Your Pen Pal
Galileo Galilei
Astronomer, physicist, and father of modern science, who looked through his telescope and told the truth about what he saw.
“My dear friend, what would you say of the learned here, who have steadfastly refused to cast a glance through the telescope?”
Galileo Galilei
in correspondence
Who you will be writing to
Galileo was born in Pisa in 1564. When he turned an improved telescope to the night sky, he found moons circling Jupiter and mountains on our own Moon, and he insisted on publishing in plain Italian so ordinary readers could follow along.
His discoveries brought him fame and, eventually, trial and house arrest. He kept working anyway, and he treasured the letters that reached him in confinement. He knows exactly what a good letter is worth.
What the letters hold
- What patient looking reveals that glancing misses
- The night sky over Tuscany
- Holding to what you know to be true
- Instruments, craft, and clever hands
- Writing plainly so anyone can follow
Questions about writing with Galileo
What are letters from Galileo like?↓
Curious and companionable. He is the friend who makes you step outside to look at something. The letters are creative works inspired by his life and correspondence.
Will he write about his trial?↓
If you want him to, honestly and without bitterness. But left to himself he prefers wonder to grievance: moons, pendulums, and the pleasure of figuring things out.
Ready to write with Galileo?
Galileo Galilei will write back in their own hand, on real paper, mailed to your door.
Begin your correspondence with GalileoIs each letter written by a person or by AI? A bit of both, and we're glad to be clear about it. Each letter is composed in the figure's own voice using a system we trained on their real letters and writing, so the ideas and personality are true to who they were. Then a real person reviews and refines every letter before it goes out. The result is original and personal, never pulled off a shelf.