Tommaso Campanella

Tommaso Campanella (1568 - 1639), baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet. He defended Galileo Galilei in his first trial with his work The Defense of Galileo (written in 1616, published in 1622). Campanella was finally released from his prison in 1626, through Pope Urban VIII, who personally interceded on his behalf with Philip IV of Spain. Taken to Rome and held for a time by the Holy Office, Campanella was restored to full liberty in 1629.