Historian+and+Biographer+of+Campanella's+City

Written in 1602, Tommaso Campanella’s utopia, //The City of the Sun// proposed a different viewpoint than what was common in the 17th century. In addition to the changing philosophies of society and especially of the church in the late Renaissance, The City of the Sun  also reflects the life of   Campanella.

Campanella’s utopia shows the impact of his modest upbringing in many of the book’s early passages. Born to illiterate parents, he was too poor to attend school, and was forced to listen outside the window of the school for instruction. In //The City of the Sun//, education is accessible to all citizens. Important information is placed on the walls of the city for all to read and learn. In this way, all people, despite their economic situation, can be educated. Besides early frustrations caused by his poverty, the author’s background in the priesthood is the most prominent biographical element shown in //The City of the Sun//. Because the Dominican priests emphasized scholarship and preaching, Campanella entered their order as a young man and became a priest. This allowed him to receive an education and also explains the origin of many details in his utopia. In //The City of the Sun// the priest is the supreme authority and there are numerous rituals associated with old men who say short prayers and use incense. The routines of these old men seem to relate to the routines of monks in monasteries of this period. This priesthood training is also shown in other details of his work which de-emphasized the idea of the traditional nuclear family and supported a lack of ownership of personal property. Campanella’s utopia also featured a four hour work day which again could relate to the priesthood during the Renaissance when monks were assigned particular responsibilities and then used the remainder of the day for reading, gardening, personal reflection, and other pursuits focused on the betterment of the soul. His background in the church and early training by the Dominican order could also explain his creation of the priest-king idea for future leadership in his utopia. Along with Campanella’s training in the priesthood, his education in the popular philosophies of the late Renaissance is also shown in some of this details used in //The City of the// //Sun//. Sent to a monastery in San Giorgio, Campanella studied Aristotle who stressed the classification of knowledge. This influence is shown in //The City of the Sun// which features walls surrounding the city decorated according to specific categories such as large animals, reptiles, birds, minerals, and great leaders. In addition to the church and its teachings, Campanella was also influenced by the political and religious movements of his day. The Counter-Reformation and Inquisition during Campanella’s time made his outspoken and liberal ideas a natural target for criticism and eventual punishmen t.  European teachers began expanding the humanist point of view, equipping students to occupy positions of responsibilit y  in society, not necessarily the priesthood. During this period, there was also a focus on spreading the doctrine of the Catholic Church to secular students. Campanella’s //The City of the Sun// reflects historic and philosophical changes in society and the church in the late Renaissance period. His appreciation for the privilege of education, his training as part of the Dominican order, and the influence of the philosophies of Aristotle and Plato are all found as elements in the perfect society he creates. Because of his controversial ideas paralleling the Counter-Reformation and Inquisition, Campanella suffered accusation, torture, and eventual imprisonment for his ideas denounced as heresy.

Posted by Walden (Kayla)