Giordano Bruno

After visiting Campo De' Fiori several times and referring to the statue of Giordano Bruno as "the statue in the center of the square" on more than one occasion, I decided to do some research and find out more about it, and I'm glad i did. To summarize Dr. John J. Kessler, Bruno was the forgotten philosopher. He was born in Nola, Italy in 1534 and throughout his early adolescence he preferred to go against the grain. He studied to become a priest with the Monks of St. Dominco and began to question the teachings and push them farther. He asked questions that could not be answered and began to get in trouble for it. He ran away and for the next 3o years called several countries home. He had an extended stay in England though, and Henry II was one of his chief patrons. He studied and emulated the works of Aristotle and Copernicus and wrote about the unimaginable size of the Universe. His works suggested that a Universe of infinite size could not be controlled by a single God and that science does not explain revelation, two cornerstones of the Catholic Church.
Eventually, some speculate, that Bruno grew homesick and wanted to return home to Italy. This was obviously a foolish choice as at the time Italy and Rome in particular was the home of the Holy Roman Empire. That same year, 1593, charges were brought against him before the Inquisition in Venice. Rome, and the Vatican saw this heretic as a way to make an example of those who deny the teachings of Jesus Christ and had him sent there. From 1593 to 1600 Bruno was imprisoned and nothing is known of what happened to him during this time as the records from the Catholic Church, if any exist, have not been released.
Finally after a German writer Schoppious wrote about Bruno, Bruno was brought before the Inquisition again. He was given the opportunity to recant and refused. He was brought before the Grand Inquisitor on February 9, 1600 and received the punishment of death by burning at the stake. In response to the sentence Bruno is reported to have yelled and said "Perhaps you, my judges, pronounce this sentence against me with greater fear than I receive it." This didn't scare them and on Feburary 17, 1600 Bruno was burned alive in Campo De' Fiori.
During the revolutions that brought about the unification of Italy in the mid 1800's Bruno was "rediscovered" by his countrymen and his readings and his death was used as a symbol of strength against the Vatican. His statue was erected in the place of his death facing directly toward Vatican city. A kind of middle finger to the pope and the Inquisition that took his life and nearly erased him from the record books.
I found this story fascinating. In high school no one had ever told me the story of Bruno. We never really learned of his philosophy, only the more notable figures and scientists that led the renaissance such as Galileo and Copernicus. Bruno, though, influenced an entire population to stand up and Unite for the first time. Now that I know the whole story about Bruno I appreciate his statue much more and not as the place where young Italian guys try to pick up girls that walk by.

http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/john_kessler/giordano_bruno.html