Campanella became a Dominican friar in 1583. In 1589, he went to Naples and published his Philosophia sensibus demonstrata, Philosophy Demonstrated by the Senses. The result of this work was his arrest and imprisonment for heresy. He was released several months later on the condition that he returned to his home, however he ignored this and went to Padua where he met and befriended Galileo. In 1616, Campanella published Apologia pro Galilaeo, a defense of Galileo's work. While in Padua, he was again arrested and sent to Rome for trial, but acquitted. Campanella was also involved in a plot to overthrow the Spanish rule of Calabria in 1599. He was arrested once again, tortured and confessed to his part, however, he was deemed to be insane and sentenced to life in prison, a term that was to cost him 27 years of his life. While in prison, Campanella wrote the City of the Sun (1602), an orthodox Catholic work extolling a virtuous Utopian society. He also produced a 30-volume work entitled Theologica (1613-1614). He was released from prison in 1626, but by 1634 was once again fleeing when another anti-Spanish plot was discovered. He went to France and was welcomed by the court of Louis XIII. During this period he published many of his earlier works and finished Metafisica (1638). |
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