TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY GINA DOGGETT ---

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY GINA DOGGETT --- The statue dedicated to Dominican monk and Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno stands in central Rome on February 17, 2009 on the exact spot where today in 1600 he was burned at the stake as a heretic by the Roman Inquisition. The philosopher was among those who insisted that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that the universe is infinite, both assertions considered heretical because they went against the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. He is often considered an early martyr for modern scientific ideas. The monument, sharply opposed by the clerical party, was finally erected by the Rome Municipality and inaugurated in 1889 in the Campo de' Fiori, today a central Roman market square, where he as many where killed by the inquisition. AFP PHOTO/ Filippo MONTEFORTE (Photo credit should read FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)