I arrived in Venice expecting to witness a scientific revolution. Instead, I discovered something far more human. Galileo spent long minutes pretending to study the heavens while repeatedly lowering his telescope toward a brightly lit balcony across the canal, where a beautiful young woman appeared from time to time behind flowing curtains. Whenever she vanished, he returned the telescope solemnly toward the comet, restoring the posture history would later immortalize. I photographed him carefully, uncertain whether I was documenting the birth of astronomy or the oldest weakness known to mankind. Perhaps both. Great discoveries, I realized that night, are sometimes guided not only by curiosity — but also by desire.
