Italian Wars demanded that Tuscany send 5,000 troops to the Spanish army if ever the Duchy of Milan or Naples was attacked. In 1613, Cosimo II sent 2,000 infantry and 300 cavalry, along with an undisclosed number of Tuscan adventurers, to aid the Spanish after Savoy launched an invasion of the Duchy of Montferrat . In 1631, the grand duke sent 7,000 troops (6,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry) to join Wallenstein's army in support of

12240-500: The works in the manuscript were published anonymously. This means there are very few actual records of the workings of the society. The lack of historical sources was compounded by the fact that although sixteen volumes of writings of the Accademia del Cimento were copied in the early eighteenth century by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, assistant librarian of the Magliabecchi Library, the original manuscripts were lost. The history of

12360-630: Was Henry Oldenburg , the secretary of the Royal Society of London. Oldenburg laid the foundation for the exchange of information and ideas between scientific societies and institutionalized this exchange of ideas with the publication of the Philosophical Transactions in 1665. Robert Southwell, a friend of Robert Boyle , told Boyle and Oldenburg about the Cimento after he attended a Cimento meeting while traveling in Rome in 1660. Although Oldenburg continually tried to establish consistent contacts with

12480-549: Was always dependent upon the rules and orders of its patrons, Leopold and Fernando. Although it has been said that the Pope made the dissolution of the Cimento a prerequisite to Leopold becoming a cardinal, this has not been proven. Instead, it seems as if the main members of the society performed the experiments that most interested them with the best instruments currently available from the patrons and then all moved to different pursuits. Borelli, in particular, seemed to tire of having to share his accolades with others and grew tired of

12600-424: Was an outbreak of the plague that swept through Florence in 1630 and took 10% of the population with it. Unlike the Tuscan nobility, Ferdinando and his brothers stayed in the city to try to ameliorate the general suffering, traveling through the city on foot to help and encourage his subjects. Tuscany participated in the Wars of Castro , the last time Medicean Tuscany was involved in a military conflict and inflicted

12720-568: Was barely adequate to cover the state's current expenditure, resulting in a complete termination of banking operations for the Medici. Ferdinando II died in 1670, succeeded by his oldest surviving son Cosimo. Cosimo III's reign was characterised by drastic changes and a sharp decline of the Grand Duchy. Cosimo III was of a puritan character, banning May celebrations, forcing prostitutes to pay for licenses, and beheading sodomites. He also instituted several laws censoring education and introduced anti-Jewish legislation. He imposed crippling taxes while

12840-422: Was divided into two main administrative districts: the stato nuovo (the new state) consisting of the former Republic of Siena , and the stato vecchio (the old state), the old Republic of Florence and her dependencies. The two areas were governed by separate laws. They were divided because the stato nuovo was a Spanish fief and the stato vecchio an Imperial one. Siena was ruled by a governor appointed by

12960-413: Was in 1769), Leopold promulgated the reform of the penal code that abolished the death penalty and ordered the destruction of all the instruments for capital execution in his land. Torture was also banned. Leopold also introduced radical reforms to the system of neglect and inhumane treatment of the mentally ill . On 23 January 1774, the legge sui pazzi (law regarding the insane) was established,

13080-526: Was in theory an Imperial fief and declared Pius V's actions invalid. However, Maximilian eventually confirmed the elevation with an Imperial diploma in 1576. Subsequently, to end animosities with Maximilian, Cosimo "bought" the grand ducal title from him for 100,000 ducats. During the Holy League of 1571 , Cosimo fought against the Ottoman Empire , siding with the other Catholic powers, such as Venice and

13200-513: Was less successful, costing 800 men and 4 ships disabled. The grand duke also enticed English corsairs in North Africa to use Livorno as a base instead, in exchange for amnesty and a share of their profits; Livorno quickly became a corsair capital, with the corsairs preying on both Muslim and Christian shipping. After 1612, the Tuscans progressively stopped sending out expeditions and limited their naval operations to patrols. This can be observed in

13320-484: Was placed in charge under General Jacques François Menou . Tuscany was divided into the départements of Arno , Méditerranée and Ombrone . In March 1809 a "General Government of the Departments of Tuscany" was set up, and Napoleon put his sister Elisa Bonaparte at its head, with the title of Grand Duchess of Tuscany. The Napoleonic system collapsed in 1814, and the following territorial settlement agreed to at

13440-594: Was punctuated by the beginning of Tuscany's long economic decline, which was further exacerbated by his successor, Cosimo III de' Medici . He married Vittoria della Rovere , a first cousin, with whom he had two children who reached adulthood: the aforementioned Cosimo III, and Francesco Maria de' Medici, Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro , a cardinal . Ferdinando was only 10 years of age when his father Cosimo II died. Because he had not yet reached maturity, his mother Maria Maddalena and paternal grandmother, Christina of Lorraine , acted as joint regents. His two regents arranged

13560-524: Was reflected in the quality of its army; by 1740 it only consisted of a few thousand poorly-trained men and was considered impotent to such a degree that its Habsburgs rulers allowed enemy troops to cross the duchy unopposed. The grand duchy had two sources of naval power: the state navy and the Order of Saint Stephen . In 1572 the Tuscan navy consisted of 11 galleys, 2 galleasses, 2 galleons, 6 frigates, and various transports, carrying in all 200 guns, manned by 100 knights, 900 seamen, and 2,500 oarsmen. With

13680-408: Was replaced by a belief that knowledge of nature could only be obtained through detailed observations or artificial experiments. If one read the Saggi alone, it would seem that this new experimental science underlay the Cimento's every activity. The Saggi epitomized the new way of doing science, concentrating on the experiments themselves, with little or no analysis or explanations of the results of

13800-624: Was revoked in 1852, as was the abolition of capital punishment. The Austrian garrison was withdrawn in 1855. The Second Italian War of Independence broke out in the summer of 1859. Leopold felt obliged to espouse Austria's cause. The Royal Sardinian Army of Victor Emmanuel II captured Tuscany in its entirety, and held it for the duration of the conflict; Leopold fled Tuscany as a result. The Peace of Villafranca stipulated that Leopold be allowed to return, although in practise this never happened. He abdicated in favour of his elder son, Ferdinand . Ferdinand IV's hypothetical reign did not last long;

13920-465: Was ruled by the House of Medici until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. While not as internationally renowned as the old republic, the grand duchy thrived under the Medici and it bore witness to unprecedented economic and military success under Cosimo I and his sons, until the reign of Ferdinando II , which saw the beginning of the state's long economic decline. That economic decline continued under Cosimo III . Francis Stephen of Lorraine ,

14040-576: Was set up to attract scientists from all over Tuscany to Florence for mutual study. Ferdinand, like his father before him, was a patron, ally, and friend of Galileo Galilei. Galileo dedicated his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems to him. This work led to Galileo's second set of hearings before the Inquisition . Ferdinand attempted to keep the concerns of the Holy See from leading to

14160-461: Was the power behind the throne until her death in 1636. With his wife, Vittoria, he had two surviving children: Cosimo , in 1642, and Francesco Maria de' Medici , in 1660. The latter was the fruit of a brief reconciliation, as after the birth of Cosimo, the two became estranged; Vittoria caught Ferdinando in bed with a page, Count Bruto della Molera. In fact, Ferdinando sexual preferences went largely to men. The first calamity of Ferdinando's reign

14280-411: Was used both for the protection of towns and fortresses that the army was not able to garrison, and as a reserve from which semi-trained men would be drawn into the army. The militia had its origins in 1498 , in the predecessor state of the Florentine Republic. By 1506, it numbered 20,000 men, of whom 70% carried pikes, 20% halberds/bills and hog-spears , and 10% either arquebuses or crossbows. However,

14400-415: Was validated by Christiaan Huygens theory. Not only was this experiment never published but all references to the members being motivated by a desire to determine the causes of nature were stricken from published works. The patron’s desire to gain stature in society overshadowed the members desire to be thought of as Philosophers of Natural History. Thus, the patronage system the Cimento worked under created

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