Famous Italian Scientists

Italy has a rich tradition in science and technology with Italians advancing the scientific community through the past several centuries. Italian inventors, discoverers and scientists have enriched the world’s understanding and knowledge in varied scientific fields like biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy and the other sciences. Italy has produced some of the most brilliant minds since the Renaissance and the Roman era. Italian Galileo Galilei was called not only the "father of observational astronomy", but also the "father of modern physics", and the "father of science”. He was one of the major figures who played a significant role in the scientific revolution during the Renaissance. Polymath Leonardo da Vinci was another genius who epitomized the Renaissance ideal. Astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini, physicist Alessandro Volta, the mathematicians Giuseppe Peano, Lagrange, Fibonacci worked in Italy in the early modern era. Even though science and technology in Italy has predominantly been a male arena, women like Giuseppa Eleonora Barbapiccola, Maria Magdalena Petraccin, Caterina Scarpellini, and Anna Morandi Manzolini prove that Italian women have never been far behind men in terms of scientific accomplishments. This section provides you information about the life and works of famous Italian scientists.