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In its historical roots and
traditions the Vatican Observatory is one of the oldest astronomical
institutes in the world. For the first foreshadowing of the Observatory
can be traced to the constitution by Pope Gregory XIII of a committee to
study the scientific data and implications involved in the reform of the
calendar which occurred in 1582. The committee included Father Christoph
Clavius, a Jesuit mathematician from the Roman College, who expounded and
explained the reform. From that time and with some degree of continuity
the Papacy has manifested an interest in and support for astronomical
research. In fact, three early observatories were founded by the Papacy:
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the Observatory of the Roman College (1774-1878) (illustrated),
the Observatory of the Capitol (1827-1870), and the Specula
Vaticana (1789-1821) in the Tower of the Winds within the Vatican.
These early traditions of the Observatory reached their climax in the
mid-nineteenth century with the researches at the Roman College of the
famous Jesuit, Father Angelo Secchi, the first to classify stars according
to their spectra. With these rich traditions as
a basis and in order to counteract the longstanding accusations of a
hostility of the Church towards science, Pope Leo XIII in 1891 formally
refounded the Specola Vaticana (Vatican Observatory) and located
it on a hillside behind the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
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