Galilean Days 2026

Category:

HISTORICAL EVENTS

Place:

Pisa, Luoghi vari1

Start date:

13 Feb 2026

End date:

16 Feb 2026

From Friday, February 13th to Monday, February 16th, 2026, the Galilean Days return. The festival, founded in 2019 and promoted by the Municipality of Pisa in synergy with local academic and scientific institutions, offers a rich calendar of events combining historical rigor, dissemination, and artistic performances.

From the exhibition of unpublished historical documents to the new frontiers of Artificial Intelligence and gravitational waves, the program is curated in synergy with the University of Pisa, the Scuola Normale Superiore, the National Museums of Pisa, the State Archives, EGO - European Gravitational Observatory, the State Archives, and many other partners.

Among the events, the first performance of the unpublished theatrical story “The Great Watchmaker” stands out, written by Francesco Niccolini, with original music by Dimitri Grechi Espinoza.

The calendar includes a series of events, all free of charge, which will take place in some of the city's iconic locations, such as Piazza Garibaldi, Bastione del Parlascio, Logge di Banchi Palazzo Reale, Palazzo Toscanelli, and the Walls of Pisa.

The exhibition opens and closes on Friday, February 13th and Monday, February 16th, with the documentary exhibition “Galileo in Pisa”, which can be visited at Palazzo Toscanelli (State Archives, 9 am - 5 pm), a unique opportunity to consult the papers that testify to the inextricable bond between the scientist and his hometown.

Three other initiatives, on Sunday 15 February 2026 (10 am -5 pm) residents of the Municipality of Pisa will be able to access the Walls of Pisa free of charge.

The program:

Friday, February 13, 2026

Palazzo Toscanelli, State Archives (Lungarno Mediceo, 17)

9.00 am - 5.00 pm: “Galileo in Pisa”, exhibition of documents relating to the great scientist.

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Logge di Banchi

10 am - 7 pm: “From Galileo to AI”, popular science events.

10 am - 11 am: “AstroKids Game”, treasure hunt with the Galileo Galilei APS Pisan Amateur Astronomers Association (children 6-10 years old).

11 am – noon: “In the footsteps of Galileo”, experiments, interactive demonstrations and curiosities to discover Galileo's experiments with the Ludoteca Scientifica - Museum of Physics Instruments and Department of Physics (children for 8 years).

noon - 1 pm: “From Galileo to the stars: space engines”, lecture by Daniela Pedrini, PhD aerospace engineer and Giulia Becatti, PhD aerospace engineer.

noon: “The sky tells”, planetarium adventures with Tommaso Sorrentino, Saturn Lines.

3 pm - 4 pm: “AstroKids Lab: Build Your Own Rocket”, Galileo Galilei APS Pisan Amateur Astronomers Association (children 8-12 years old).
“From the Galilean Pendulum to Atomic Clocks”, lecture by Giovanni Levita, Galileo Galilei APS Pisan Amateur Astronomers Association.

4 pm - 5 pm: “Following in Galileo's footsteps”, experiments, interactive demonstrations, and curiosities to discover Galileo's experiments with the Ludoteca Scientifica – Museum of Physics Instruments and Department of Physics (children for 8 years).

5 pm - 6 pm: “Timeline”, game with prizes for everyone.

5 pm: “The sky tells”, planetarium adventures with Tommaso Sorrentino, Saturn Lines.

6 pm - 7 pm: “Messengers from Space: What Meteorites Tell Us”, lecture by Stefano Iannini, Lelarge – CNR Pisa.

6:15 pm: “The sky tells”, planetarium adventures with Tommaso Sorrentino, Saturn Lines.

Bastione del Parlascio (Largo Parlascio, 14)

6:30 pm: “The Talking Star: The Moon from Galileo to Gravitational Waves”, lunar stories in words and music, edited by Osservatorio Gravitazionale Europeo – EGO, with the Association of Pisan Astrophiles Galileo Galilei, Massimiliano Razzano, University of Pisa, Vincenzo Napolano, EGO, saxophone by Dimitri Grechi Espinoza, and readings by Giulia Perelli.

Piazza Garibaldi

7:30 pm - 10:30 pm: Sky observation with the telescopes of the Galileo Galilei APS Pisan Amateur Astronomers Association (in case of rain: presentation of the day's sky with Stellarium).

Sunday, February 15, 2026

Walls of Pisa

10 am - 5 pm: Free entrance on the Walls for residents.

Logge di Banchi

10 am - 7 pm: “From Galileo to AI”, popular science events.

10 am - 11 am: “AstroKids Game”, treasure hunt with the Galileo Galilei APS Pisan Amateur Astronomers Association (children 6-10 years old).

11 am – noon: “In the footsteps of Galileo”, experiments, interactive demonstrations and curiosities to discover Galileo's experiments with the Ludoteca Scientifica – Museum of Physics Instruments and Department of Physics (children for 8 years).

noon - 1 pm: Solar observation with the solar telescopes of the Galileo Galilei APS Pisan Amateur Astronomers Association (in case of rain: the sun, the spots, other accidents, Marco Giglio).

noon: “The sky tells”, planetarium adventures with Tommaso Sorrentino, Saturn Lines.

3 pm - 4 pm: “AstroKids Lab: Build Your Own Rocket” with the Galileo Galilei APS Pisan Amateur Astronomers Association (children aged 8-12). “What's Smart About AI?”, edited by Steve Shore, professor of physics.

4 pm - 5 pm: “Following in Galileo's footsteps”, experiments, interactive demonstrations, and curiosities to discover Galileo's experiments with the Ludoteca Scientifica – Museum of Physics Instruments and Department of Physics (children for 8 years).

5 pm - 6 pm: “Timeline”, game show for everyone.

5 pm: “The sky tells”, planetarium adventures with Tommaso Sorrentino, Saturn Lines. Talk “Listening to the Universe with Gravitational Waves”, curated by Osservatorio Gravitazionale Europeo with Elisa Velcani, EGO.

Palazzo Reale (Lungarno Pacinotti, 46)

4:30 - 6:30 pm: theatrical story “The Great Watchmaker, a journey through Galileo's perception of the ancient universe”. Text and reading by Francesco Niccolini, original music by Dimitri Grechi Espinoza.