Galileo Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo maintained that the earth revolved around the sun, disputing the belief held by the Roman Catholic church that the earth was the center of the universe. He refused to obey orders from Rome to cease discussions of his theories and was sentenced to life imprisonment. It was not until 1984 that a papal commission acknowledged that the church was wrong. Galileo’s Telescopes Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo made major discoveries about celestial objects in our solar system. In 1609, when he heard that a spyglass had been invented in Holland, he began to experiment with them. The telescopes pictured here were among those he used. They are in the Museo della Scienza in Florence, Italy.Encarta Encyclopedia Galileo Facing the Inquisition This painting from the 19th century depicts Italian scientist Galileo at the Vatican in Rome in the 17th century. Galileo was forced to stand trial for his belief in Copernicanism, or the idea that Earth moves around the Sun. The Roman Catholic Church forced Galileo to publicly denounce Copernicanism and spend the the rest of his life under house arrest. Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) Statue outside the Uffizi, Florence