FEDERICO CESI, THE FIRST ACADEMY, AND UMBRIA 15one <strong>of</strong> reciprocal influence, lea<strong>di</strong>ng to the establishment <strong>of</strong> an imme<strong>di</strong>atecommonality <strong>of</strong> philosophical and scientific interests. Galileo in factappreciates and endorses the working methods and research approach <strong>of</strong>the <strong>Academy</strong>; he takes comfort in Cesi’s organizational ability and politicaland cultural effectiveness, while his own participation provides newimpetus to their concrete research. 9 With Galileo’s contribution, throughhis prestige and authority, the <strong>Academy</strong> has the possibility to begin anew,or better to achieve remarkable growth, to acquire a precise identity, especiallywith regard to its scientific program;In place <strong>of</strong> the primitive projects and still confused aspirations <strong>of</strong> theLynceans, Galileo provides clear and precise objectives, concrete programs,and a working method that is absolutely transparent. 10In effect Galileo’s long battle for the affirmation <strong>of</strong> the Copernican systemis conducted in a climate <strong>of</strong> collaboration with the Lynceans, who arefirmly convinced, following the publication <strong>of</strong> Sidereus nuncios (The StarryMessenger), that seeing ‘the new things <strong>of</strong> the heavens’ is ‘truly the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong>the Lynceans’. And the <strong>Academy</strong> shares the drama that accompaniesGalileo in his defense <strong>of</strong> the Copernican system. Still exemplary, from thispoint <strong>of</strong> view, is the meeting <strong>of</strong> 24 March 1616 during which the Lynceanssolemnly express their solidarity with Galileo after his admonition by theecclesiastical authorities and drastic measures are taken with respect toLuca Valerio, who does not share the position <strong>of</strong> his companions. 11This is certainly one <strong>of</strong> the most significant episodes for understan<strong>di</strong>ngthe nature <strong>of</strong> the intellectual commitment <strong>of</strong> the ‘stu<strong>di</strong>ous company’.Clearly, the decisions taken with respect to Luca Valerio are also meant toserve as an admonition with regard to future actions that might runcounter to the objectives for which the <strong>Academy</strong> had been constituted,but above all they confirm that among those objectives, the most fundamentalis the freedom <strong>of</strong> confrontation and debate, in other words, freedom<strong>of</strong> research. Just a few months before that dramatic session Cesi9 On this, see A. Alessandrini, Galileo Galilei Linceo. Origini cattoliche dell’Accademia,in ‘Stu<strong>di</strong> Cattolici’, 1965, 3, pp. 35-44; Id., Documenti lincei e cimeli galileiani esposti nellamostra organizzata nella Biblioteca Accademica, Roma 1965, pp. 145-229; R. Morghen,Galileo e l’Accademia dei Lincei, in Galileo Galilei. Celebrazioni del IV centenario della nascita,Roma 1965, pp. 131-143; R. Westfall, Galileo and the Accademia dei Lincei, in P. Galluzzi(ed.), Novità celesti e crisi del <strong>sapere</strong>, Firenze 1984, pp. 189-200.10 G. Olmi, op. cit., p. 223.11 Cf. G. Gabrieli, Verbali delle adunanze e cronaca della prima accademia lincea(1603-1639), in Contributi, vol. I, pp. 335-338.
16FEDERICO CESI, LA PRIMA ACCADEMIA, L’UMBRIAta Cesi ricorda a Galilei che il problema <strong>di</strong> fondo non è tanto quello <strong>di</strong> <strong>sapere</strong>se tutti i compagni lincei siano “copernicei” ma quello <strong>di</strong> salvaguardareil principio fondamentale, per cui era nata l’Accademia, cioè la “libertà deifilos<strong>of</strong>are in <strong>natural</strong>ibus”. 12Nell’estate del 1630 Galileo, terminato il Dialogo sopra i due massimisistemi, pensa <strong>natural</strong>mente <strong>di</strong> affidarlo alla solerte cura <strong>di</strong> Cesi per ottenerel’imprimatur ecclesiastico e pubblicarlo sotto gli auspici dell’Accademia.Ma Cesi muore improvvisamente e prematuramente il 1 agosto dello stessoanno. Questo evento doloroso interrompe bruscamente quel periodo <strong>di</strong>fervida attività dei Lincei che era seguita all’elezione, nel 1623, <strong>di</strong> papaBarberini (Urbano VIII). Probabilmente la morte <strong>di</strong> Cesi fa mancare unappoggio risolutivo a Galileo, perché negli avvenimenti drammatici del1633 il sodalizio dei Lincei rimane sullo sfondo e, in assenza del Principe,l’antica amicizia con Urbano VIII non salva Galileo dell’accusa <strong>di</strong> averinfranto il <strong>di</strong>vieto del 1616, <strong>di</strong> non aver tenuto conto del “precetto” del car<strong>di</strong>naleBellarmino:“È molto probabile che, scrive l’Alessandrini, se i ‘Dialoghi’ fosserostati pubblicati a cura e sotto l’egida dell’Accademia, se FedericoCesi avesse potuto fronteggiare la situazione con la sua influenza econ il suo prestigio, forse le cose sarebbero andate <strong>di</strong>versamente”. 13La morte <strong>di</strong> Cesi, <strong>di</strong> fatto, provoca lo scioglimento dell’Accademia epone termine alla breve parabola della sua storia come istituzione organizzata.Francesco Stelluti, l’amico fraterno <strong>di</strong> Cesi e “procuratore” deiLincei, fa l’impossibile per salvare almeno il patrimonio culturaledell’Accademia, i frutti della intensa attività rimasta ad uno sta<strong>di</strong>o nonconcluso. Si adopera per mettere un or<strong>di</strong>ne negli appunti <strong>di</strong> Cesi preparatiper opere lasciate incompiute o appena abbozzate. Soprattutto, dopoaver pubblicato sotto l’egida lincea un Trattato del legno fossile minerale,si adopera con tutte le sue forze per portare a termine la gran<strong>di</strong>osa pubblicazionedel cosiddetto Tesoro Messicano giustamente considerato il12 Federico Cesi a Galileo Galilei, 7 marzo 1615, in Carteggio, p. 489. Utili considerazionisull’atteggiamento dei Lincei nei confronti del sistema copernicano in L. Conti,Francesco Stelluti, il copernicanesimo dei Lincei e la teoria galileiana delle maree, in C.Vinti (a cura <strong>di</strong>), Galileo e Copernico. Alle origini del pensiero scientifico moderno. Assisi1990, pp. 141-236.13 A. Alessandrini, Originalità dell’Accademia dei Lincei, cit., p. 157; cfr. anche le interessantiosservazioni <strong>di</strong> G. Olmi, op. cit., pp. 209-210.
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