![\"Publications\"](\"https:\/\/sites.unimi.it\/tacitroots\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/i__id17354_mw600__1x.jpg\")
<\/figure>Special Issue: Experimental, Visual, and Print Parctices in Early Modern Europe: the Accademia del Cimento and its Records.\u00a0<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nGuest editor: Giulia Giannini, Physis<\/em>, 2024, 2, 272 pp.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis issue focuses on the experimental, visual, and print practices associated with the Florentine Accademia del Cimento (1657-1667), the first scientific academy to make experimentation a core activity and to be supported by a public authority. Despite its brief existence and the lack of any formal documentation pertaining to its establishment and operation, the Cimento produced a remarkable amount of records during its ten years of activity. Indeed, the archives of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze (BNCF) alone contain over 20,000 sheets, including correspondence, instrument descriptions, experimental reports, and illustrations relating to the Academy\u2019s activities. The extensive collection of documents relating to the Accademia del Cimento is a valuable historical resource, providing insights into a pivotal period in the history of science in Europe. Individual articles available Open Access<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"Publications\"](\"https:\/\/sites.unimi.it\/tacitroots\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/35244-682x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nInternational Perspectives on the Florentine Edition of Apollonius\u2019 Conics<\/em>
The Case of Michelangelo Ricci (1661)<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAlessandro Tripepi, Nuncius<\/em>, 2023, 20 pp.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn 1661 Giovanni Alfonso Borelli published his edition of the three hitherto lost books belonging to the treatise on Conics<\/em> by the Hellenistic mathematician Apollonius of Perga. The long and complex editorial operation is here reconstructed drawing on an unpublished document which had not been redacted within the Florentine circles that promoted the editorial initiative, but rather in the Roman circles which provided indispensable support to the venture. The examined letter, written by the Roman intellectual Michelangelo Ricci to prince Leopoldo de\u2019 Medici, allows us to assess the significance of the effort made by a large a team involving numerous scholars experts in geometry and philology; and it allows us also to emphasise the important international dimension of a work that\u2014from its genesis to its dissemination\u2014has been able to connect the whole Continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"Publications\"](\"https:\/\/sites.unimi.it\/tacitroots\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/cover_issue_1_en_US-724x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nBetween matematici and architetti d\u2019acque: Vincenzo Viviani, Galileo\u2019s legacy, and hydraulic engineering<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nFrancesco Barreca, Galilaeana<\/em>, 2023, 32 pp.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor a long time, Vincenzo Viviani has been regarded by historians in the light of his devotion to Galileo. However, while saying that Galileo had a great influence on Viviani might seem to be an understatement, it should not be forgotten that after Galileo\u2019s death Viviani carved out a career of his own, and that he devoted almost all his life to a specific field \u2013 engineer-ing \u2013 which often forced him to relax his allegedly strict Galilean beliefs. In particular, his apprenticeship under the guidance of Baccio del Bianco and the years he spent as an assistant engineer for the Capitani di parte Guelfa (before being appointed as Primo Ingegnere) allowed him to become a member of the narrow circle of versatile craftsmen who place themselves halfway between the matematici and the architetti d\u2019acque. This circumstance contributed to shape both Viviani\u2019s peculiar approach to hydraulic engineering and his role in the process of institutionalisation of Galilean science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"Publications\"](\"https:\/\/sites.unimi.it\/tacitroots\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Senzanome.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nEstablishing an experimental agenda at the Accademia del Cimento<\/em>: Carlo Rinaldini\u2019s book lists<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nGiulia Giannini, Annals of Science<\/em>, 2023, 31 pp.<\/p>\n\n\n\nInformation on the origins of the Accademia del Cimento<\/em> is extremely limited. Almost all of the surviving correspondence relating to the year before the Academy began its activities variously concerns print culture. Lists of books (read, studied, purchased, and researched), handwritten notes on old or new publications, vernacular translations of edited passages, and inquiries about new works punctuate the archive. The study of these lists and of the relationship between reading practices and ones related to annotation and knowledge production leads to a reinterpretation of certain aspects of the Accademia del Cimento, suggesting the pursuit of a more flexible agenda. Through the analysis of some book lists, this contribution aims to shed light on the presence in Florence of interconnected groups of scholars, common epistemic practices, and a kind of methodological unity centred on the sharing of materials and agreement concerning the need to subject theories to experimental verification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"Publications\"](\"https:\/\/sites.unimi.it\/tacitroots\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_0260-680x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nSCIENTIFIC VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS IN HISTORY <\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nEdited by Matteo Valleriani, Giulia Giannini and Enrico Giannetto, Springer Cham, 2023, pp. 360.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This book explores continuity and ruptures in the historical use of visual representations in science and related disciplines such as art history and anthropology. The volume collects historical reflections concerned with the use of visual material, visualization, and vision in science from a historical perspective, ranging across multiple cultures from antiquity until present day. The focus is on visual representations such as drawings, prints, tables, mathematical symbols, photos, data visualizations, mapping processes, and (on a meta-level) visualizations of data extracted from historical sources to visually support the historical research itself. Continuity and ruptures between the past and present use of visual material are presented against the backdrop of the epistemic functions of visual material in science. The function of visual material is defined according to three major epistemic categories: exploration, transformation, and transmission of knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"Publications\"](\"https:\/\/sites.unimi.it\/tacitroots\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/copertina-physis.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nGIOVANNI ALFONSO BORELLI AND THE BOOKS OF OTHERS:
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE RECONSTRUCTION OF BORELLI\u2019S LIBRARY<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nGiulia Giannini, Physis<\/em>, LVII, 2, 2022, pp. 475-514 <\/p>\n\n\n\nThis work aims to supplement and expand the reconstruction of Giovanni Alfonso Borelli\u2019s library. By relying on the ex libris displayed on the title page of some volumes preserved at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Rome, 241 volumes originally be-longing to Borelli have been identified. The list significantly integrates the one presented by Baldini in 1996 by not only roughly doubling the number of titles, but also incorporating areas of study that were left completely uncovered. The paper is part of a broader research on the Accademia del Cimento and Print culture and belong to a special issue on “Giovanni Alfonso Borelli: Contexts and Networks in 17th-Century Italy” edited by Giulia Giannini and Federica Favino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"Publications\"](\"https:\/\/sites.unimi.it\/tacitroots\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/R06202201.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nTowards a Computational History of Science : Limitations and Perspectives of an Emerging Research Approach<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nGiulia Giannini, Physis<\/em>, LVII, 1, 2022, pp. 245-258<\/p>\n\n\n\nData science has recently emerged as a multi-disciplinary field of research where statistics, data analysis, machine learning and their related techniques are combined in a systematic way to support understanding of actual phenomena concerned with data. The growing power of storage infrastructures and the consequent availability of large amount of data opened up unprecedented opportunities to support the specification of ad-hoc data-driven approaches and tools for a number of application fields, such as biology, medicine, economy, politics, and history. In historical studies of science and knowledge, the use of data-science solutions is gaining more and more attention and the scientific debate is more topical than ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
This issue focuses on the experimental, visual, and print practices associated with the Florentine Accademia del Cimento (1657-1667), the first scientific academy to make experimentation a core activity and to be supported by a public authority. Despite its brief existence and the lack of any formal documentation pertaining to its establishment and operation, the Cimento produced a remarkable amount of records during its ten years of activity. Indeed, the archives of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze (BNCF) alone contain over 20,000 sheets, including correspondence, instrument descriptions, experimental reports, and illustrations relating to the Academy\u2019s activities. The extensive collection of documents relating to the Accademia del Cimento is a valuable historical resource, providing insights into a pivotal period in the history of science in Europe. Individual articles available Open Access<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Alessandro Tripepi, Nuncius<\/em>, 2023, 20 pp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1661 Giovanni Alfonso Borelli published his edition of the three hitherto lost books belonging to the treatise on Conics<\/em> by the Hellenistic mathematician Apollonius of Perga. The long and complex editorial operation is here reconstructed drawing on an unpublished document which had not been redacted within the Florentine circles that promoted the editorial initiative, but rather in the Roman circles which provided indispensable support to the venture. The examined letter, written by the Roman intellectual Michelangelo Ricci to prince Leopoldo de\u2019 Medici, allows us to assess the significance of the effort made by a large a team involving numerous scholars experts in geometry and philology; and it allows us also to emphasise the important international dimension of a work that\u2014from its genesis to its dissemination\u2014has been able to connect the whole Continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Francesco Barreca, Galilaeana<\/em>, 2023, 32 pp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a long time, Vincenzo Viviani has been regarded by historians in the light of his devotion to Galileo. However, while saying that Galileo had a great influence on Viviani might seem to be an understatement, it should not be forgotten that after Galileo\u2019s death Viviani carved out a career of his own, and that he devoted almost all his life to a specific field \u2013 engineer-ing \u2013 which often forced him to relax his allegedly strict Galilean beliefs. In particular, his apprenticeship under the guidance of Baccio del Bianco and the years he spent as an assistant engineer for the Capitani di parte Guelfa (before being appointed as Primo Ingegnere) allowed him to become a member of the narrow circle of versatile craftsmen who place themselves halfway between the matematici and the architetti d\u2019acque. This circumstance contributed to shape both Viviani\u2019s peculiar approach to hydraulic engineering and his role in the process of institutionalisation of Galilean science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Giulia Giannini, Annals of Science<\/em>, 2023, 31 pp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Information on the origins of the Accademia del Cimento<\/em> is extremely limited. Almost all of the surviving correspondence relating to the year before the Academy began its activities variously concerns print culture. Lists of books (read, studied, purchased, and researched), handwritten notes on old or new publications, vernacular translations of edited passages, and inquiries about new works punctuate the archive. The study of these lists and of the relationship between reading practices and ones related to annotation and knowledge production leads to a reinterpretation of certain aspects of the Accademia del Cimento, suggesting the pursuit of a more flexible agenda. Through the analysis of some book lists, this contribution aims to shed light on the presence in Florence of interconnected groups of scholars, common epistemic practices, and a kind of methodological unity centred on the sharing of materials and agreement concerning the need to subject theories to experimental verification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Edited by Matteo Valleriani, Giulia Giannini and Enrico Giannetto, Springer Cham, 2023, pp. 360.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This book explores continuity and ruptures in the historical use of visual representations in science and related disciplines such as art history and anthropology. The volume collects historical reflections concerned with the use of visual material, visualization, and vision in science from a historical perspective, ranging across multiple cultures from antiquity until present day. The focus is on visual representations such as drawings, prints, tables, mathematical symbols, photos, data visualizations, mapping processes, and (on a meta-level) visualizations of data extracted from historical sources to visually support the historical research itself. Continuity and ruptures between the past and present use of visual material are presented against the backdrop of the epistemic functions of visual material in science. The function of visual material is defined according to three major epistemic categories: exploration, transformation, and transmission of knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Giulia Giannini, Physis<\/em>, LVII, 2, 2022, pp. 475-514 <\/p>\n\n\n\n This work aims to supplement and expand the reconstruction of Giovanni Alfonso Borelli\u2019s library. By relying on the ex libris displayed on the title page of some volumes preserved at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Rome, 241 volumes originally be-longing to Borelli have been identified. The list significantly integrates the one presented by Baldini in 1996 by not only roughly doubling the number of titles, but also incorporating areas of study that were left completely uncovered. The paper is part of a broader research on the Accademia del Cimento and Print culture and belong to a special issue on “Giovanni Alfonso Borelli: Contexts and Networks in 17th-Century Italy” edited by Giulia Giannini and Federica Favino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Giulia Giannini, Physis<\/em>, LVII, 1, 2022, pp. 245-258<\/p>\n\n\n\n Data science has recently emerged as a multi-disciplinary field of research where statistics, data analysis, machine learning and their related techniques are combined in a systematic way to support understanding of actual phenomena concerned with data. The growing power of storage infrastructures and the consequent availability of large amount of data opened up unprecedented opportunities to support the specification of ad-hoc data-driven approaches and tools for a number of application fields, such as biology, medicine, economy, politics, and history. In historical studies of science and knowledge, the use of data-science solutions is gaining more and more attention and the scientific debate is more topical than ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>International Perspectives on the Florentine Edition of Apollonius\u2019 Conics<\/em>
The Case of Michelangelo Ricci (1661)<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>Between matematici and architetti d\u2019acque: Vincenzo Viviani, Galileo\u2019s legacy, and hydraulic engineering<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>Establishing an experimental agenda at the Accademia del Cimento<\/em>: Carlo Rinaldini\u2019s book lists<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>SCIENTIFIC VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS IN HISTORY <\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>GIOVANNI ALFONSO BORELLI AND THE BOOKS OF OTHERS:
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE RECONSTRUCTION OF BORELLI\u2019S LIBRARY<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>Towards a Computational History of Science : Limitations and Perspectives of an Emerging Research Approach<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Publications\"](\"https:\/\/sites.unimi.it\/tacitroots\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Screenshot-2021-10-16-at-10.30.30.png\")
<\/figure>![\"Publications\"](\"https:\/\/sites.unimi.it\/tacitroots\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/9789004416864-2.jpg?w=680\")
<\/figure>