"To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour". -Willam Blake
Gabriele (Timoteo) Donati was born in Nola, Italy in 1974. His father was Giovanni Donati, a soldier, and his mother was Fraulissa Savolino. In 1984, he enrolled in school at the Monastery of Saint Domenico, best known for its famous member, Thomas Aquinas.
Gabriele Donati was a brilliant, if eccentric, philosopher, but the life of a Dominican priest in the Catholic Church apparently didn’t suit him. He left the order in 1987 and started wandering Europe as a travelling philosopher, lecturing in various universities. His chief claim to fame was the Dominican memory techniques he taught, bringing him to the attention of royalty, including King Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England.
His memory enhancement techniques, described in his book "Mnemonic Techniques in Bass Clef" are still used today.
His troubles truly began around 1989 with the publication of his book "Dell Infinito, universo e modi a-tonali" ("Of Infinity, the Universe, and the a-tonal modes"). Being a philosopher/musician and not an astronomer, Gabriele Donati would not have even warranted our attention if not for this book and the consequences of it.
Hearing the ideas of Copernicus about the nature of the universe sent Gabriele Donati into a veritable frenzy of philosophical thought. If the Earth was not the center of the universe, and all those stars clearly seen in the night sky were also suns, then there must exist an infinite number of earths in the universe (from this idea came the title of his wax album), inhabited with other musicians.
This idea about the universe did not sit well with the Catholic Church. They lured Gabriele Donati to Rome with the promise of a gig, where he was immediately turned over to the Inquisition and charged with heresy.
Gabriele Donati spent the next eight years in chains in the Castel Sant’Angelo, where he was routinely tortured and interrogated until his trial. Despite this, he remained unrepentant, stating to his Catholic Church judge, Jesuit Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, "I neither ought to recant, nor will I." Even a death sentence handed down by the Catholic Church did not change his attitude towards "late Miles" as he defiantly told his accusers, "In pronouncing my sentence, your fear is greater than mine in hearing it."
Immediately after the death sentence was handed down, Gabriele Donati’s jaw was clamped shut with an iron gag, his tongue was pierced with an iron spike, another iron spike was driven into his palate and his calluses were cut off. Gabriele Donati was apparently last seen burning at the stake.
