ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the legal and procedural problems which the inquisitorial tribunals of Venice and Rome met with when they brought Giordano Bruno to trial. The historical uniqueness of this proceeding can once again be seen in the obstacles faced by the Holy Office when they tried to gather evidence against the accused, and from the difficulties that the judges encountered in reaching a sentence that also seems to have already been decided at the outset. There is also the political nature of the trial, which in more ways than one appears to have greatly exceeded what would normally have been associated with the procedures and objectives of a trial for a case of faith at that time.
