Middle finger of Galileo's right hand, Florence, Italy

The middle finger from the right hand of Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) is a secular relic housed in the Museo Galileo in Florence, Italy, encased in a gilded glass egg. In 1737, 95 years after Galileo's death, his remains were moved to a mausoleum at the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence, during which several body parts, including the middle finger, were removed by antiquarians and anatomists. The finger changed hands and locations several times, eventually being displayed at the Laurentian Library, La Specola, and finally the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in 1927.