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University of St Andrews, Scotland
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Luca Valerio was brought up on the island of Corfu, then he studied at the Collegio Romano. In Rome he was taught mathematics by Clavius. He remained at Collegio Romano after taking his first degree and was awarded a doctorate in philosophy and theology.
After taking his doctorate Valerio remained in Rome. At first he taught rhetoric and Greek at the Collegio Greco. On a visit to Pisa in 1590 Valerio met Galileo. After his return to Rome he began teaching rhetoric at the University of Sapienza. Sapienza was the name of the building which the University of Rome occupied at this time and it gave its name to the University. About 1600 Valerio, still at Sapienza, began to teach mathematics.
Valerio's De centro gravitatis, written in 1604, applied methods of Archimedes to find volumes and centres of gravity of solid bodies. He used interesting early ideas of the quotient of limits. Among his other works was Quadratura parabolae (1606).
From 1609 until 1616 Valerio corresponded with Galileo. During this period, in 1611, Valerio obtained a position in the Vatican library in addition to his post at Sapienza. He therefore was closely connected with the top people in the Roman Catholic church.
Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, the chief theologian of the Roman Catholic church, issued a decree on 5 March 1616 which declared Copernicanism false and erroneous. Valerio took fright at this, ended his correspondence with Galileo, and resigned from the Accademia dei Lincei which he had entered four years earlier. His resignation was not accepted but he was not allowed to attend further meetings.
The articles below indicate that Valerio was:-
a very withdrawn and isolated person.
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
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