Who does Galileo belong to? Why does everyone want him and desire him? Why has that trial continued to be discussed and fought over in a veritable political and cultural battle for over two centuries? An endless subject that has never been told

This book talks about myths, politics and the history of Italy. Through the lens of Galileo. Here, Galileo, tried and condemned by the Inquisition, becomes a character, an actor in a global story: citoyen français et républicain; patriot and martyr of Risorgimento Italy; “Italian genius”, the pride and joy – together with Leonardo da Vinci – of nationalist and fascist Italy. Finally, he became a sincerely pious and devoutly Catholic man and scientist. The scene features prominent figures – from d'Alembert to Stendhal, from Victor Hugo to Mazzini – and lesser-known characters who nevertheless play a decisive role. This is the case of patriots such as Guglielmo Libri, Silvestro Gherardi and Giacomo Manzoni, scholars of the calibre of Antonio Favaro, Karl von Gebler and Pio Paschini, scientists and religious figures such as Agostino Gemelli and Pietro Maffi. And it was precisely from the latter that, in the 20th century, the Catholic party became a protagonist in the attempt to enlist Galileo in its ranks as the archetype of the Christian scientist.

After the “wound” of Porta Pia, the Catholic reconquest of Italian society also passed – and this is the new fact – through the conquest of science. Was the attempt successful? Which Galileo was “rehabilitated” by John Paul II?

Massimo Bucciantini gives us a fascinating story that transcends all disciplinary boundaries.