Do you think that religion and science don’t go together? If you do, you might be surprised during a walk through the Vatican Gardens: you might sit on the same bench that Max Planck (founder of quantum physics) or Ernest Rutherford (experimental physicist; Rutherford’s atomic model) once sat on, or you might walk through a walk through a courtyard where people like Stephen Hawking (theoretical physicist and astrophysicist) or Rita Levi-Montalcini (physician and neurobiologist) have racked their brains over scientific questions.
Even today, the Vatican is still a regular meeting place for esteemed scientists – and for good reason: in the middle of the 43-hectare site, between various works of art and landscaped gardens, stands the Casina of Pius IV. This richly decorated Renaissance building has been the meeting place for members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences since 1936. The researchers present their findings to the Pope at the end of their meetings. The results should help him to include science in his decisions and messages.
The Academy was founded in 1603 by Federico Cesi, a member of the Roman high aristocracy who was very interested in natural science. Cesi called the Academy at that time the ‘Academy of the Lynx-like’ – because the researchers were to have eyes as sharp as lynxes. After his death, the Academy was initially dissolved, but was reintroduced by Pope Pius IX in 1847 and only re-established in 1936 with its current name. Today, a total of 80 people are part of the Academy, plus researchers who are appointed for life by the Pope.
Website of the Vatican Gardens: https://www.rome-museum.com/vatican-gardens.php
Photo: The Vatican Gardens are home to the Casina of Pius, where the Pontifical Academy of Sciences meets. Credits: Sonse/flickr.com
