Italy - 2000 lire

Italy - 2000 lire - 1973-2002- P103

Talk about a banknote with a lot of imagery! What can we see on this 2000 lire note from Italy? On the front is the image of Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642). On the back it shows a depiction of the landscape of Arcetri and the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, Galileo's telescope and a seventeenth century English celestial map depicting planets, constellations and signs of the Zodiac.

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. Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics", the "father of science" and "the Father of Modern Science".

His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter (named the Galilean moons in his honour), and the observation and analysis of sunspots. Galileo also worked in applied science and technology, inventing an improved military compass and other instruments. Galileo's championing of heliocentrism was controversial within his lifetime, when most subscribed to either geocentrism or the Tychonic system.

It's almost impossible for me to describe all the contributions to science and discoveries he made, so I will just refer you to the extensive wikipedia article on his life.

Steven Friday 03 January 2014 at 11:15 am | | space
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