Villa Il Gioiello

The villa and its estate suffered damages during the siege of Florence in the years 1529 and 1530, whilst the entire area of Arcetri and Pian dei Giullari were occupied by Imperial troops.

Calderini I sold it shortly thereafter to the Cavalcanti family, who rebuilt the home with its original simple lines, preserving its elegant look to the present day.

In 1634 he suffered the loss of his favorite daughter, Celeste, but continued to work on Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Relating to Two New Sciences (Discorsi e Dimostrazioni Matematiche, intorno a due nuove scienze), in which he presented his theories on the strength and resistance of materials and on motion.

Shortly after Galileo moved to Arcetri, he received visits from Ferdinando II de' Medici as well as the painter Giusto Sustermans, who painted a portrait of the scientist.

He made frequent visits to the students of Villa Castelli, and the young Vincenzo Viviani and Evangelista Torricelli assisted Galileo until his death.