“Gerolamo Cardano, a student in Padua, a scientist in Europe” was the title of a conference, organized by the Dept. of Mathematics of the University of Padua (Italy) on Sept. 21-22, 2001, celebrating the fifth centennial of Cardano’s birth.
The fame of Gerolamo Cardano (Pavia, 1501 – Rome, 1576) is presently linked to an algebraic formula (the solution by radicals of the equations of degree 3) and a mechanical device (the Cardanic joint or suspension). In his time, however, Cardano was most famous as a physician, invited by kings and Popes at their courts, and as an author of various scientific works. His books and pamphlets touched on the most diversified subjects: philosophy, medicine, natural sciences, mathematics, music, but also astrology and other kinds of divination. Indeed, the Padua conference was aimed at illustrating some little-known aspects of Cardano, emphasizing the broad spectrum of his interests and relating his works and life to that of his teachers and friends at the University of Padua, where he graduated in medicine in 1526.
The first general lecture (P.G. Odifreddi) provided a sketch of Cardano’s peculiar character and explained a few technical details of his contributions to algebra. The second lecture (E.Nenci) emphasized the connections between his most popular book, “de Subtilitate” (which counted 4 editions and reprints within one year from its appearance) and other scientific authors of his age. The third lecture (A.Olivieri) located Cardano’s philosophical and medical thought within the European cultural context, with special regard to the Protestant Reform.
The second day of the conference scheduled a number of short contributions by a dozen University of Padua scholars. These experts in different fields (mathematics, medicine, history) had either examined original documents regarding Cardano’s youth (the nine years he spent in Padua area) or translated from Latin and interpreted single pages of his less known books. The audience thus learnt about the complicated procedures of his graduation, his severe criticisms of his colleagues in medicine, his love for games and gambling, his ideas on poisons, his interpretation of dreams as well as his rich musical activity.
Within the program, the conference participants were also able to visit the oldest Botanical Garden in the world (founded in 1545 by F.Bonafede, a friend of Cardano) and to enjoy a short concert by a soprano and a lutist, who performed a moving Lament, composed by Cardano (words and music) after his son’s tragic death.
In the final session an attempt was made to sketch a balance of Cardano’s importance both as a scientist and as a writer. With the exception of his fundamental contributions in algebra, the value of Cardano’s work is difficult to assess. All the speakers, however, agreed that Cardano was probably the most successful among the Renaissance writers in spreading and popularizing around Europe the most advanced scientific knowledge of his time.
The conference was accompanied by an exhibition of documents and books, which illustrated – through 16 panels with figures – the main episodes of Cardano’s life and the many faces of his scientific curiosity. The last of these panels listed the results of a research on Cardano’s books presently available in the main European libraries. The figures came out rather impressive: as an example, London, Cambridge, Paris, München and Rome, each displays more than ten different editions of Cardano’s “de Subtilitate”.
Benedetto Scimemi
University of Padua, Italy
Web design by Dr. Katie Ambruso. and maintained by Andrew K