FEDERICO CESI, THE FIRST ACADEMY, AND UMBRIA 75It can be asserted then with sufficient certainty, Conti insists, that theprincipal lines <strong>of</strong> research which characterized the cultural horizon<strong>of</strong> Umbria, and the University <strong>of</strong> Perugia in particular, constitutean in<strong>di</strong>spensable reference point for understan<strong>di</strong>ng the geneticcontext and the initial phases <strong>of</strong> the tortuous itinerary <strong>of</strong> theLynceans toward a modern model <strong>of</strong> scientific research. These<strong>di</strong>rectives are reflected, in fact, in the initial thematic, philosophical,and methodological orientations <strong>of</strong> the original nucleus <strong>of</strong>Lynceans, composed in large majority <strong>of</strong> Umbrians,andalthough filtered and sometimes concealed within an irreduciblerebellion against the worn and <strong>of</strong>ten specious tra<strong>di</strong>tion <strong>of</strong> formaleducation, there are constant references among the first Lynceansto the complex cultural map <strong>of</strong> Umbria, as well as subterraneanaffinities and harmonies with it. 103Thus it is fair to state that the Lyncean project, clearly delineated inCesi’s writings, presents itself as ‘the revolutionary development’ <strong>of</strong> thethree lines <strong>of</strong> research conducted with the most interest at the University<strong>of</strong> Perugia: <strong>natural</strong>istic investigation, mathematical-astrological investigation,and philosophical-methodological investigation. These threefields <strong>of</strong> research ‘had found valid cultivators in Umbria and had takenroot in solid tra<strong>di</strong>tions <strong>of</strong> scholarship’ an<strong>di</strong>t is not <strong>di</strong>fficult to recognize that the physiognomy <strong>of</strong> the stu<strong>di</strong>esand the scientific interests <strong>of</strong> the four foun<strong>di</strong>ng members, at thebeginning <strong>of</strong> the complex and tormented history <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Academy</strong>,move precisely along these three lines <strong>of</strong> research. 104Certainly it cannot be forgotten that the university environment inPerugia <strong>di</strong>d not grant a warm reception to the Sidereus nuncios (TheStarry Messenger), the Galilean cosmological doctrine substantiallydefended, perhaps even anticipated, by the Lynceans, which refuted thePtolemaic and Aristotelian system and proclaimed that the moon wasmountainous, that the Milky Way was a formation <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> stars,and that Jupiter was orbited by four wandering stars. The Galilean messageupset age-old beliefs, in the field <strong>of</strong> astronomy and in other sciencesas well, inclu<strong>di</strong>ng me<strong>di</strong>cine. And in Perugia too, as in all the other cultural103 Ibid., p. 57.104 Ibid., pp. 59, 63.
76FEDERICO CESI, LA PRIMA ACCADEMIA, L’UMBRIAcentri culturali del tempo, da parte <strong>di</strong> molti “virtuosi”, viene sollevato un“gran romore contro al signor Galilei”. 105Conviene anche ricordare che Galilei per primo si preoccupa imme<strong>di</strong>atamente<strong>di</strong> recuperare “l’assenso, non pur <strong>di</strong> uno particolare, ma <strong>di</strong>una università intera <strong>di</strong> stu<strong>di</strong>o tanto particolare e famoso”, non mancandotuttavia <strong>di</strong> essere critico nei confronti <strong>di</strong> quei “signori principali inLettere <strong>di</strong> Perugia” che credono che “l’occhiale sia inganno”. 106Tuttavia, nonostante queste polemiche, tra i lincei, Galilei e lo stu<strong>di</strong>operugino non c’è una rottura completa. I rapporti, anzi, si rafforzanosoprattutto attraverso la figura <strong>di</strong> Giuseppe Neri (1586-1623), eru<strong>di</strong>to stimatoe apprezzato, <strong>di</strong>venuto egli stesso linceo, “tipico esponente <strong>di</strong> quell’areaculturale perugina <strong>di</strong>rettamente nota e geograficamente molto vicinaal principe Cesi”; il Neri, infatti,“è l’erede <strong>di</strong> quelle correnti <strong>di</strong> pensiero gravitanti intorno alloStu<strong>di</strong>o perugino, sulle quali si erano formati e confrontati i padrifondatori dell’Accademia”. 107Ottavio Lancellotti, nelle cronache del tempo, ci <strong>di</strong>ce ad<strong>di</strong>rittura cheil Neri, laureato a Perugia nel 1614, oltre ad essere esperto giurista, eraanche assai versato negli stu<strong>di</strong> teologici e soprattutto nelle matematiche,cosa della quale rimase stupito “il famosissimo matematico GalileoGalilei fiorentino” il quale “si compiacque <strong>di</strong> sottoporre alla censura delNeri le sue fatiche” e “il dottor censore vi avvertì errori <strong>di</strong> qualche considerazionee modestamente gli corresse”. Sta il fatto che“accettò la correzione il Galilei e l’ammirò <strong>di</strong> modo che per so<strong>di</strong>sfaral suo debito volse trasferirsi a Perugia e personalmente riveriril Neri, col quale poche ore una notte trattenutosi la mattinaper tempo si partì tutto pieno <strong>di</strong> consenso e <strong>di</strong> stupore”. 108105 Lettera <strong>di</strong> Cosimo Sassetti a Piero Dini, 14 maggio 1611, in G. Galilei, Opere,E<strong>di</strong>zione Nazionale a cura <strong>di</strong> A. Favaro e Al., Firenze 1890-1909, XI, p.103, cit. anche inL. Conti, Giuseppe Neri: un matematico aristotelico all’Accademia dei Lincei, cit., p. 11.106 Lettera <strong>di</strong> Galileo Galilei a Piero Dini, 21 maggio 1611, G. Galilei, Opere, ed. cit.,XI, pp. 105-106, cit. anche in L. Conti, Sotto il segno degli astri: lo stu<strong>di</strong>o perugino e iLincei, in G. Sapori, C. Vinti, L. Conti, <strong>Il</strong> Palazzo Cesi <strong>di</strong> Acquasparta e la rivoluzionescientifica lincea, cit., p. 70. Per la puntuale ricostruzione <strong>di</strong> questa vicenda cfr. anche L.Conti, Giuseppe Neri: un matematico aristotelico all’Accademia dei Lincei, cit., pp. 11 ss.107 L. Conti, Giuseppe Neri: un matematico aristotelico all’Accademia dei Lincei, cit., p. 3.108 I passi <strong>di</strong> Lancellotti, tratti dal manoscritto Scorta sagra, le abbiamo tratti da L.Conti, Sotto il segno degli astri: lo stu<strong>di</strong>o perugino e i Lincei, in G. Sapori, C. Vinti, L.
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