Talk:Marc'Antonio Mazzoleni

Any more on the Mazzoleni family as clockmakers?

The first reference supports the statement that the Mazzoleni family were clockmakers, but provides no further details. The WP article on the St Mark's Clock and other sources that I've found online mention that one Guiseppe Mazzoleni did some restoration work on the St. Mark's Clock in 1551, and it seems likely that Guiseppe and Marc'Antonio were related, but I can't find support for that. Anyone out there able to connect the dots? --JohnPomeranz (talk) 03:05, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Father Paolo = Paolo Sarpi?

Another loose end from the first-cited source... In stating that Mazzoleni took over as regulator of the University of Padua clock, the source states that Mazzoleni took over the job "from Father Paolo." Paolo Sarpi was widely known as "Fra Paolo", and I suspect that's who they're talking about here, but I can't find support for that fact. Anybody able to confirm? --JohnPomeranz (talk) 03:12, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Need Source: Mazzoleni work on Galileo's Telescopes

Because I can't find a reliable source to support the claim that Mazzoleni helped Galileo to construct his telescopes, I have taken the assertion out of the article for now, but I hope that someone will find a reference to allow us to include this important aspect of Mazzoleni's work for Galileo. (I suspect that support is to be found in Galileo's notebooks or other documents, but most of these are not available in English at this time and thus are beyond my capacity to research.)

I have found several sources that support Mazzoleni's work on the telescopes but they are either not explicit on the point or not up to WP standards:

• Fahie's Galilo: His Life and Work, one of the reliable sources already cited in the article, strongly suggests that Mazzoleni helped make the telescopes, but does not explicitly state it. The text says:

By the 1st of January 1610 Galileo had fitted up his workshop, so as to be able to make and grind his own glasses, of which he turned out large numbers, but of which only a small percentage was found to be of any great value. Thus, by the middle of March, out of one hundred and more which he had ground 'at great fatigue and expense,' only ten were able to show the newly discovered moons of Jupiter and the fixed stars.

The footnote accompanying this text then reads:

Letter to Vinta, 19th March 1610. At this time his clever workman Mazzoleni was also engaged not only on the geometrical and military compass, of which many hundreds were made and sold all over Europe, but on hydrostatic balances, air thermometers, magnets and magnetic compasses for ships, and various kinds of drawing compasses for engineers and architects. He had also added a printingpress, where his tract on the Geometrical and Military Compass was set up.

The placement of this note in the midst of the discussion of construction of the telescopes and the phrase "also engaged" certainly suggests that Mazzoleni was working on the telescopes, but it doesn't state the fact as explicitly as we might wish.

• Heather Hobden's extensive science history website The Cosmic Elk explicitly states that Mazzoleni assisted with the telescope, but the only other editor to look at this issue is of the opinion that the website is a personal page and thus not a reliable source. See the discussion in the DYK nomination for the Mazzoleni article (scroll down to the Mazzoleni nomination discussion).

• An article by Linda N. Riggins, The Telescopes Galileo Made: How He Built Them - An Original and Replicas Now Touring Museums seems to be a credible and well sourced article that specifically supports the claim that Mazzoleni helped Galileo with the telescopes, but it's only available online on Suite101.com, a website WP blacklists. The reasons for the blacklisting of that site have been much discussed, and it would be unreasonable to overturn the consensus on the question just to be able to cite to this article.

I believe that the weight of the evidence supports the claim that Mazzoleni helped Galileo build telescopes. I'd be grateful if someone could find a better source that would allow that contribution to be added back into the article. --JohnPomeranz (talk) 15:32, 20 February 2010 (UTC)