Galileo's disciples

Galileo's first direct pupil was the Benedictine monk Benedetto Castelli author of innovative research on hydraulics and a keen student of astronomy and physics. Castelli strongly supported Galileo's campaign for the acceptance of Copernicanism. The assistance given by the Olivetan friar Vincenzo Renieri to Galileo's research was particularly significant: he compiled tables for the mean motions of Jupiter's moons. Another of Galileo's students, the Jesuit Bonaventura Cavalieri, was renowned for his studies on the geometry of indivisibles. Niccolò Aggiunti and Mario Guiducci helped Galileo in his studies of motion. Guiducci also backed Galileo in his dispute with the Jesuit Orazio Grassi on the nature of comets.

The final generation of students worked closely with Galileo after his condemnation in 1633. They include Clemente Settimi, a Scolopian friar, and the precocious Vincenzo Viviani, who assisted the nearly-blind Galileo from 1639 onward. After Galileo's death, Viviani sought to have his books printed, to obtain the revocation of his condemnation, and to arrange the edification of a proper tomb for his remains. Evangelista Torricelli moved to Florence to assist the master a few months before his death. He later became Galileo's successor as Mathematician to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, carrying on Galileo's research in physics and geometry.