Patron of Science and Art
Del Monte was a perceptive supporter of the arts and sciences - he was the first recorded owner of the Portland Vase, and his Palazzo Madama household was one of the most important intellectual salons in Rome. At his death his art collection contained nearly six hundred paintings, and his support of the young Caravaggio has given provenance to several of that artist's early works. Together with his brother, he helped Galileo win a lectureship in mathematics in Pisa in 1589 and in Padua in 1592. In the wake of Galileo’s discovery of the 'Medicean Planets', he gave the Cardinal a copy of his 'Sidereus nuncius' (Starry Messenger) and a telescope as gifts. When Galileo went to Rome in 1611, Grand Duke Cosimo II recommended him to the Cardinal’s council so that he could be helped during his sojourn at the Vatican
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