San Marino marks 450th birth anniversary of Galileo Galilei with two stamps

San Marino has issued two stamps to mark the 450th anniversary of the birth of 'father of science' Galileo Galilei.

Galileo Galilei (born on 15 February 1564) was a scientist and astronomer who Albert Einstein named as the 'father of science'. His pioneering studies of the sun and the planets led to him being accused of heresy by the Catholic Church in 1615 following his support of the theory that the earth moves around the sun and he was ordered by the Church to: 'abandon completely... the opinion that the sun stands still at the centre of the world and the earth moves, and henceforth not to hold, teach, or defend it in any way whatever, either orally or in writing.'

Galileo was placed under house arrest after the pronouncement and he remained so until his death in 1642. During his house arrest he wrote one of his finest works: 'Two New Sciences'.

The two stamps show Galileo at work beside a model of the earth (0.70Euro) and two of the scientist's astronomy instruments shown against a background of one of his scientific drawings (0.70Euro).

Read much more about newly released stamps in the November 2014 issue of Stamp & Coin Mart. Order the print edition right here, or download the issue using the links below…