The Campo de’ Fiori is home to a bustling marketplace during the day. In the middle of this lively piazza there stands a dark statue of a hooded Dominican friar, Giordano Bruno. During his lifetime, he was a philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer, known for his theory of the infinity of the universe and unorthodox religious views. After his execution, Giordano Bruno became a martyr for science and free thought. In 1889, despite the Catholic Church’s objection, the Rome Municipal was able to commission a monument to Giordano Bruno to be located at his place of death. The monument not only acts as a memorial to Bruno and other heretics but also serves as a symbol of the freedom of conscience, that any individual may hold any viewpoint independent of others’ viewpoints. Nowadays, the monument to Bruno serves as the rendezvous location of many events that concern freedom of thought.
Giordano Bruno was born as Fillipo Bruno in a small city, Nola, east of Naples. In his teen years, he was sent to the Neapolitan convent of San Domenico Maggiore to become a Dominican friar. Here, he was recognized for two things: (1) his prodigious memory and (2) his religious unorthodoxy. It was not long before Bruno was held under investigation by the local head of the Dominicans for his unconventional, outspoken views and was forced to flee the country. Bruno spent the next 15 years of his life wandering throughout Europe looking for patrons and professorships. Throughout his journey, Bruno became increasingly skeptical about Christianity and formulated his own ideas and theories. Today, he is generally regarded as being a Universalist, one who believes that all of creation (even heathens, unrepentant sinners, and demons) will ultimately be reconciled with and forgiven by God. As a scientist, he embraced the Copernican model of the solar system, in which the Earth revolves around the Sun; however he is best known as a proponent of the infinity of the universe. He was the first man to conceptualize the universe as a continuum where the sun is just another star in the universe.
After spending much time abroad teaching his views on the cosmos, Bruno returned to Italy in 1951—a major mistake. He was invited to teach the art of memory to Giovanni Mocenigo, the doge of Venice. Bruno moved into the family’s palazzo on the Grand Canal; however, after half a year passed, relations started to get shaky and Mocenigo denounced Bruno and accused him of saying that “Christ was a wretch and a magician.” Later, Bruno was also denounced by one of his old cellmates from Venice and sent to jail. It took the Roman Inquisition seven years to bring Bruno’s case to a conclusion because the Church was having difficulties finding legitimate reasons to convict him. Ultimately, based on eyewitness accounts and Bruno’s written works, Giordano Bruno was charged with many heresies including: holding opinions contrary to the Catholic faith; holding erroneous opinions on the Trinity, Incarnation, Christ, and transubstantiation; dealing in magic and divination (i.e. his amazing memory tactics); and denying the virginity of Mary.
Bruno’s trial was overseen by Cardinal Bellarmine who demanded a full recantation. Bruno refused and asked to appeal to the Pope; however, Pope Clement VIII was also in favor of a guilty verdict. This was a difficult decision for the church, who did not want to martyr Bruno, especially because many of his convictions were not very serious and many other people had the same beliefs. However, they decided to charge Bruno for refusing to admit to his charges of heresy.
To prevent a huge public scene, Bruno was executed in the early morning. His tongue was nailed down to prevent him from speaking, because he was known to be a great orator who could move people with just his words. The Church was afraid that he would be able to rally supporters on his side. On February 17, 1600, Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake in the execution grounds of the city, located in modern day Campo de’ Fiori. His ashes were dumped in the Tiber River so that nothing remained of his body. Therefore, there was no part of him to collect—nothing to be made a relic. The Catholic Church hoped getting rid of all evidence of Bruno would prevent him from reaching the status of a martyr.
Since 1870, the capture of Rome by the new Kingdom of Italy ended the Church’s power over the city. This allowed a monument of Giordano Bruno to be commissioned without being overruled by the Church. In 1885, an international committee was formed to organize the erection of this monument. The project was commission by students who supported the unification of Italy as a secular state. In 1889, the monument of Giordano Bruno, designed by the sculptor and philosopher, Ettore Ferrari, was erected by the Italian monarchy-- not without objection from the clerical party.
When this project was commissioned by the first student generation of the new Italian state, Italy had just seized political control of Rome from the governmental dominion of the papacy. This was one of the first times that a statue could be erected despite opposition from the Church. In a way, the monument to Bruno stuck its nose at the Church by paying tribute to “one of the Inquisition’s most illustrious victims”(Rowland) serving as a reminder to the Vatican of why the new Italy had chosen to become a secular state.
Monument of Giordano Bruno.
On the monument, Giordano Bruno is portrayed as a hooded friar clutching a book in his manacled hands as he glowers over the open-air marketplace in Campo de’ Fiori, formerly the city’s execution grounds. The statue was originally supposed to be erected facing the sun, with Bruno’s back facing the Vatican, as if he stands in defiance of the doctrines of the Catholic Church. However, at the last minute, the City Council of Rome turned the statue around to face the Vatican because the Catholic Church complained that the original placement was disrespectful. Originally, Bruno’s face would have had the sun shining upon it, illuminating his facial features; however, since the monument is not being viewed in its intended orientation, Bruno’s face is in the shadows and appears melancholy, rather than defiant. Although this is not the anticipated effect, considering Bruno’s fate, he has every reason to be melancholy.
This statue is a unique, but unrealistic, representation of Bruno. He had not worn the Dominican Friar garb for the last 24 years of his life when much of his written works, one of which is depicted on the statue, were composed. Also, the robust image portrayed in the statue reflects Bruno’s spirit, but not his physical body. When Bruno died, he was a gaunt, little man, having spent the last years of his life imprisoned. The somber look accurately captures the sheer challenge that Bruno faced for having his unique beliefs that contradicted the Church and his refusal to succumb to the pressure the Church placed on him to recant his beliefs.
While the statue of Giordano Bruno is the main focus of the monument, there are other notable features. On the sides of the platform that the statue stands on are three, bronze reliefs depicting important events in Giordano’s life: (1) By the Chair of Oxford, (2) Before the Court’s Inquisition, (3) Being burned at the stake. These reliefs serve as another reminder of the adversity that Bruno had to endure for having his own beliefs.
Bronze relief of Bruno in front of the Court’s Inquisition.
Although Giordano Bruno is the primarily concentration of the monument, there are portrayals of other important figures who were also chastised for their unorthodox views. Each face of the platform has two bronze relief medallions with a face of one of Bruno’s contemporaries who was also regarded as heretics: Sarpi, Tommaso, Erasmus, Vanini, Paleario, Servetus, Wycliffe, and Huss. Many of these men were burned alive or severely punished for having their own unique beliefs that contradicted the Church. This statue also serves as a memorial to other philosophers persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church. Each one of these bronze relief medallions is surrounded by a festoon in relief from marble, showing respect for the many heretics who also suffered similar fates to Giordano Bruno.
Bronze reliefs of the faces of two heretics surrounded by festoons of marble.
The monument is also accompanied by a bronze pedestal with the words: “To Bruno, from the generation he foresaw, here, where the pyre burned”(Rowland). While the inscription says that Bruno was burned ‘here’ at the location of the monument, Bruno’s actually location of death was in the southwest corner of the piazza, not at the center, where the monument is placed. The location of the statue obeys the laws of urban design but not historical accuracy.
Bronze pedestal with the inscription: “To Bruno, from the generation he foresaw, here, where the pyre burned.”
Bruno was chosen as the “patron martyr” and main focus of the monument not only because of his bravery but also for his bold ideas that were more innovative than anyone else of his time, even Galileo. For example, he announced that the universe was infinite and made completely of very small atoms. Also, the cruel and violent manner of Bruno’s death portrayed the church in a very dark, repressive way. Bruno not only was persecuted by the Church for doing nothing wrong except for speaking his mind, but he also is one of the only people that the Church has not fully apologized for. The Church refuses to grant him a Christian pardon because his unorthodox views “went too far”. However, this statue serves as a means to prove that ideas can prevail, even over the attempts by the Church, a powerful influential organization, to stifle them.
The monument of Giordano Bruno is meant to serve as a place of remembrance for Bruno and his bravery in sticking to his beliefs despite all the attempts to extinguish them. Each year, the anniversary celebration is held by the Italian Association for Freethinking to commemorate Giordano Bruno’s death and the principles he died for. Usually, the mayor is invited to give a speech; however, due to fear of displeasing the Catholic hierarchy and political tension, he generally sends a representative to give a speech for him. This speech is so carefully worded and ambiguous that anyone who listens with no prior knowledge will have no idea how Giordano Bruno had died. However, during this commemoration, masons, atheists, pantheists all file into the piazza, claiming that Bruno is their spiritual leader. Although there is still much political tension surrounding the statue, it serves as a place for many unorthodox religious communities to pay tribute to a man who fought for their beliefs—for freedom of thought. Today, the monument is used as a meeting place for rallies for non-religious and religious minority protests. Many people of different religions and beliefs gather in one area to celebrate a man who was committed to his ideas despite the objection of one of the most powerful organizations, the Catholic Church.
Giordano Bruno has been such an influential character in the preservation of freedom of thought that another statue of him has been erected recently in 2008 at Potsdamer Platz station in Berlin, Germany. While this statue, designed by Alexander Polzin, is more abstract and depicts the stretched figure of Bruno standing on his head during his death at the stake, it still serves a similar purpose to the monument in Rome—to honor Bruno and to remind future generations that freedom of thought should not and cannot be buried.
Throughout my research, the element that interested me the most was the extent of the impact that Giordano Bruno’s death had on the freedom of thought. Despite the Church’s attempts to stop Bruno from becoming a martyr, including dumping his body in the Tiber River, he was still remembered and revered for his fight for the freedom to hold one’s own opinion. Even today, atheists and pantheists alike visit his monument and look up to him for making the greatest sacrifice of all for their rights. During our short stay in Rome, we were even able to witness one of these religious minority protests that held their event right in front of the monument. It is no wonder why many still flock to this monument to honor the man who fought to defend the rights of those non-Catholics who couldn’t speak for themselves.
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