| Description : Galileo Galilei (1564‐1642) was an Italian polymath ‐
philosopher, mathematician, engineer, physicist, astronomer and cosmologist. He developed the method of exploring nature through
a combination of experiments, measurements and mathematical analyses and thus became one of the most important founders of the
modern exact natural sciences. Because he advocated the Copernican view of the world, the Catholic Church conducted an
inquisition trial against him in 1632 and forced him to recant. The commemorative coin designed by Claudia Momoni shows
Galileo next to his telescopes, built in 1609 and measuring 90 and 130 cm in length, today in the Museo Galileo in Florence.
The model for the portrait is an oil painting created by Justus Sustermans in 1636, today in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. At
the top is written "GALILEO GALILEI", at the bottom the dates "1564★2014" indicate his year of birth and the year of
issue. The ligature of the country name "RI" (Repubblica Italiana, Italian Republic) is shown on the left, on the right the "R"
the mint mark of the Italian mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome, below the initials "C.M." of the
medallist. |
