Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) was an Italian philosopher, writer, cosmological thinker, and former Dominican friar whose radical ideas made him one of the most controversial intellectuals of the Renaissance. Born Filippo Bruno in Nola, near Naples, he entered the Dominican Order at about age seventeen and took the name Giordano. He was ordained a priest in 1572, but his questioning nature and unorthodox religious ideas eventually brought him into conflict with Church authorities. He left the Dominican Order and spent years traveling throughout Europe, living in places including Geneva, Toulouse, Paris, London, and various German cities.