Galileo Galilei to Einstein's special theory of relativity. A biography by Galileo's pupil Vincenzo Viviani stated that Galileo had dropped balls of the same material, but different masses, from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to demonstrate that their time of descent was independent of their mass. This was contrary to what Aristotle had taught: that heavy objects fall faster than lighter ones, in direct proportion to weight. While this story has been retold in popular accounts, there is no account by Galileo himself of such an experiment, and it is generally accepted by historians that it was at most a thought experiment
Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics Scientific and Advisory Committees. The appointed members of the Launching Committee were David Gross, Giuseppe Marchesini, Alfred Mueller, Giorgio Parisi and Gabriele Veneziano (chair). Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics The Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics (GGI) is a research institute near Florence, Italy. It "organizes and hosts small-size advanced workshops in theoretical particle physics in its broadest sense." Each workshop is devoted to a specific topic at the forefront of current research. During its typical duration of 2–3 months it hosts about 10 to 30 participants selected among those most active in the field within the international community.