Primacy, Prestige & Authority. The Bolognese Edition of the ‘Opere’ at the Dawn of Galilean Mythology

Recent historiography has dedicated interesting contributions to the role played by Vincenzo Viviani (1622 - 1703) in safeguarding Galileo's legacy as one of the fathers of the Scientific Revolution and in establishing important initiatives at the foundation of the dissemination of the Galilean myth. However, in the absolute majority of cases, these studies tend to underestimate the political and propagandistic value of the first attempt at a collected edition of the scientist's works, printed in Bologna between 1655 and 1656. At the same time, the involvement of Galileo's last pupil in the editorial process is often overrated. The present article focuses on the reconstruction of the events immediately preceding - and contemporary to - the printing of the Bolognese edition and related protagonists. This intricate story stands at the origin of Galilean mythology, also representing a paradigmatic synthesis of the power relations between the political agenda of the House of Medici, the University tradition, the authority of the Inquisition and the hopes of scholars endorsing (in varied ways) the values of New Science.