Acknowledgements
My interest in Giordano Bruno originated in spring 2002, in a small, dark classroom of an old university building on the via San Gallo in Florence, where, as an exchange student, I was enrolled in a class taught by Paola Zambelli. I remember well how she presented currents of Renaissance philosophy that had remained completely in the dark during my philosophical studies at Belgian universities. Her detailed knowledge of exciting philosophical topics of that era (like the immortality of the soul, magic, the power of the imagination, and the finity or infinity of the universe), and the admirable enthusiasm with which she communicated them, brought these currents back to life. And then, of course, she had a certain charisma. Her small, hunched-over physical appearance, her sharp mind, and her high-pitched voice made her lessons all the more fascinating for a student coming from the North. She has always been very helpful and has continued to encourage my research projects, for which I wish to thank her. It is in her dark classroom that the spark originated that would turn into a great fire to inspire and guide my life for the following decade. At Brussels University I obtained my master’s in philosophy with a thesis on Giordano Bruno; afterward, I began to study classical languages at Ghent University in order to obtain access to the primary Latin sources. Here I met my mentor Wim Verbaal, an inspiring Latin professor. I thank him for his encouragement and his guidance throughout my research. His readiness to analyse Bruno’s difficult Latin texts with me, and to tease out their meaning, has been of great help. I must also thank the brilliant scholar Fernand Hallyn, founder of the Sarton Centre for History of Science at Ghent University. Our many jovial conversations were inspiring, to say the least. His confidence was of great support to me during the initial phase of my research, and he stayed encouraging to the end. Unfortunately, he passed away in July 2009.
I am equally indebted to the support and advice offered by several members of the Sarton Centre for History of Science (Sven Dupré, Maarten Van Dyck, Alexander Roose, and Steven Vanden Broecke), who have established a fruitful context for scientific collaboration among young researchers. I am also obliged to Stephen Clucas for his time, suggestions, and willingness to be involved in my research. I am also indebted to Lina Bolzoni and Alfonso Ingegno, both of whom have repeatedly discussed my research with me. Also of great help was Marco Matteoli, who has welcomed me many times with great hospitality, and who tirelessly engaged me in conversations on Bruno’s philosophy. Likewise, Hiro Hirai was always free to answer questions and discuss difficult matters about our shared passion.
I acknowledge David Seton and Anthony Ossa-Richardson for their numerous suggestions, Meredith McGroarty for her final language editing, my family and friends (especially Robbie Claes) for their support, and, of course, Saartje Van Eyck, for her comfort and love during the years of my research, and Inès Cabello, for being who she is.
This research was made possible by the generous support of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO).