Science Teaching in Early Modern Europe

Mathematics and mathematicians at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” (17^th- 18^th centuries)

Commenting on the hesitations of a fellow Jesuit to accept the chair of Mathematics in “La Sapienza”, in 1618 Cristopher Grienberger S.I. wrote to Paul Guldin: “Still, it should mean something to be the Pope's Mathematician!”. Being accustomed to the attention given to that discipline in the curriculum of Jesuit colleges, Grienberger was baffled. Yet, in the year of Luca Valerio's death, the importance of mathematics in the curriculum of the University of Rome “La Sapienza” was marginal. The number of chairs was limited, the level of salaries was low, the teachers were, for the most part, non-specialists and the competition to secure a vacant teaching position was minimal. The situation seemed truly changed by 1685, when Vitale Giordano won the chair over a number of qualified colleagues in the first truly competitive examination for the post.
The speech will introduce some data regarding the teaching of mathematics in “La Sapienza” in the 17^th century, with particular reference to the discipline's role in the statutes, the lecturers, the courses' programmes, the interest that Popes took in it. Specifically, it will focus on the changes that occured at the end of the 17^th century, with regards to the development of the discipline and the improvement of a “scientific culture” in the city of the Pope.