Today we saw Pisa, famous for its leaning tower:
But the tower isn’t alone. It sits on a stunning green “Field of Miracles” with three other beautiful buildings. One of them is a cathedral (the Duomo) right next to it:
Galileo went to church here, and got bored during the service. The chandelier in this picture is a replica of the one that was there in Galileo’s day, and it was swaying as he watched it:
He timed the period of the sway by counting his pulse, and started working out some laws of motion. You can’t see it in this picture, but there’s a cable halfway down the chandelier support, anchoring it to the wall. Sure, it might just be for electricity, but I think it’s to keep it from swaying and inspiring another troublemaker like Galileo.
Charles Engelke's Blog 