Statue of Giordano Bruno (Rome)

 statue, monument

Here in Piazza Campo de' Fiori Giordano Bruno.He is often considered an early 'martyr' for modern scientific ideas, in part because he was burned at the stake as an heretic by secular authorities, after the verdict of the Roman Inquisition.
However, some argue that his actual heresy was his pantheist beliefs about God.
This statue of Giordano Bruno was commissioned by the supporters of the unification of Italy. The sculptor, Ettore Ferrari, was the Grand master of the Grande Oriente d'Italia, the Masonic jurisdiction of Italy, who were strong supporters of the unification of Italy.

On April 20, 1884, Pope Leo XIII published the encyclica Humanum Genus. As a response, the Freemasons decided to create a statue of the pantheist Giordano Bruno. The statue was unveiled on June 9, 1889 at the site where Bruno was burnt at the stake for heresy on February 17, 1600, and Giovanni Bovio made a speech surrounded by about 100 Masonic flags. In October 1890, Pope Leo XIII warned Italy in his encyclical Ab Apostolici before the realization of Freemasonry and called for its dissolution, whose members he called anti-Christian and enemies.[1]

Today, the place is the center of an annual commemoration by atheists