The Life and Ideas of Evangelista Torricelli

The book explores the life and work of Evangelista Torricelli, a 17th-century Italian mathematician and physicist. The text discusses Torricelli’s membership in the esteemed Accademia della Crusca, highlighting his fusion of scientific ideas with rhetorical elegance. It also explores the search for Torricelli’s remains, revealing a complex historical and cultural context that prevented his final wishes from being fulfilled. The book further examines Torricelli’s work on geometrical spirals and the challenges he faced in defining the essence of this shape. It delves into Torricelli’s philosophical views, including his critiques of conventional norms, his exploration of the interplay between logic and imagination, and his utopian vision of a society based on simplicity and harmony. Additionally, the book analyzes Torricelli’s unique approach to science and his appreciation for the beauty and power of mathematics. Most importantly, the book presents the first integral, annotated English translation of Torricelli’s Academic Discourses, a masterpiece of Baroque science and literature. The book will be of interest to academics in the humanities and social sciences, historians of early modern European culture and philosophers of science, and to the learned public.