The missing fingers and tooth of Galileo Galilei were discovered at an auction stored in a wooden case. Friday’s announcement by Italian authorities brings the century old mystery to a close. The finger and tooth were removed from the 17th century astronomer’s corpse when it was exhumed from its original unsanctified grave to be moved to the Florentine church of Santa Croce in 1737. During the ceremony naturalist Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti removed three fingers, a vertebra and a tooth to be kept as relics. One of the fingers and the vertebra were preserved and are currently on public display. The remaining two fingers and tooth were passed through a series of owners and disappeared completely over a century ago. The newly re-discovered remains will be on display when the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence reopens in March as the Galileo Museum.


Galileo’s Fingers and Tooth Recovered by Collector [via Chris Holly's Paranormal World]