The Impact of Maria Celeste

Maria Celeste was the daughter of Galileo Galilei, and part of the convent in Florence. Her presence in her father's life greatly impacted the writing of Galileo's book, The Dialogo.
Galileo often failed to take care of himself, for he was either busy working in his garden or occupied with his discoveries. It was because of Maria Celeste that Galileo's stayed in fairly good health. She took care of him by providing with food and shelter/a home. Maria made sure that her father didn't drink too much, among other things. While Galileo was writing his book, letters were being written back and forth between him and Maria. She was like the editor of The Dialogo, cutting and taking out pieces of information that was irrelevant and giving advice to her father. Any mistakes her father made were corrected by her and sent back to Galileo. During the time of the Bubonic plaague in 1630, Maria put together medicine for her father to help him defend himself against the disease. It was because of Maria's kind consideration that Galileo was able to live through this detrimental period of illness in Tuscany and continue the writing of his book.

After Galileo's book was published, Pope Urban VIII, who had allowed Galieleo to publish on the Copernican theory as long as he promoted it hypothetically, took a very angry view of the book and the two, formerly friends, never spoke again. Galileo had to appear in Rome for a trial by the Inquisition. Prior to appearing on trial, Maria Celeste heard of the news and wrote to her father, telling him to do what the Church told him to do, and say what the Church wanted to hear him say. She warned him not to say anything against the Church that would place him in an even more difficult position, or cause him to receive a harsher punishment. Because of Maria's intervention, Galileo was able to stay alive and continue his subsequent works on physics and mathematics of motion later on during his life under house arrest, rather than die as a heretic.

Despite the fact that Maria Celeste did not receive a formal education, she was a smart woman who used her intelligence in the scientific field to help her father (providing medicine). Although she was part of a poor convent, she never failed to give and be generous. She always saw the higher good, even when times were harsh. It was because of her contact with Galileo that he was able to deliver his message to the world in the best way possible.