February 17, 1600

Rome, Italy February 17, 1600 Rome, the day after Ash Wednesday. A naked man rides a mule through the streets toward the Campo de' Fiori, a leather bridle strapped across his mouth to keep him from shouting heresies to the crowd. Giordano Bruno — philosopher, former Dominican friar, and the man who told the Roman Inquisition that the universe was infinite — is about to be burned alive at the stake for refusing to take it back.Bruno spent sixteen years as a wandering scholar across Europe, dined with kings, debated at Oxford, and proposed ideas about distant suns and alien worlds that wouldn't be proven for four centuries. He also spent seven years in a Roman prison cell, where the Church begged him to recant. He wouldn't.This is the story of the man who chose the fire over the silence. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support. You can pay more if you want to, but rent at the Safe House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require. We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts: If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything! For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular literature, give your ears a treat with PULP MAGAZINES with two new stories every week. This episode includes AI-generated content.