www.uniurb.it/novita-ed-eventi/6475
Con il patrocinio non oneroso della SFI Sezione di Urbino
Info: flavia.marcacci@uniurb.it; davide.pietrini@uniurb.it; g.gaia@campus.uniurb.it
Link Zoom: https://uniurb-it.zoom.us/j/
Abstract:
Paul of Middelburg (1445?–1534) is notably cited by Copernicus – both as bishop of Fossombrone and as an astronomer – when dedicating De revolutionibus orbium coelestium to Pope Paul III. This workshop offers the first systematic exploration of Paul's scientific profile: his mathematical and astronomical work, his activity as astrologer and physician at the court of Federico da Montefeltro in Urbino, and his role in late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth-century debates where astronomy and astrology were closely intertwined. Paul vigorously advocated a calendar reform, promoted the study of algebra and mechanics, and produced a substantial corpus of prognostications. By tracing how he connected calculation, observation, and predictive practices, the workshop reconstructs a coherent "science of time" and situates it within the scholarly networks that linked the Duchy of Urbino with the Low Countries, bridging northern and southern Renaissance Europe and placing scientific expertise at the heart of contemporary political life.
Scientific and Organizing Commettee: Gian Italo Bischi, Vincenzo Fano, Giovanni Gaia, Veronica Gavagna, Pierluigi Graziani, Stephan Heilen, Giovanni Macchia, Flavia Marcacci, Vico Montebelli, Elio Nenci, Davide Pietrini, Ciro Saltarelli, Sara Taglialagamba.
Programma:
May 7th, 2026
Sala della Tartaruga, Palazzo Passionei, via Valerio 9
Welcome address and greetings
9.00 | Chair Flavia Marcacci (University of Urbino)
Giorgio Calcagnini, Magnific Rector, University of Urbino
Giovanni Piersanti, Vice Rector for Research, University of Urbino
Andrea Vicerè, Head of Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Urbino
Laerte Sorini, Director of International Center Urbino e la Prospettiva
Session. Stars, Calendars, Prognostications
9.15 | Philipp Nothaft (University of Oxford), Paul of Middelburg, Chronologer
10.00 | Stephan Heilen (University of Osnabrück), A Prognosticum by Paul of Middelburg
10.45 | Discussion
11.00 | Coffee break
Session. Paul, a man of many faces
Chair Veronica Gavagna (University of Florence)
11.30 | Elio Nenci (University of Milan), Life of Paul of Middelburg at the Urbino Court: the testimony of Bernardino Baldi
12.15 | Anneke Pohle (University of Osnabrück, M.D.), Paul of Middelburg's De numero atomorum totius universi
12.30 | Giovanni Gaia (University of Urbino, Ph.D.), Paul of Middelburg in Guidobaldo del Monte
12.45 | Lunch
Session. Mathematics, Astronomy, Scientific Instruments.
Chair Gian Italo Bischi (University of Urbino)
15.00 | Vico Montebelli (University of Urbino), Paul of Middelburg, an algebraist at the court of Federico da Montefeltro
15.45 | Veronica Gavagna (University of Florence), Algebra in Paul of Middelburg and his context
16.15 | Flavia Marcacci (University of Urbino), After the Paulina: Paul of Middelburg's Proposals for Calendar Reform and his Views on Astronomy
16.45 | Giancarlo Truffa (SISFA), Paul of Middelburg and the instruments of an astrologer
Public event: Opening Cerimony
h. 18.00-19.30, Chiesa di San Girolamo at the San Girolamo Library
Tempo misurato e previsioni celesti: scienza, calendari e strumenti al tempo di Paolo di Middelburg.
Mostra di libri del Fondo Antico dell'Università di Urbino
Saluti introduttivi:
Giorgio Calcagnini, Rettore Magnifico Università di Urbino
Vieri Fusi, Prorettore per la Valorizzazione e Sviluppo del Patrimonio Università di Urbino
Fabio Musso, Prorettore per la Terza Missione e Public Engagement.
Anna Santucci, Delegata Rettorale alla Valorizzazione del Patrimonio Museale di Ateneo.
Interventi di: Marcella Peruzzi e Flavia Marcacci, Università di Urbino
20.00 | Social dinner
May 8th, 2026
Sala della Tartaruga, Palazzo Passionei, via Valerio 9
Welcome and Twinning session
9.15 | Greetings and Opening remarks
Francesco Amadori (Head of the Culture and Tourism Office, Municipality of Fossombrone)
9.30 | Henk de Kunder (Heritage Policy Officer, Municipality of Middelburg), Paul of Middelburg: connection between the Gregorian calendar and the Low Countries
Session: Paul of Middelburg and the Court of Urbino.
10.00 | Oscar Mei (University of Urbino), Paolo of Middelburg and his Collection of Antiquities
10.30 | Sara Taglialagamba (COST Program, University of Urbino), Paul of Middelburg, Marsilio Ficino, Leonardo da Vinci
11.00 | Coffee break
11.00 | Raffaella Marotti (University of Urbino), The Instruments of Felice and Francesco Paciotti: Mathematical Disciplines and Their Legacy in the Duchy of Urbino during the Sixteenth Century
11.30 | Stephan Heilen, Flavia Marcacci, Conclusive remarks
12.00 | Farewell address
12.30 | Lunch
15.00 | Visit to Ducal Palace and Raphael's House