Original subtitles

Long live the Patriarch!

Long live the Republic of Venice!

Long live the heroes of Lepanto!

Long live Saint Mark!

I will also go to Lepanto, to defend the Holy religion and Venice!

The Turks almost cut my arm off and took my eye out!

Those sons of dogs!

It was a real butchery: dead people everywhere,

with their bowels out and their heads cut off,

and blood running on the ground, like a sea of wine.

Go to hell, it's the day of Judgement...

Shut up! He still hasn't finished speaking...

As if everything was accomplished by the captains.

They've forgotten us poor guys,

but we fought there too, not just the wealthy and the heroes.

You should participate in the procession along with the others, then.

Get away.

Look. Look how happy the Patriarch is.

- Kneel down. - Leave him alone.

- Cross yourself. - I will...

Come on, gentlemen! Everybody has their own opinion. He may speak. He may speak.

All right, I crossed myself.

Father Domenico.

Father Domenico.

Why have you come to Venice?

- I want to go back to Rome. - Why have you returned to Italy?

I want to go back to Rome!

You don't realize the risk you're taking.

After the election of Clemente VIII, the situation should be different.

How many people have died at the hands of the Holy Church?

Don't say another word! Do you want to ruin me?

I pity you. And I pity all those that wear robes like yours.

But I care for you.

- Is everything all right, Madam? - A marvellous party, my dear.

Enjoy yourselves, gentlemen.

It's a very popular dance; it's called the cheated men's dance.

- The cuckolds' dance. - "Le ballet des cocus."

The lady chooses a gentleman to dance with.

"La dame choisie un cavalier et danse avec lui."

Then she takes him to a room.

"Et puis elle l'accompagne dans une chambre."

When she comes back, she gives the torch to her husband or lover.

"Quand elle revient, elle donne le flambeau � son mari ou � son amant."

So he knows he's been cheated; he's a cuckold.

"Il sait ainsi qu'il est cocu."

And we know it too.

"Et comme �a nous le savons nous aussi."

Madam...

- As usual, we're late. - But always welcome.

Come, Madam.

As I supposed, coming to Venice was the right thing to do.

Look, a member of the "Council of the Ten": Bragamin.

The one talking to Morosini, is the Polish ambassador.

I was forgetting something... an editor friend of mine asked me

if you are willing to let him publish your new works.

I think it would be appropriate. Certainly, it'd be advantageous...

Are you enjoying your stay at Sir Mocenigo's?

- I'm enjoying staying in Venice. - So, you like our city?

Here, my books are freely available,

and I can go around even more freely.

Who is she?

- Who is she? - She's Morosini's lover.

Gentlemen, my friends,

I want to introduce you to a man that we all know

as both a writer and a philosopher: Giordano Bruno.

You can have a look at a rare beast!

Is it true that you've come here to teach the secrets of magic?

I'm here to learn.

Pussies would stay closed

if they were to wait for my money. They'd get all rusty.

Sir Bruno, you're an admirer of the King of France,

who states he's a protestant, and who might even be an atheist.

It's true: I admire the King of Navarre...

he goes from victory to victory,

and crushes the aristocratic families' parties, which have been drowning France in blood.

But he doesn't take his vengeance...

and instead proclaims religious peace,

after fifty years of war.

He's an enlightened and tolerant prince.

How were you treated abroad?

I've been hated too,

by hypocrites and those people who talk nonsense.

Is he interested only in philosophy, or in politics too, this Bruno?

Philosophy, politics... anything.

These are the secrets of our magic:

being beautiful and loveable,

making our lover happy and being friends with his friends.

Having protection and power. Yes, being loved and knowing how to love.

You've seen those women on the bridges.

They sell their love to merchants and sailors,

and fees are fixed by the Senate.

Being rich and powerful: that's real magic.

Gems, gold and jewels.

People hate you when they look at you.

They see your white skin and they spit.

When I go to Saint Mark's Square, and I pray to the Lord,

I'm addressing the greatest power of all, the power of God,

because I believe in God.

Children have a natural magic,

which they are forced to destroy as they grow up,

so they begin to pray to the Holy Trinity and the Saints,

to the Holy Virgin...

a big, sky-blue Holy Virgin,

all dressed in gold and incense.

We have to learn how to breathe...

in order to realize once more that...

the trees, the rocks...

the animals...

and the whole earth...

have an inner breath...

an inner breath...

just like us.

They have bones,

veins,

flesh,

just like us.

Get out... get out of here!

Get out of my house! You devil!

Get out of here!

Get out! Get out of here!

Get out of here! Out!

Get out of here!

Get out!

I was talking about...

I was talking about the magic of children.

The Madonna of Venice.

Shouldn't he have the right to talk, even though we're stupid and don't understand?

He has the right to talk, hasn't he?

I just wanted to know...

I'd like to know what colour the milk is?

White.

So, when he thinks of milk, he thinks of white.

- And who makes the milk? - The cow.

And what does the cow eat?

Grass.

Meadows, rain,

clouds, the sky,

stars,

universe,

God.

If you wish it so.

Universe,

stars, the sky,

clouds,

rain, meadow,

grass,

moo... cow,

milk.

A living image...

of God.

If you wish it so. Priests have nothing to do with it.

- You mean it all depends on us? - This is blasphemy.

Let's start again.

You should think by association.

There are links between the animal, vegetable and human kingdoms.

Let's go - this isn't the right place.

Let's go.

Look at that man: he has a bird-like face.

And that one looks like a cat.

And there's a mouse.

And that one has the face of an ox, and the temper too.

Let's go, come on. We'd better go.

There are too many faggots in Venice,

so the Most Serene Republic of Venice has decided to employ this cure...

tits. Eagle, ha, ha, ha!

The number of faggots is growing, so... tits, tits, tits,

tits for everybody.

This is too easy: lion.

I know her; she's good.

And she does some very tricky jobs!

Tits kill faggots; tits, tits, tits...

There are those who like tits, those who like asses,

and those who like wine! I do.

Wait, wait. Fish!

Mocenigo, stinky fish.

- Who is he? - A philosopher.

A philosopher, girls.

- You, philosopher... - Get out of here.

He's taught me about the links between men and animals.

What are you talking about?

You, for instance, look like a cow!

- You, instead, would like to be a bull. - For you and the women here,

until I die.

Yes, yes, but without money you can't eat.

Listen, Bruno!

Bruno...

God forgives carnal sins.

Come on.

- I'm sure that all of you... - No kissing.

- and I too, will go to heaven. - Not on the mouth.

Sure. There are two heavens:

one is for respectable people,

those who like to eat, drink and have fun, without hurting anybody,

and they'll go on doing the same things they do here.

Then, there's another heaven for those who beat their chests,

who always try to understand and say a lot of prayers,

and they'll have nothing at all.

It's raining.

Holy water: it's good for the dry land.

Bruno... it's raining!

Souls are pissing down on us, to please us.

Slowly, slowly... or he'll fall into the water.

Wait, wait, I'll bring his coat.

Come, come, master.

Come on, make him stand. Hold him there.

Hold him tight.

Let's go. Tight.

Tight...

Two more steps and we'll be there.

Sir Giovanni, Sir Giovanni,

he got drunk again, worse than ever.

Come and drink, come and drink, come and drink...

When he's invited to a house, he thinks he's in an inn,

then he comes back home at dawn, drunk, like if he were in his own house.

And I pay for it. I hope you enjoyed your visit at the Morosinis?

Yes!

It looks like you don't disdain earthly pleasures, although you're a philosopher.

Who said philosophers should disdain earthly pleasures?

Mocenigo: screw, screw,

have good health and love whoever loves you.

Your philosophy is very easy.

Philosophy is never easy!

- Shut up. - No, stop!

Get out of my house!

I hope you'll be able to teach me your philosophy someday,

- if you have the time. - Slowly, slowly... slowly, slowly!

- You have to make an effort. - An effort?

To get what in exchange?

To get everything or nothing: it depends on how you look at things.

The philosopher, even though he owns nothing, is the master of his own destiny.

He's the master of his own destiny.

I've been taught that the virtue you talk about

grows from faith, and not from philosophy.

I know, my friend, I know...

I know by heart that kind of talk, the one they've always used with us,

in the cradle, in school and then from the pulpit:

be poor in spirit, be humble.

Give up your reason,

turn that dazzling light off, the one that sets your intelligence on fire,

the one that consumes you, because the more you know, the more you'll suffer.

Give up your senses. Be a prisoner of the Holy Faith.

Go on living in your asinine state.

Living like this, is living as if dead!

There are moments when you and your theories scare me.

I'm thinking about the chaos that might ensue if everybody,

even servants, boatmen, the people you wanted to bring into my house,

the poor, start thinking like you want them to.

There are people that live in comfort like you do,

and other men that are forced to tighten their belts,

but all men are equal,

and all men have the right to look straight up...

at the sky, where the sun of truth shines down.

Even boatmen and servants.

I summoned you, Giovanni...

because I'm a friend of yours.

You... can give your protection to anybody,

- but not to an enemy of the Church. - An enemy of the Church?

A misbeliever. Don't tell me you didn't know?

Since I welcomed him into my house,

he hasn't done anything

to justify such a serious charge.

I've heard that he secretly...

- practices black magic. - No, no! I don't believe it.

Do you want me to send him away?

- I'll do it if you order it. - No.

- I'm not giving any orders. - So?

Your business is going well...

but it could go even better.

So...

why are you looking for trouble, Giovanni?

Why are you exposing yourself?

I'm thinking of the sake of your soul.

The salvation of my soul is in your hands.

The cosmos:

one, eternal, infinite,

and Earth is one of the worlds.

And we, living on it,

we, the forms,

turn around the sun, without realizing it.

I don't care about the cosmos, or the movement of the earth.

- For two months I've been... - What...?

I've been feeding you, giving you shelter and paying you.

Go on.

You know the art of prediction, magic...

Everybody has a natural magic inside them,

but black magic is idiots' stuff.

Black or white, you're here to teach me how to read the future.

I want to know how to exert power over someone else...

how to dominate the will of others.

I don't know.

But that's the reason why I made you come here.

Why do you want to dominate the others?

Besides...

you know, sorcery is forbidden. There are serious punishments.

- I'm rich. - Ah.

- I can give you all the money you want. - Eh.

And my protection. You need it.

Wealth.

Wealth... has driven you crazy.

You don't know what nobility and wealth really are.

Nobody's ever dared to talk like that to a Mocenigo!

Forgive me.

Do you want to know your future? Do you want to know what the cards say?

They say that I'm leaving your house.

You can go only after clearing your debts!

I have no debts whatsoever.

Servants, Bortolo, come here immediately!

You must follow me, sir. It's an order from the Holy Venetian Inquisition.

No! Your stuff stays here.

Filippo Giordano Bruno.

- Age? - 44.

44.

- Place of birth? - Nola.

Nola? Where is that?

- Naples, Naples... - Naples, Naples...

- Nola! Not Naples. - Silence!

What are you?

A writer and a philosopher.

Writer and philosopher.

Philosophers and writers are friends with the rich!

The reason for the arrest?

Orders from the Holy Venetian Inquisition.

Good luck, mate.

I'm Graziano da Udine.

Giulio, and Vaia from Naples.

Giovanni Antonio Veronese.

Celestino da Verona, heretic.

I've been put on trial twice.

I've foresworn everything, and now they've caught me again.

What did you do to end up here?

I stumbled upon an idiot.

- Celestino, martyr of faith! - Enough. Enough!

Shut up! Criminals!

They're all ignorant.

Criminals.

They managed to escape from the prisons of the Papal States,

to finally enter the Venetian ones.

And now, Rome wants them back.

I think that Venice

will give nobody back.

They won't, right? Here's the prophet!

Look at the prophet!

- Look at him! - Leave him alone.

Among the monks!

How long was he a guest in your house?

- For two months. - Why did you invite him?

I'd been told that he's a savant,

and that he could teach the art of memory.

- Why did you report him? - My conscience forced me to.

And my confessor ordered me to.

I understand; this justifies your report.

But, of course, it doesn't acquit you from having let him into your house.

As soon as I realized that he wasn't a good catholic,

but rather a misbeliever, I amended my error.

And you...

you...

Are you a good catholic, Sir Mocenigo?

Did you want Bruno to teach you the magic arts?

No... no.

Not magic, but the art of memory.

Tell me everything, then.

The blasphemies you've heard, the sins he's committed,

and those that you're aware of.

The heresies that he pronounced in front of you.

He said bad things about our Lord Jesus Christ.

- And you? - Me?

I crossed myself and told him: "shut up, you devil, or you'll end up in hell".

And he laughed and told me: "what, do you still believe in hell"?

And I told him that he was worse than a Lutheran.

Lutherans believe in eternal damnation.

But he doesn't. That's why I said worse.

He laughed and said: "good,

"go ahead and wait for the day of Judgement, when everybody will rise again,

"and you'll get such a nice surprise!"

Because he believes, instead, that eternity means

that life never ends, and that souls go eternally

- from body to body. - When did he say all this?

The other day.

They want you.

Twenty-five years ago, in Naples,

I had just celebrated my first Mass,

when I was put on trial twice.

The first time, when I removed all the pictures of the Saints from the Dominican convent,

where I had been staying since I was fourteen.

I removed all the pictures of the Saints, leaving only the crucifix.

The second time, when I told a novice,

who was reading "The Seven Joys of the Holy Virgin",

to throw that book away and read books about the lives of our Holy Fathers.

I was put on trial twice and I fled to Rome,

hoping that I would get justice from the General of the Order,

but I didn't.

So, I abandoned my robe and religious life.

To earn a living, I started teaching the art of memory

to children, in Noli, in Liguria.

I went to Turin,

then I followed the river Po, and came for the first time to Venice,

where I spent almost a month.

I lived in the house of a workingman...

- A workingman? - ...whose name I can't recall.

The plague made me leave Venice and then Padova.

I crossed the Alps and reached Geneva, ruled by the Calvinists.

But I didn't want to submit to their religion,

so I went to Toulouse, where I stayed two years, teaching at the University.

Religious and civil wars made me flee to Paris,

where the king, Henry III, asked me to teach him the art of memory.

After five years of teaching at the Sorbonne,

and new civil wars and slaughters, I fled to London,

where Queen Elizabeth honoured me, by showing me her esteem.

Later, in Prague, Rudolf II von Habsburg - a good monarch,

protector of the sciences -

gave me 300 thalers for one of my geometric works.

At the Frankfurt Book Fair,

I received an invitation to come here, from Sir Giovanni Mocenigo.

To Venice.

Why didn't you tell him that you fled from Toulouse overnight...

because you were screwing the University Chancellor's wife?

You must remember every word:

what they ask and what you answer.

He didn't even say his name when he came in here!

Shut up!

And then? What did they ask you?

- Then a whole series of questions... - But I recognized him right away.

I had been hearing about this charlatan for many years...

Let him talk!

Then a whole series of catechism questions.

The Holy Trinity, the Saints, the Virgin Mary.

They treat us like children.

They're right: we're guilty. Outside the Church we're at fault,

outside the Church we're mistaken!

All this while the world is torn apart by wars of religion.

- A hundred years of continuous slaughter. - What would you like to do?

Reform the world? Get back to Paris if you want to preach like that,

go back to England. You don't care about men anyway!

You hurt him.

Monsignore, what should I tell the Sea Captain,

who's here to take Giordano Bruno into his custody?

Tell him to wait at the harbour, and be ready to set sail at any time.

He's a devil.

The story of his journeys is a bunch of lies.

We well know that he had contacts with the French court,

the English and German courts - it wasn't a matter of �the art of memory�.

He only remembers the things that suit him.

We've listened to a long streak of senseless words.

Venice has been taking it easy with the enemies of religion.

In a hundred years, there have been 1500 faith trials,

and only 5 death sentences.

While in Rome, in five years, they've killed 5000 people.

Monsignor Nunzio, in Rome you are too keen on burning.

Let's not forget that, until now,

all the witnesses summoned against Bruno have testified in his favour.

We have only Mocenigo's accusation.

You know the canonical law: Unus testis, nullus testis. [One witness, no witness]

Blessed Patriarch,

the Roman Inquisition wants Giordano Bruno to be put on trial in Rome.

I don't see why in Rome?

He's been arrested in Venice, after the accusation of a Venetian nobleman.

We have enough courts, jails,

and even wood, to build a fire and the gallows, if needed.

We wish to judge if a man is guilty or not using our own heads,

and not someone else's.

So, I kindly advise you...

- to send the ship back. - The ship?

It would just stay here and wait for too long.

We'll see what they think of this in Rome.

"In Italy things are not the same as in some foreign countries,

"where, due to the coldness of the climate or the coldness of the people,

"men who go with women are persecuted.

"In our cities, not only whores are allowed,

"or courtesans, if you wish..."

"Do you hear him? This man is praising our cities

"because there are brothels and disreputable ladies."

"Please, listen to me. Not only...

"whores are allowed by city laws,

"but the brothels are regularly established

- "as nunneries." - "This is a nice one:

"this man would like brothels to be included

"in one of the 400 minor orders or one of the 4 major ones,

"and maybe to have a mother superior in every whorehouse!"

That's enough!

"Il Candelaio",

a comedy in five acts by Giordano Bruno.

You've heard with your own ears his obscene and unholy language.

But that's a playful work, Eminence.

Maybe we'd better judge the man...

- from his most significant works. - Those are even worse!

"Il Candelaio" offends only our decency.

His other works offend our religious conscience.

I bet that Bruno has never amused himself more

- than with the Venetian judges. - We know about the environment in Venice.

The inquisition is controlled by the Council of the Ten and the Doge.

Venice is a nest of vipers:

all the heretics of Europe get together in Saint Mark's Square.

Why don't you write the announcement, to put the Patriarch under pressure?

Does he want to defy the College of Cardinals? Does he want to oppose the Pope?

Besides, there's still the old matter of the fugitives.

But I don't think we should start a conflict with the Venetian Church.

I'd rather deal directly with the Republic.

It's a city of merchants, and with merchants you can always find an agreement.

Let's offer something in exchange.

For instance?

Speak freely: Orsini is a trustworthy young man.

So?

For instance, some prebend

for the most important families.

I'm sure the Doge wouldn't be displeased.

They're sending the criminals to Rome.

They're sending them to Rome, to Rome!

Father Giordano -

you said that Venice wouldn't yield.

They'll soon take you away too.

I confess my errors.

Maybe I've made some mistakes and strayed from the Holy Church,

but I'm here to repent.

I'm here to receive the remedy.

I confess my errors.

And I humbly ask God, and all of you to forgive me.

I'm ready to receive whatever is decided by you,

and deemed helpful for my soul.

Moreover, I even ask you to inflict a severe punishment on me,

but not to make me foreswear in public,

because it would only bring dishonour to these clothes I'm wearing.

If God's mercy and your mercy grant me freedom,

I promise I'll change my conduct.

And I promise I will make up for the scandal I've caused,

with similar edification.

You foreswore.

You were afraid.

Bruno, I understand you.

I know that all of this has already happened to you.

But fear is madness - I foreswore in order to still be able to think...

in order to still be able to act.

This is what an abjuration is worth.

That Bruno still hasn't stopped giving me trouble.

They want him in Rome, to burn him at the stake.

We already did everything we could possibly imagine...

to please the Holy See regarding the fugitives,

but it doesn't seem to have been enough.

I don't understand why we take this matter so seriously?

Who's this Bruno? Is he a relative of one of our families?

Is he a Foscari, a Dandolo, a Bragadin?

What I know is that he's a kind of farmer,

who studied in a monastery, and who now professes to be a philosopher and a magician.

The Pope wants him: let's deliver him to Rome.

It's not like delivering him to the Turks, I think.

No, no. Bruno is not a common criminal, like the fugitives.

All the eyes of the world are on us.

Why should it be my decision? What's the role of the Senate, then?

Sure, I think we're getting over-concerned:

it's a simple matter, instead. The Senate will make a decision.

It's beautiful.

Thank you.

Is it true that they want him in Rome?

You remember your last invitation...

"Tomorrow I will have a celebration in honour of Giordano Bruno,

"a philosopher known all across Europe."

You were proud to show him off to your friends,

and to everybody else hanging around your house.

What are you going to do for him now?

I went to the courthouse and I testified in his favour.

I exposed myself without reserve.

You are a Morosini.

You're powerful; nobody can touch you.

And you have the courage to tell those mummies at the Senate

that it would be an infamy, a scandal, to deliver him to Rome.

Be careful: sooner or later we'll pay for these things.

It would be a shame for Venice.

You'll see:

we will judge and decide rightly, according to our laws.

What has made our Republic so powerful?

Our courage, our determination in fighting any abuse.

Remember what happened 50 years ago.

Another Pope had excommunicated the whole city of Venice,

but we resisted

and the excommunication was withdrawn.

But who will remove from us the mark of Pontius Pilatus,

if we deliver Bruno to his persecutors?

This is the question you are supposed to answer, gentlemen.

I'm telling you that if Venice delivers Bruno into the hands of the monks in Rome,

we'll be drowning in shit, up to here.

You shouldn't laugh. You don't understand.

If a man is free, he lives here as a free man. That's right,

but if a man is free and is sent away, to a place where there's no freedom,

then that means that there's no freedom here either. Not in Venice either!

- They say he's a sorcerer. - Virgin Mary!

Yes, yes. He's a sorcerer. One of my neighbours told me.

Yes, yes. I've heard it too. It's true.

Before coming to a conclusion,

I kindly ask you to consider the consequences that our refusal

to deliver Bruno could have, regarding...

- our relations with the Holy See,... - It's wrong, but let him speak!

- since they have the right to ask for it! - It's wrong, but let him speak...

Twenty years ago, in Padova,

there was a case involving a certain Pomponio Algerico,

I think that was his name...

They say that people would eat garlic when they saw him,

because the devil protected him.

The guards! The guards!

Voters: 172 For: 142

Against: 10 Abstentions: 20.

The Senate decides by majority...

that Giordano Bruno be delivered to the Holy Roman Inquisition.

JUDAS

Scoundrels! Swine!

Sons of dogs! Scoundrels!

The whole of nature is ruled by a deep harmony.

Invisible lines

link small earthly things

like, for instance, the power of men,

to the stars,

to the infinite worlds that we don't yet know.

The moon causes the tides

and women's menstruation.

The life or death of plants depend on the sun,

as does the alternation of the seasons,

and even the life or death of men.

To a new vision of the universe,

we must associate a new vision of man.

We must associate a new vision of man.

If the earth goes around the sun,

as the other planets go around the sun,

if other suns, solar systems, exist, all around the universe,

if this is true - and it is true -

then God is not up above us, outside the world,

but everywhere, in any living or inert particle of matter.

God is matter itself.

Out, out all these pedants!

They've turned the Sorbonne into an ignorance workshop.

We want a free philosophy, a free scientific research.

While you impose your desire of supremacy,

we want thought and science to be free

from any religious, civil or academic authority.

You want to suffocate any expressions of the spirit.

This way...

This way, bigots and pedants may be chased away forever

from the Sorbonne and from every University. Amen, amen, amen.

This University, with limited access, is unfair.

Chairs should be given to men who seek knowledge, not to those who use dogmas.

Desks should be available for anybody who loves science.

A real free teaching,

a society in which manual work and thought

are honoured equally.

Only in this way may the homo novus [new man] be born.

Father Giordano Bruno from Nola...

you're accused of apostasy,

of heresy,

of blasphemous teachings against religion,

of conspiring against the Church and against the Pope.

This court, which wishes to judge you fairly,

invokes upon itself the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.

You may ask for a defender.

I claim to know the art of dialectics:

I'd rather defend myself.

It's your right.

In Venice, I foreswore my errors,

I made an act of contrition for my sins.

Shouldn't there be a sentence, instead of a new trial?

You cannot ask any questions.

We're the ones who will question you.

I remember the despicable comedy of your abjuration.

The inquisition of Venice was falling for your trap.

Besides the old statements, foresworn by the accused in Venice,

there are more, against faith, taken from his books.

I claim to be a philosopher, not a theologian.

I've always been interested in morals and science, not in faith.

But this has not stopped you

from setting yourself up against our holy religion.

I've always tried to study only philosophy.

What about your assertions regarding the Holy Trinity?

And regarding hell?

Well, I'll admit it: I've never understood

what it means to talk about three different beings;

what it means when we say that the Holy Spirit is a third "person".

I cannot conceive it as a person.

I have to say that not even the Gospels, nor Saint Augustine,

ever used this term.

The devils, hell...

where souls are forever damned.

Well, I admit it: according to reason, I can't understand it.

But according to Catholic Truth?

This question implies that there are two different truths:

a Catholic one, and a philosophical one.

There's only one truth:

the one revealed by God and kept in custody by the Holy Church.

Ask me some questions, then.

Specific ones.

From a careful reading of your works

what stands out, in the first place, is a charge for sorcery.

You have stated that Moses was a magician, along with our Lord Jesus Christ.

A natural magic exists, and it reflects and reveals the divine order of nature.

Father Giordano,

have you thought about what a sentence for sorcery would mean?

Do you realize what would happen?

We are here to help you,

but you must give us some proof of your good faith.

You have stated that our Lord Jesus Christ was hanged

and not crucified, that he didn't want to die, and that he died against his will,

that he was a sad person,

and that he used to perform miracle-like acts to seduce the people.

You have written:

"All incomes for convents and priests must be revoked,

"because they make the world filthy."

You have written:

"Priests should get married, because it's a shame

"for the Church to regard as sin such a wonderful gift of nature."

You have written: "no existing religion

"is good, because each of them is equally an instrument of power,

"and drives men to fratricidal fighting and bloody wars."

Yes, I have written this. But the other things... not like this.

You have written: "The Catholic Church uses procedures

- "that are not those of the Apostles." - Not like this, not like this!

"Because the Apostles used preaching and good examples to convert,

- "while now you..." - No, no, no! No, not like this!

This way, you don't allow me to defend myself.

I have written!

I've written many books.

I've stated my ideas inside of them, making good arguments for them.

You now contest some of my assertions,

some sentences taken here and there from my writings,

in order to twist their meaning and turn them against me.

- Enough! - You should rather take into account

the whole body of my works.

I'm ready to discuss them with every scholar of the Church,

if that's what you really want.

- You may go now, thank you. - Your Holiness.

We have carefully read these written records.

Father Tragagliolo,

we think we have well understood the case.

If the Holy Roman Inquisition

is firmly decided on bringing Bruno to the stake,

they will have to use some more accurate proceedings

than the Holy Venetian Inquisition.

We'd like to ask you to inform Cardinal Sartori about the matter,

since he devoted himself so much to transferring the case to Rome,

our doubts notwithstanding.

Your Holiness,

I beg you to state your wishes.

We ask you to help us not to be mistaken.

That's all.

We don't like jails and stakes. And we have a strange foreboding...

Remember that this is the first trial for heresy, and an important one,

to be held under our pontificate.

We wish to be informed daily of the proceedings.

You've been at the service of the Lutherans in Germany and the Calvinists in Geneva,

and you've been sent away both times.

Your doctrinal errors hide other objectives.

You have conspired for the interests of the King of France, the king of Navarre.

I've never met the King of Navarre.

And weren't you friend and confident to his predecessor,

the late King Henry III?

I could only answer to the Pontiff, in private audition.

I could only answer to the Pontiff, in private audition.

Henry of France sent you to the court of England,

in order to support new alliances against Rome! Against the Pope!

I went to England to study.

I spent my time discoursing with scholars in Oxford.

I went to England to study.

I spent my time discoursing with scholars in Oxford.

What was the reason for your contacts with the European monarchs?

You have founded a sect, the sect of the Giordanists,

and you've appointed yourself leader of said sect.

What was its purpose?

Find only one member of this sect and bring him into this courtroom.

Find only one member of this sect and bring him into this courtroom.

Why did you go to Germany?

Why did you go to England?

How is it possible that there's no other witnesses to be found,

- besides the Mocenigo? - We're confident that we'll find others.

Who did you get in contact with?

What was your political mission?

There's only one way. We need to question him using the right method.

Giordano Bruno, I urge you once more:

don't persist with your errors and denials.

In doing so, you will lose your soul...

and force us to employ all the severity

required by the laws of the Holy Inquisition.

You must confess thoroughly, and without reserve.

Repent; give up your pride.

Be humble, before God and the Church.

What kind of reforms did you want to suggest for the Church?

I'll speak... only...

to...

Clemente... VIII.

To the stake! To the stake!

Bruno, Bruno, don't go! Stop!

The witch! The witch!

No, no, no!

No... no! No!

No! No!

You wretch! You filthy bitch! You are our ruin!

No! No! No!

No! No! No!

You denied the divinity of Christ.

You've said terrible things about our Lord.

You denied the Holy Trinity.

You refuse to acknowledge the authority of the College of Cardinals.

You have accused the Church of corruption and ignorance.

You refuse to obey.

You renounced the holy vows.

You renounced your religious order.

Have you told any falsehoods

or lies in your deposition...

for fear of torture, prison or anything else?

Did you hide the truth?

Stay still. You must try to sleep.

You must not move if you feel pain, otherwise it's worse.

I'll try to bring you something tomorrow.

What kind of man is he?

Certainly, he's a scholar.

He has a wide knowledge of philosophy, astronomy, the art of memory,

medicine, natural sciences and theology.

How did he endure the interrogation?

He denied for a while,

then he shut himself up, in deep concentration.

As if he were praying?

Perhaps.

As if what they were doing to his body

didn't concern him.

He seemed to be drifting away...

from us, from the judges, from everything.

All those that have seen the Saints suffer and die for their faith...

have used those same words, Tragagliolo.

Maybe this trial is a big mistake.

- Your Holiness... - What do you think of this reform,

the one that Bruno is suggesting?

Your Holiness must know better than anyone else what should be thought of it.

The Church is facing serious choices; our heart is very troubled.

Many times, when I cannot sleep,

I question myself and I ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten me.

Your Holiness, tell me what to do

and I will carry out your orders faithfully.

Come on, stand up.

One of his sentences struck me:

"I will speak only to Clemente VIII."

Bruno...

Bruno...

I'm Francesco Pucci - do you remember me?

In England, at Oxford.

They're catching us all, one after another.

I've been dragged from prison to prison.

I've been hoping for a change for years.

Instead, there's been a sentence.

I've already been judged.

Heretic. Recidivist.

You know what it means.

We try to serve the truth,

but that's a crime that they don't forgive.

Get some rest, Bruno: try to build your strength up.

God knows if you'll need it.

Who are you? Who are you?

Who are you?

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

Your Eminence,

Monsignor Roberto Belarmino is humbly asking you to meet him.

Yes, I'm coming.

- Massimiliano. - Yes, Eminence.

Long live Cardinal Sartori.

Eminence.

Amen.

No, no.

I guess... it's about Bruno?

He's bewitched you too, hasn't he?

It seems that this stake is very hard to set on fire.

What are you trying to tell me?

I must admit that I'm very troubled

by this trial.

We're facing a very rigorous man.

He's a scientist, a philosopher; he's admired everywhere in Europe.

Certainly.

We can say that you've already gained your cardinal robe,

your young age notwithstanding.

So, I'm almost telling this to a colleague: according to my experience,

Bruno is the worst heretic I've ever met,

since I've been appointed defender of the faith.

I have to say that there are others, even in the College of Cardinals,

- that share my concerns. - I'll talk to them.

You should begin with the Holy Father.

The Pope is only asking to be convinced of the rightness of this cause.

If I had only one half of your intelligence,

I'm sure that at the last conclave...

Pope Sartori would have been elected, instead of Aldo Brandini.

But you'd make good use of a little bit of my character.

You think I'm gross and brutal, don't you?

The truth is that the Church needs...

heads like yours for its doctrines,

and a fist like mine for its defence.

We can't take any chances, you know that.

Unfortunately, one man alone

may hurt us more than an army of barbarians.

Remember Luther.

- Mater potentissima. [All-powerful Mother.] - Ora pro nobis. [Pray for us.]

- Mater purissima. - Ora pro nobis.

- Mater castissima. - Ora pro nobis.

- Mater Immacolata. - Ora pro nobis.

- Mater Intemerata. - Ora pro nobis.

- Mater boni consili. - Ora pro nobis.

- Virgo Clemens. - Ora pro nobis.

- Virgo fidelis. - Ora pro nobis.

- Speculum iustitiae. - Ora pro nobis.

- Sedes sapientiae. - Ora pro nobis.

- Causa nostrae laetitiae. - Ora pro nobis.

- Vas spirituale. - Ora pro nobis.

- Vas Honorabile. - Ora pro nobis.

- Vas insigne devotionis. - Ora pro nobis.

- Rosa mystica. - Ora pro nobis.

- Turris Davidica. - Ora pro nobis.

- Turris Eburnea. - Ora pro nobis.

- Domus Aurea. - Ora pro nobis.

- Federis arca. - Ora pro nobis.

- Janua coeli. - Ora pro nobis.

- Stella mattutina. - Ora pro nobis.

- Salus infirmorum. - Ora pro nobis.

- Refugium peccatorum. - Ora pro nobis.

- Consolatrix Afflictorum. - Ora pro nobis.

Look carefully, Giordano.

Look carefully.

And you wish to separate the Church from its sons?

Why have you broken away from the Church?

Why have you left your order?

With your intelligence,

and your knowledge,

you could have been a Cardinal.

But you have no humility, Giordano.

Have you called me here to your house

to judge my character?

So, you've travelled all around Europe only to understand that,

after all, the Catholic religion is the one you like the most?

Even though it needs new rules - that's what you said.

A reform to pull all of Christianity together.

Isn't this what you wanted to suggest?

Isn't it?

Your persistent demand for a direct dialogue with the Pope

is causing only irritation to your judges.

The Church has its hierarchy,

its structure.

You can't defy an order that's lasted for centuries,

without damaging your own cause.

Today, the Church is only an instrument of conservation.

The Church lives in history;

it is history.

These times demand great strength and resolution.

And even cruelty... but time goes on, and the Church lives on.

So, you persecute all those that ask for a freedom

- that you're not willing to give? - That we cannot give.

The Church is torn apart by endless schisms, everywhere.

Germany, England,

Scandinavia, Switzerland, and now even Flanders.

The kings challenge us.

The kings have learned from the Church

how to use faith as an instrument of power.

So, each state aims to institute its own religion.

This is why we are forced to defend ourselves so severely.

Defend yourselves? How? Using Spain,

which preserves the purity of the faith by burning Arabs and Jews by the thousand?!

Spain is the most faithful daughter of Christianity,

our barrier against all heresies.

Using Spain!

Today, the Catholic Church...

is ploughing a deep furrow...

that divides Europe.

The duty of the Church is to defend the integrity of its principles

and fight heresy in any form.

Whoever defies the power of the Church, is an enemy...

an enemy of the Holy Faith.

Please, let them take me back to my cell.

The nights in the prison of San Domenico di Castello were long.

Bruno couldn't get any sleep.

He kept on talking and talking.

He drew magical signs in the air.

He used to be delirious.

When he went mad,

you could see hell in his eyes...

the devil itself!

Then he assumed a mocking tone,

and he started speaking against God!

Against the Church!

Against the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition.

- And then? - Then...

as others can confirm,

I heard the worst blasphemies coming from him.

That's right.

Write it down: I'll tell you everything.

"And he told me more than once

"that the Church is a shop where only heresies are sold.

"He told me that all the wealth of the priests should be given to the poor.

"And then he told me

"that when he foreswore in Venice, it was only a joke,

"in order to get out of prison and be able to go to Rome,

"and talk with the Pope."

You're an unrepentant sinner and a rebel. You're almost in the hands of your executioner;

think about your children.

If you aid justice, you will save your soul, and maybe you will avoid execution.

Close the cells!

I want to know the names! The names!

This is a copy of the written records, with the charges

that have become apparent after hearing new depositions against you.

How can we defend ourselves, if we don't know the names of those who are accusing us?

According to procedure,

the Holy Office is bound to keep the witnesses' names secret,

in order to avoid any vengeance coming from the heretics.

We don't give a fuck about your procedures!

We want to know the names of those who are accusing us!

The names, the names, the names, the names!

Here's that young man who wants to talk to you.

Only a few minutes. Go.

I wanted to meet you.

I've read many of your books.

I've read them by command of my superiors.

We're carrying out an analysis of your works.

This work has been assigned by the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition.

You have written:

"Magic is the power to multiply, using the arts, computation and symbols,

"our mastery of the world."

You have written:

"Men are not like bees or ants,

"always repeating the same acts. They build their knowledge

"and may invent and communicate their inventions.

"Memory, for man, is not only repetition, but also acquisition of new knowledge."

You have written:

"The arts, science, work...

"will greatly increase man's power,

"and man will need the right philosophy for this kind of development.

"All men, not only the philosopher."

I've decided to wear this robe because I firmly believe.

You should see how your ideas travel, in Italy and in Europe.

Not only among us, but also among the people, the youngsters and the peasants.

Maybe that's why they hate you so much.

Maybe now my abjuration would be enough for them?

Abjuration may also mean

taking a long path that drives you away from God.

Bruno, Bruno...

look: they're coming.

In nomine Domine, amen. [In the name of the Lord, amen.]

These are Jews and Christians.

The old man is Carranza, Archbishop of Toledo.

He spent 15 years in prison, first in Valladolid,

then in Rome, at Castel Sant'Angelo.

...nevertheless, we decree that neither you, nor your descendants,

until the seventh degree, may occupy public offices.

Heretics, kneel down.

Bartolomeo Carranza,

are you ready to reject your sins

and make an act of repentance,

obedience, remission?

Kneel down! Kneel down!

Your Holiness, the water is rising and it's submerging whole districts.

The Romans are terrified.

Besides hunger, and the fury of the river,

they fear the new plague brought by mice.

We're doing everything we can.

Looters who steal from abandoned houses are executed in-situ.

Appeasing services are held many times a day in Churches.

Governor, why didn't you say "in empty Churches"?

Nobody attends them any more.

The priests are left alone.

Your Holiness,

the people see the flood as a sign of the wrath of God,

caused by our weakness towards the enemies of the faith.

You can go now, Monsignori.

Take all the measures that you deem necessary,

and take my blessing and my comfort to the people.

Many times we have envied you, Sartori.

You never have any doubts.

I must confess, I don't understand, Your Holiness.

Too many executions. The people can't bear the gallows any more.

We can't afford to loosen our severity.

Otherwise, the people will raise their heads, and start making decisions by themselves.

The reign of terror is certainly not the reign of God.

Your Holiness,

I can see that some of Giordano Bruno's ideas have reached

even the Apostolic Palace.

- Are you accusing the Pope of heresy? - No.

I didn't say that.

I didn't say that.

If Bruno is capable of troubling even the soul of the Holy Pontiff,

that's another valid reason to send him to the stake.

It's easy to start a fire, but sometimes it's difficult to put it out.

I'm afraid that this stake will burn for centuries.

Are we talking about a trial for heresy, or a beatification?

Furthermore, for a living person.

The Holy Inquisition has enough evidence.

What if those three heretics didn't tell the truth?

If they lied to save themselves?

I heartily beg Your Holiness to think it over.

During the holy year, pilgrims will come to Rome from everywhere.

What will we offer them?

Our doubts and our conflicts...

or better, an everlasting memory of our justice?

You Holiness, think about the times we're living in.

Nowadays, kings are not safe in their kingdoms, princes tremble in their fiefdoms,

and even merchants in their houses.

The purpose of Bruno's philosophy is to destroy any form of government.

If we want to prevent a revolt, there's only one way:

to eradicate evil at its roots. We must execute Bruno.

That man must live.

Yes, yes, he must live.

And not die at the stake, like a martyr.

He must live, because he must destroy his ideas by himself,

by publicly foreswearing them.

You won't succeed.

You won't succeed!

- From our thoughts... - From our thoughts...

- remove... - remove...

- the scorpion of fraud... - the scorpion of fraud...

- the eagle of arrogance... - the eagle of arrogance...

- the fish of unworthy silence... - the fish of unworthy silence...

- the lion of tyranny. - the lion of tyranny.

- Let's move away from men... - Let's move away from men...

- this night of horror... - this night of horror...

- Mater potentissima. - Ora pro nobis.

- Mater purissima. - Ora pro nobis.

- Mater castissima. - Ora pro nobis.

No, no, I confess! I want to foreswear publicly!

I admit all my faults! I foreswear my sins!

I proclaim my act of obedience!

No!

I don't want to die! No!

Father Giordano, they're killing me!

They're killing me!

I betrayed you!

I made false statements under oath, because they promised me they'd let me live!

Bruno, Bruno, forgive me!

They made me do it!

Forgive me!

- Insigne devotionis. - Ora pro nobis.

- Rosa mystica. - Ora pro nobis.

God, receive my soul.

Receive me.

Who's giving them the right to kill?

Not God.

The Holy Office is divided.

Someone will offer you a possibility to save yourself.

Don't refuse it.

Don't despise life.

Don't think that I despise life, or that I'm afraid.

Against the bloody madness of death,

nature screams loudly

that matter, in all forms, must not fear death,

because matter and form are eternal principles.

The eternity of everything includes the universe,

and the seasons,

and days and nights.

And it's everything...

and everyone.

Everywhere, in all places.

I love life.

Give up your pride.

Not everybody wants your death.

The committee appointed by this tribunal

has finished its careful examination of Bruno's writings,

and the second reading of all written records of the interrogation.

I ask His Holiness for permission to proceed with the reading

of the conclusions.

I suggest that Giordano Bruno be allowed to speak,

in case he wishes to make any declaration of principle.

We want the death of sin, not the sinner's.

We have come to the decision to leave aside many charges,

and summarize the others in eight statements,

that we definitely believe to be heretic.

You have written against the Pope and the Catholic Church.

You have doubted Mary's virginity.

You have denied the transubstantiation of the flesh.

You have asserted that Christ wasn't God's son, but only a magician.

You have asserted the existence of countless and eternal worlds,

and that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

You have stated your belief in reincarnation, and not in hell.

You have stated that even the devils will be saved.

You have stated that magic is legitimate,

and that even the Apostles and the prophets were magicians.

These are the same statements

that you have already foresworn before the Venetian Inquisition,

and that we urge you to retract,

solemnly and publicly,

in the Church of Santa Maria della Minerva.

You may take your time to decide.

You are being given forty days to think it over.

May God enlighten you.

You haven't been eating nor drinking for many days,

your lips are so dry that they're all chapped.

Why are you doing this?

My kingdom is divided.

The kingdom of France is torn apart by religious wars.

Catholics and Huguenots slaughter each other. The aristocracy is divided.

After fifty years of wars,

this nation needs an enlightened and just prince.

Proclaim religious peace.

Many support this decision, not only among the French.

Spain threatens this peace.

In the name of the catholic religion, they want to dominate the world.

Then, ally yourself with Henry III. Forget religious differences,

and firmly bind the kingdom of England to the kingdom of France.

It is possible for Catholics, Protestants, and people of any religion,

to live together in peace.

I think that a king can rule,

regardless of any religious disputes.

Then, politicians must not be

instruments in the hands of religion,

because this would mean bad government.

A state allowing religion to rule would be senseless.

I want to be remembered as a good Christian king.

Father Giordano Bruno, you've had enough time to think.

This tribunal wants to know your answer

to its generous offer.

When I said that

the procedures used by the Church

are not those of the Apostles,

because the Church uses power instead of love...

when I said that, I wasn't wrong.

When I said...

that my philosophy

supports free research and not dogma,

I wasn't wrong.

I was wrong...

when I thought that I could ask the Church

to fight a whole system

built on superstition,

ignorance and violence.

I was wrong...

I,

when I thought that I could reform the human condition,

with the help of one prince or another.

I've tried many times...

what an humiliation!

Henry III of France... blood!

Elizabeth of England... blood!

Rudolf II von Habsburg... blood!

And even the monarch

who claims to sit above all,

but who's not among us tonight...

blood!

What an humiliation...

asking those in power

to reform power.

How naive of me.

You wanted my confession: you've had it.

It's the confession...

of a defeat.

What did he say?

These are the records of the hearing, Your Holiness.

What is Your Holiness' decision?

We wish the case to be closed and a sentence to be pronounced,

as soon as possible.

Leave me alone, now.

There he is!

Eminence, he's coming.

Gentlemen, Bruno's coming.

Apostolic Notary, Sir, do you have a sentence?

- Yes, Eminence. - Do you have two witnesses with you?

Yes, Eminence:

Francesco Pietrasanta and Father Benedetto Mandina.

Are you, Giordano Bruno, ready to hear the sentence

pronounced against you by the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition?

You may proceed.

Today, the 8th of February, 1600,

year of the jubilee,

we state, pronounce, decree, sentence you, Giordano Bruno,

as an unrepentant, persistent and obstinate heretic,

thus incurring ecclesiastic censorship,

and the punishments provided for by the holy canons,

and as such, we verbally degrade you from all major and minor orders,

and we expel you from our ecclesiastic forum

and from our Holy Immaculate Church,

whose mercy you have not deserved.

Moreover, we condemn and forbid

all your books and writings as heretic and erroneous,

and we order them to be burned and destroyed in public,

in Saint Peter's Square, before the Holy Steps,

and that they be added to the Index of forbidden books.

We deliver you to the Governor of Rome, in order for you to suffer your due punishments,

though effectively praying him

to take care of your person,

and not to suffer any flesh nor limb mutilation.

You are more afraid than me.

According to procedure, the sentence has been read...

- What did he say? - I didn't understand, madam. - ...before the accused, in Cardinal Madruzzi's house,

...placed in Navona Square, by notary Flaminio Adriano,

and this is confirmed by the witnesses,

Francesco Pietrasanta and Father Benedetto Mandina...

You are more afraid than me.

... who sign the written records, after having certified...

its compliance to what has been decided by this Tribunal.

You are more afraid than me.

What did he say?

You are more afraid than me.

He said: "you are more afraid than me".

He said: "you are more afraid than me".

It's been a beautiful ceremony,

but... how should I interpret this encouragement to clemency?

That's not clear.

If I have to burn him at the stake, why don't you say so?

Or if I have to spare him, why don't you say so instead?

Governor,

from the moment when the Holy Office delivers the prisoner

to the secular powers, our task has ended.

Ecclesia ab horret a sanguine. [The Church loathes blood.]

You will do as your conscience suggests.

"Tomorrow, you will have the chance to attend the public show

"of the solemn execution of a Dominican from Nola,

"persistent heretic, that last Wednesday, in the house of Cardinal Madruzzi,

"was sentenced as the author of sacrilegious statements,

"assertions that he subsequently continued to support,

"and still does, although every day theologians pay him visits.

"They say that this monk,

"has been to Geneva, Toulouse,

"Lyon, Paris and England,

"and then to Germany,

"from whence he returned to Italy and was then arrested.

"They say that he has disputed many times with Cardinal Belarmino.

"The poor fellow, if God doesn't help him..."

- Mater potentissima. - Ora pro nobis.

...persistent heretic,

will be burned... in Campo dei Fiori Square...

- Mater Immacolata. - Ora pro nobis.

- Mater intemerata. - Ora pro nobis.

- Mater boni consili. - Ora pro nobis.

...priests, Jesuits, Popes...

- Virgo prudentissima. - Ora pro nobis.

- Virgo veneranda. - Ora pro nobis.

- Virgo praedicanda. - Ora pro nobis.

...monks, religions,

the Holy Trinity...

- Virgo fidelis. - Ora pro nobis.

...the Church.

Hear, hear... the poor fellow will be burned...

in Campo dei Fiori Square.

Publicly!

The Saints...

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