Matteo Palmieri, Città di vita

INTRODUCTION
- Man and the stars
SECTION I
- The dawn of astronomy: Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Biblical Cosmos
SECTION II
- The cosmos becomes a sphere
SECTION III
- The geometry of the cosmos
SECTION IV
- The skies of Islam
SECTION V
- Evangelisation of the cosmos
SECTION VI
- The Renaissance of Astronomy
SECTION VII
- Galileo: the cosmos through the telescope
SECTION VIII
- From Galileo to Newton

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Matteo Palmieri (1406-1475)
Città di vita, 15th century
Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plut. 40.53, ff. 41v-42r

This poem illustrates the soul's journey towards incarnation, from Heaven to Earth. The codex features some wonderful illuminations showing the constellations and the signs of the zodiac, including this extremely beautiful depiction of the northern hemisphere.