The Renaissance man was held to the highest of places among society in the age of enlightenment in Italy. Renaissance men were incredibly intelligent and extremely skilled in multiple fields of study. They sought out and emphasized the importance of knowledge in their time. Among these men, a man by the name of Galileo Galilei stands out as a major contributing force to the Renaissance era. He was a highly regarded man for his intelligence and his proven theories. Galileo Galilei, often referred to as just Galileo, effects how research, experimentation, and discoveries are accepted today. Earlier beliefs, often developed out of more philosophical means, were challenged through experiments and research to be proven and further developed. Galileo is one of the greatest men who ever lived in the Renaissance era, and he made many…show more content… In addition to that, he had to provide a dowry to his married sister, Virginia, which negotiated to the sum of a few years’ salary. (MacLachlan 23-24). This increased financial responsibility motivated him to find a better job with a higher salary. Gaining the support of his influential friends, Galileo was able to gain employment at the University of Padua as a professor, which more than doubled his salary (Frova 109). This job relieved him of some of his financial burden.
Galileo never married, but fell in love and fathered three children with a woman by the name of Maria Gamba (Fermi and Bernardini 39). His three children were named Virginia, Livia, and Vincenzio Galilei. He never gave up his responsibilities to either of his families.
In 1610, Galileo made arrangements to return to Florence with his two daughters. He became the chief mathematician with no teaching duties at the University of Pisa. He was also appointed as the “First Philosopher and Mathematician to the Grand Duke.” (MacLachlan