One of the problems that Galileo (1564-1642) turned his attention to during the last years of his life was the impossibility of raising a column of water by more than about 9.70 metres. The fact that the column could only be lifted to that height was explained at the time as Nature's "horror vacui" (horror of vacuum) which prevented a vacuum from forming by filling the airless space with whatever was nearest to hand. Galileo explained the existence of this limit by theorising that horror vacui had a measurable force and described the highest level to which a pump could raise a column of water as the "maximum height". Torricelli (1608-1647) solved the problem a year after the death of his master, Galileo, by studying the phenomenon with a handier apparatus, a tube filled with mercury in which the fluid did not rise more than 76 cm, thereby generating a pressure of 1 kg per cm², equivalent to that of the water column. Together with V.Viviani, he then introduced a new instrument called the barometer which measured "atmospheric pressure".

The water barometer
In the second half of the 1600s and in the 1700s the use of the water barometers as a means of forecasting weather conditions spread throughout Europe. Its success was due to the skill of the glassblowers of that age and to the simplicity of the physical principles upon which it is based. The present-day Torricelli (1608-1647) mercury barometer works on basically the same principle as the water barometers. The sole difference between these two instruments is that the atmospheric pressure measured by the water barometer is influence by possible environmental temperature ranges. However, it is surprising to note that in normal use conditions even if the idea upon which it is based is rather simple, the water barometer is able to measure atmospheric pressure.

Our pewter barometers have a solid appearance and a particular patina which is never dark and you only need water and soap to give them again their original shade. They are accurately manufactured in order to seem "antiqued" and they give to the house the right warmth.

The alloy used satisfies all EEC and USA regulations governing containers for alimentary use.