-La città del sole

Written by a Domincan philosopher, La città del sole describes the utopian City of the Sun, an island located in the Indian Ocean that consists of concentric rings of land and water resembling Plato’s Atlantis. In reference to the model of the solar system devised by Nicolaus Copernicus, the island’s rings are named after the planets orbiting the sun. Governed by an individual called “Sun” who also acts as the high priest of the city’s sun worship religion, the city has a communist economy, with all property being owned publicly and necessities like food and clothing being distributed by the state. City inhabitants work the job they are best suited for and all occupations are respected for how they contribute to society. Education is highly regarded, with city walls being painted with scientific, mathematical, and historical information for the enlightenment of the people. Campanella believed that eugenics should be implemented through government-controlled reproduction and a society that valued women above all for their fertility. Campanella was imprisoned for much of his life and wrote this work while serving a life sentence for heresy and leading a 1599 uprising intended to form his utopian society.