Out of Galileo

This book traces the developing science of moving water from Benedetto Castelli, Galileo's student and follower, through the early 18th century Paduan professor, Giovanni Poleni, the last representative of a Galilean tradition on the subject. The author points out that hydraulics was primarily an Italian science during the 17th century due to flooding along the Reno in the territory of Bologna, where efforts early in the century to relieve flooding in Ferrara had imposed a disaster on Bologna, as well as to the eternal problem of the Venetian lagoon.

I Introduction. II From Castelli to Borelli. The scientific scene in the Italian "Seicento"; The birth of the science of river hydraulics; Further debates up to Castelli's Book II Della misura dell'acque correnti; The law of efflux; In the steps of Torricelli; The fading of princely patronage: the fate of Borelli. III Along the Waters 1675-1700. Montanari at Bologna; At the school of Monanari; Guglielmini's search for independence; The birth of hydrometry; A new opening towards Europe; The physics of rivers. IV Along the Waters 1700-1725. Padua & Venice in the early 18th century; Skirmishes on the Po: Venice vs. Bologna; The building of an academic career in science; Poleni's lagoon hydraulics and fluid mechanics; Riccati's critical role. V New Patterns in Science. Out of Galileo; The thread of the waters.