31 moments

1. Birth at Nola

   1548-02-01 · Nola, Campania, Italy

   Bruno was born Filippo Bruno at Nola in the Kingdom of Naples. The source gives February 1548 but not a day.

2. Studies in Naples

   1562-01-01 · Naples, Campania, Italy

   Bruno went to Naples for studies in letters, logic, and dialectic.

3. Entered San Domenico Maggiore

   1565-07-15 · Convent of San Domenico Maggiore, Naples, Campania, Italy

   At seventeen, he entered the Dominican convent of San Domenico Maggiore and adopted the name Giordano.

4. First Mass at Campagna

   1572-01-01 · Church of San Bartolomeo, Campagna, Campania, Italy

   After ordination, Bruno celebrated his first Mass at the Dominican church of San Bartolomeo in Campagna. The source places the ordination after his twenty-fourth birthday and before his return to Naples in the second half of 1572; no day is given.

5. Lodging at Santa Maria sopra Minerva

   1576-02-01 · Basilica and Convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy

   Leaving Naples amid proceedings against him, Bruno reached Rome and lodged at the Dominican convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The biographer qualifies the month as probable.

6. Arrival at Genoa

   1576-04-01 · Genoa, Liguria, Italy

   After leaving Rome, Bruno reached Genoa during his first northern Italian flight. The source dates arrival approximately 15 April 1576.

7. Teaching at Noli

   1576-04-01 · Noli, Liguria, Italy

   Bruno remained at Noli, teaching grammar and astronomy, until early 1577. Arrival followed his approximately 15 April 1576 arrival at Genoa; the exact day at Noli is not stated.

8. Bergamo stop during northern journey

   1578-01-01 · Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy

   On the route from Padua toward Savoy, Bruno went to Bergamo after travelling via Brescia. The itinerary is dated broadly by the source's statement that he left Italy through Savoy in 1578.

9. Stop at Chambéry

   1578-01-01 · Chambéry, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

   After leaving Italy through Savoy, Bruno reached Chambéry before relocating to Geneva. No more precise date is stated.

10. Philosophy teaching at Toulouse

    1579-01-01 · Toulouse, Occitanie, France

    Bruno moved to Toulouse, taught philosophy and astronomy, and obtained a post as a philosophy lecturer. He remained in Toulouse through the summer of 1581; the arrival month is not stated.

11. University enrollment in Geneva

    1579-05-01 · University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    

    Bruno enrolled at the University of Geneva during his brief Calvinist-period residence.

12. Brief stay at Lyon

    1579-09-01 · Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

    After departing Geneva, Bruno spent about a month at Lyon before going to Toulouse. The source marks the September–October dating as probable.

13. Thirty lectures in Paris

    1581-01-01 · Paris, Île-de-France, France

    Leaving Toulouse amid renewed religious conflict, Bruno moved to Paris and gave an extraordinary course of thirty lectures.

14. Residence at Castelnau's London house

    1583-04-01 · Butcher Row, London, England, United Kingdom

    Bruno arrived in England with Henry III's recommendations and took up residence in Michel de Castelnau's household. Coordinates represent the approximate historic site of Butcher Row, where the source says he lived in Castelnau's house.

15. First Oxford visit and public debate

    1583-06-01 · University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom

    Bruno visited Oxford with Albert Łaski and engaged Oxford doctors in a public debate.

16. Ash Wednesday discussion at Whitehall

    1584-02-14 · Whitehall, London, England, United Kingdom

    Bruno was invited to explain his theory of the Earth's motion during a discussion associated with the writing of The Ash Wednesday Supper. The source reports that trial testimony alternatively located the meeting at Castelnau's house.

17. Return to Paris with Castelnau

    1585-10-01 · Paris, Île-de-France, France

    Bruno returned to France in Castelnau's party after his English residence. Castelnau was in Paris by early November; the precise date of Bruno's arrival in the city is not stated.

18. Disputation at the Collège de Cambrai

    1586-05-28 · Collège de Cambrai, Paris, Île-de-France, France

    Bruno held a disputation against Aristotelian natural philosophy at the Collège de Cambrai. Coordinates are an approximate representative point for the former college's Latin Quarter location.

19. Matriculation at Marburg

    1586-07-25 · University of Marburg, Marburg, Hesse, Germany

    After leaving Paris for Germany, Bruno matriculated at the University of Marburg but was denied permission to lecture publicly.

20. Matriculation and lectures at Wittenberg

    1586-08-20 · Leucorea, Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

    Bruno enrolled at Wittenberg, where he taught for roughly two years and published philosophical works.

21. Spring residence in Prague

    1588-01-01 · Prague, Czech Republic

    After departing Wittenberg, Bruno stayed in Prague from spring until early autumn and sought patronage from Rudolf II. The source states that he remained until the beginning of autumn.

22. Registration at Helmstedt

    1589-01-13 · University of Helmstedt, Helmstedt, Lower Saxony, Germany

    Bruno was registered at the Academia Julia in Helmstedt, where he worked until at least April 1590.

23. Carmelite-convent lodging in Frankfurt

    1590-06-01 · Carmelite Monastery, Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany

    Bruno reached Frankfurt to oversee publication of his Latin poetic trilogy and was lodged through printer Johann Wechel at the Carmelite convent. Coordinates represent the historic Carmelite monastery site.

24. Second Frankfurt stay

    1591-01-01 · Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany

    Bruno briefly returned to Frankfurt, published De imaginum, and received Mocenigo's invitation to Venice. The source does not specify the date of this return beyond 1591.

25. Lectures in Zurich

    1591-02-01 · Zurich, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland

    After expulsion from Frankfurt, Bruno took refuge in Zurich and gave lectures on scholastic philosophy. The source gives a date shortly before 13 February.

26. Arrival in Venice

    1591-08-01 · Venice, Veneto, Italy

    Bruno returned to Italy, reaching Venice before the end of August after receiving Giovanni Mocenigo's invitation. The source supports month-level precision only.

27. Geometry lectures in Padua

    1591-09-01 · University of Padua, Padua, Veneto, Italy

    Bruno proceeded to Padua, taught students including Germans, and sought the vacant mathematics chair.

28. Mocenigo residence in Venice

    1592-03-01 · San Samuele, Venice, Veneto, Italy

    After the Padua appointment failed to materialize, Bruno moved into Giovanni Mocenigo's residence in the San Samuele district. Coordinates represent the San Samuele district; the exact Mocenigo residence is not securely identified here.

29. Imprisonment at San Domenico di Castello

    1592-05-23 · San Domenico di Castello, Venice, Veneto, Italy

    Following Mocenigo's denunciation, officials took Bruno to the Venetian Inquisition's prison at San Domenico di Castello. The source states that Mocenigo lodged his formal denunciation on 23 May 1592. Coordinates are approximate for the former complex.

30. Transfer to the Roman Inquisition prison

    1593-02-27 · Palace of the Holy Office, Rome, Italy

    After extradition from Venice, Bruno entered the Holy Office prison in Rome, beginning the Roman phase of his trial. The preceding sentence dates his departure from the Venetian prison to 19 February 1593.

31. Execution at Campo de' Fiori

    1600-02-17 · Campo de' Fiori, Rome, Italy

    

    After seven years of confinement and trial in Rome, Bruno was taken to Campo de' Fiori and burned alive.