Galileo//thek@ is an integrated archive of Galilean resources easy to consult thanks to a refined search system. It could be described as a thematic Digital Library formed of texts, images, documents, and bibliographical records integrated with one another, plus chronological indexes of names and subjects, and lexical tools. Galileo//thek@ documents every aspect of the life, cultural activity and fortunes of the Tuscan scientist, and of the context in which he operated.
This new model of digital library, resulting from the collaboration of numerous scholars, will be kept constantly updated by the Museo Galileo, also by utilizing contributions furnished through the interaction of users. Though offering a body of data which tends to be complete, Galileo//thek@ is, by its nature, an ongoing project that will be constantly enriched thanks to contributions from its users.
Galileo//thek@ includes and integrates the following archives:
The Manuscripts Archive, which includes the whole series of manuscripts pertaining to Galileo’s life and works. Now available for consultation are the manuscripts in the Galilean Collection of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze [National Central Library of Florence], the files included in the series "Galileo" [Mss. Gal.11- Gal.99] and "Contemporanei" [Mss.Gal.100-Gal.110], in addition to other files containing texts and letters mentioned in the “Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Galileo” and documents of Galilean interest in the Archivio di Stato di Firenze [Florence National Archives].
The Chronology Archive, recording all of the events pertinent to the course of Galileo’s material and intellectual biography (over 4,000 records, with reference to the documents).
The Biographies Archive containing over 1600 biographies published by Antonio Favaro in volume XX of the “Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Galileo” [National Edition of the Works of Galileo].
The Galilean Bibliographical Archive listing printed editions of the works of Galileo and texts of Galilean interest published from the late 16th century to the present (over 21,000 bibliographical records).
The Galileo’s Library Archive, containing accurate bibliographical descriptions of the over 500 works that belonged to Galileo’s private library, and integral digital reproductions of nearly all of them.
The Index of Names and Subjects published by Antonio Favaro in vol. XX of the “Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Galileo”: an imposing digital repertory that provides users with over 42,000 direct references to the pages in the volumes of the “Edizione Nazionale” to which they refer.
The Iconographic Archive, which reproduces in digital format the content of the volume Iconografia Galileiana [Galilean Iconography] in the Aggiornamento [Updated Version] of the “Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Galileo”.
The Virtual Museum, a virtual environment displaying material evidence relevant to the design, construction and use by Galileo of innovative instruments for observation and measuring invented and/or perfected by him.
The Places Archive, which allows users to explore all of the places in Tuscany linked to Galileo’s life and experience. Now being completed are the sections of the Archive documenting the sites of biographical events in the scientist’s life, especially in Lazio and Veneto.
The Indexes-Correspondence-Lexicon represent an impressive complex of resources, allowing easy, thorough interrogation of the Index of the “Edizione nazionale delle Opere di Galileo”, of the Tuscan scientist’s entire correspondence (over 4000 letters) and of the Lexicon of all of his works, in both Italian and Latin. Both the texts and the correspondence can be integrally interrogated by lemma and by form. At present, almost all of Galileo’s works published in the “Edizione Nazionale” as well as the entire Galilean correspondence have been uploaded into the system.
Digital Library
Whenever a record in the integrated archives presents connections to digital resources, they are displayed in the Museo Galileo’s Digital Library, an advanced system for consulting texts and images. In the Digital Library it is possible to consult (in image format, with the relevant digital representation facing it) all of the texts included in the “Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Galileo” (over 8000 indexed pages).
Integrated search
Through the Integrated search option (either simple or advanced) the user can interrogate the archives transversally. This function can also be enabled through the Digital Library interface.
User interaction
For each record found in the archives, the feedback pushbutton on the right side of the page can be selected to accede to a section where registered users can contribute information and/or make comments.
