«Dominicus Maria Ferrariensis de Novaria», lettore di Astronomia a Bologna e maestro di Copernico

The study of the Ferrara born astronomer Domenico Maria da Novara (1454-1504) plays a role of some importance within the Copernican studies and within the studies on astronomy at the beginning of the 16th century and of the Scientific Revolution. Novara was, in fact, pupil in Ferrara of one of the greatest astronomers of the 15th century, Giovanni Bianchini, and teacher in Bologna of one of the greatest of the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus. He was so involved, certainly unaware, in that passage between the closed and unfinished universe of the late medieval astronomy-astrology (to which he belonged) and the open universe and the infinite worlds of Digges and Bruno (both stimulated by his most famous pupil) which gave rise to the new astronomy. We will deal here with the figure of Novara as it comes to light by his few survived writings.