What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to present evidence that Galileo Galilei annotated a copy of the Almagest. This evidence encompasses paleographical, textual, and contextual aspects.

May 15, 2026

Galileo’s Almagest : New evidence from the Magliabechiana collection in Florence

Key Points

The aim is to present evidence that Galileo Galilei annotated a copy of the Almagest. This evidence encompasses paleographical, textual, and contextual aspects.
Examination of the annotated copy of the Almagest from the Magliabechiana collection
Analysis of paleographical features to attribute annotations to Galileo
Transcription and English translation of a significant annotation on Chapter 7 of Book V
Evidence strongly suggests that Galileo annotated the text prior to relocating to Padua in 1592.
The extensive annotation illustrates the technical details of Galileo's observations and insights.

Abstract

The Magliabechiana collection of the National Central Library in Florence preserves a copy of the Almagest , printed in Basel in 1551, that is densely annotated (BNCF, Magl. 5.1.133). The purpose of this article is to set out the full range of evidence—paleographical as well as textual and contextual—demonstrating that Galileo Galilei was the annotator. It is likely that the majority of the annotations were written by Galileo before he moved to Padua in 1592. An Appendix to the article includes a transcription and an English translation of an extensive annotation on Chapter 7 of Book V of the Almagest , illustrating the technical nature of the marginalia.

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