An Indirect Convergence between the Accademia del Cimento and the Montmor Academy: The ‘Saturn dispute’

The purpose of the present chapter is to examine an indirect (albeit significant) point of contact between the Florentine academy, later known as the Accademia del Cimento, and the so-called Montmor Academy: their role in the “Saturn dispute”. In particular, this essay intends to demonstrate how, despite fragmentary evidence and often interrupted exchanges, the issue of the planet’s strange appearances offers a unique standpoint from which to assess the interests and the ways in which the two societies operated, as well as the nature of their relations.