Showing posts with label 1742. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1742. Show all posts

4 July 2018

Luigi Guido Grandi – monk, philosopher and mathematician

Man of religion who advanced mathematical knowledge


Luigi Guido Grande was an acclaimed mathematician
Luigi Guido Grande was an
acclaimed mathematician
Luigi Guido Grandi, who published mathematical studies on the cone and the curve, died on this day in 1742 in Pisa.

He had been court mathematician to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III de’ Medici, and because he was also an engineer, he was appointed superintendent of water for the Duchy.

Grandi was born in 1671 in Cremona and was educated at the Jesuit College in the city.

He joined the Camaldolese monks at Ferrara when he was 16 and a few years later he was sent to the monastery of St Gregory the Great in Rome to complete his studies in philosophy and theology in preparation for taking holy orders.

Having become a professor in both subjects at a monastery in Florence, he became interested in mathematics, which he studied privately.

Grandi soon developed such a reputation in the field of mathematics that he was appointed court mathematician by Cosimo III.

Grandi was involved with the drainage of the
Chiana Valley, south of Arezzo
While also serving as Superintendent of Water at the Medici court, he was involved in the drainage of the Chiana valley, which runs north to south between Arezzo and Orvieto.

In 1709 Grandi visited England, where he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1714 he was named Professor of Mathematics by the University of Pisa.

He published studies on the conical loxodrome and on the curve, which he named versiera from the Latin verb, to turn. The curve was later studied by the female scientist Maria Gaetana Agnesi. Through a mistranslation into English, the curve became known in England as Agnesi’s witch, because the translator mistook the word for curve, for the word for witch.

Grandi was perhaps best known for his work on the rose curve, which he named rhodonea. The mathematician died in Pisa on 4 July 1742.

The Sperlari shop in Cremona specialises in torrone (nougat)
The Sperlari shop in Cremona specialises in torrone (nougat)
Travel tip:

Cremona, where Grandi was born, is famous for having the tallest bell tower in Italy, il Torrazzo, which measures more than 112 metres in height. As well as being well known for making violins, Cremona also produces confectionery. Negozio Sperlari in Via Solferino specialises in the city’s famous torrone (nougat). This concoction of almonds, honey and egg whites was created in the city to mark the marriage of Bianca Maria Visconti to Francesco Sforza in 1441, when Cremona was given to the bride as part of her dowry.

The Bapistery in Pisa's Campo dei Miracoli
The Bapistery in Pisa's Campo dei Miracoli
Travel tip:

Pisa, where Grandi was a professor at the university until he died, is famous for its Leaning Tower. The tower is one of the four buildings that make up the cathedral complex in the Field of Miracles (Campo dei Miracoli). The Duomo was the first to be constructed and then the Baptistery was added. While work on the tower was being carried out, a cemetery (Campo Santo) was added. During the summer, the Leaning Tower is open to visitors from 08.30 to 22.00. Tickets to climb the tower are limited and booking in advance is recommended if you want to avoid queuing. For more details, visit www.towerofpisa.org/tickets.

More reading:

Why Einstein nodded his respect to this mathematician from Padua

Scientist who emerged from Galileo's shadow

When Italy needed the world's help to save the Leaning Tower

Also on this day:

1914: The birth of the car designer Giuseppe Bertone

1927: The birth of the actress Gina Lollobrigida

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14 August 2016

Pope Pius VII

Compromise candidate elected by conclave-in-exile in Venice


Pope Pius VII, a portrait by Jacques-Louis David, which can be seen in the Louvre in Paris
Pope Pius VII, a portrait by Jacques-Louis David,
which can be seen in the Louvre in Paris
Pope Pius VII was born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti on this day in 1742 in Cesena in Emilia-Romagna.

He was elected Pope in a conclave that was forced to meet on the island of San Giorgio in Venice in 1799 because Rome was occupied by the French.  He was crowned with a papier mâché version of the Papal tiara in 1800 because the French had seized the original.

It was the last conclave to be held outside Rome.

Chiaramonti was a monk of the order of Saint Benedict as well as being a distinguished theologian. He was granted the title, Servant of God, by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.

Chiaramonti had joined the order of Saint Benedict at the age of 14. He was later ordained as a priest and went on to teach at Benedictine colleges in Parma and Rome.

After one of his relatives was elected Pope Pius VI, Chiaramonti had a series of promotions that resulted in him becoming a Cardinal.

The island of San Giorgio in the Venice lagoon, where the papal conclave of 1799 took place
The island of San Giorgio in the Venice lagoon, where
the papal conclave of 1799 took place
When the French revolutionary army invaded Italy in 1797, Cardinal Chiaramonti advised people to submit to the newly-created Cisalpine Republic, set up to rule in northern Italy by the French.

Following the death of Pope Pius VI while he was in French captivity, Chiaramonti became the compromise candidate for the papacy after others in the running were unacceptable to the Austrian cardinals.  He was elected in March 1800, taking the name of Pius VII to honour his predecessor.

He opposed the slave trade and condemned freemasons. He had the Arch of Constantine restored in Rome and enriched the collection in the Vatican library with manuscripts and books, although much of his papacy was spent trying to remain on good terms with France and prevent further conflict.  He was himself imprisoned for a while in 1809.

In July 1823 he fractured his hip in a fall in the papal apartments and became bedridden. He died the following month and is now buried in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

The reading room at the Biblioteca Malatestiana in Cesena
Travel tip:

Cesena, the birthplace of Pope Pius VII, is a city in Emilia-Romagna, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini. One of the main sights in the town is the 15th century Biblioteca Malatestiana, which houses many valuable manuscripts and was the first public library in Europe. It is now a listed UNESCO World Heritage site.

Travel tip:

After being briefly interred in the Vatican grottoes, Pope Pius VII was buried inside a tomb in St Peter’s Basilica and had a monument created for him by the Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen.

(Photo of Biblioteca Malatestiana by Sailko CC BY-SA 3.0)

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