The microscope, like its “cousin” the telescope, is an invention of the 1600s. Skilled Dutch craftsmen assembled the lenses to magnify or bring an object closer. We know that initially these instruments were little more than toys, built to amuse some rich and spoiled aristocrat. The first to understand its potential was our Galileo who, as regards the telescope, understood that it could be used for defense purposes but above all for observing the sky.