FOUCAULT’S PENDULUM Saturday 09 April 2016 - Saturday 16 April 2016 SAN BIAGIO CHURCH

From the 9th to the 16th of April, in Montepulciano, at the church of San Biagio, the spectacular scientific experiment of Foucault’s Pendulum will be repeated.  Thanks to this experiment Léon Foucault (1819 – 1868), was able to prove, with his simple yet genial intuition, that the Earth revolves on its own axis.
The pendulum when oscillating, leaves a track on a layer of sand, it takes just 45 minutes to appreciate the visible demonstration of the Earth’s rotation.

the pendolum intuition

In Montepulciano, the experiment combines science, divulgation, art and architecture, all at the highest levels, and adds an important technical aspect to the project, due to the length of the oscillating wire that will hang inside the church, measuring 42 metres.
On Sunday the 10th of April, at the “Tempio”, the astrophysicist, writer and astronaut Umberto Guidoni, who travelled in space with the Shuttle, will hold his lectio magistralis.

On Saturday the 16th of April, the marathon of continuous scientific focuses but also entertainment and opportunities to socialise, will be brought to an end by another prestigious presence for the programme. Once again in the masterpiece created by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, the closing lectio magistralis will be held by philosopher Massimo Cacciari.

Temple of San Biagio. More information : http://sito.liceipoliziani.com/