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Long before weather forecasts, satellite imagery, and modern meteorology, scientists struggled to understand something invisible but fundamental: the weight of the air surrounding our planet.

In 17th-century Italy, Evangelista Torricelli helped change that forever.

A mathematician and physicist who worked alongside Galileo Galilei during the final months of Galileo’s life, Torricelli developed the mercury barometer, an instrument that made atmospheric pressure measurable and helped establish the scientific foundations of modern weather observation.

In 1644, Torricelli described an experiment involving a glass tube, mercury, and a mysterious empty space above the liquid. His explanation challenged centuries of scientific assumptions and demonstrated that the atmosphere exerted pressure on everything beneath it.

But Torricelli’s achievement went beyond proving that air has weight. He recognized that changes in atmospheric pressure could be observed, opening the door to an entirely new understanding of atmospheric behavior.

During Italian American Heritage Month, Meteorology Matters continues recognizing Italian and Italian American scientists whose contributions transformed our understanding of weather and the atmosphere.

Discover how Torricelli’s work influenced Blaise Pascal, helped establish atmospheric science, and ultimately contributed to the barometric measurements meteorologists still rely on to track weather systems, monitor storms, and understand changes in atmospheric pressure.

More than 380 years later, the principles behind his experiment remain essential to weather forecasting around the world.

Explore more at MeteorologyMatters.com.

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