Four hundred years after Galileo Galilei first demonstrated his telescope to scholars on a Roman hilltop, the astronomer -- condemned by the Catholic Church -- was celebrated on the same spot with a multimedia art exhibit that included an installation from the Vatican.
According to the USA Today website, the event took place last night (April 14, 2011) at the American Academy in Rome -- a research center for the arts and humanities whose gardens lie on the exact spot where, on April 14, 1611, Galileo showed off his telescope for the first time to the most important scholars of his time.
Galileo made the first complete astronomical telescope, and used it to gather evidence that the Earth revolved around the sun.
The Catholic Church -- at that time -- denounced Galileo's theory as dangerous to the faith, because it considered the Earth to be the center of the universe.
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