Bartholomeus Amicus (born in Anzi, Basilicata; 1562–1649), or Bartolomeo Amico or Bartholomeo d'Amici, was a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest, teacher and writer who spent his adult life in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. The subjects he wrote about include Aristotelian philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and the concept of

vacuum A vacuum (: vacuums or vacua) is space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective (neuter ) meaning "vacant" or "void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressur ...

and its relationship with God. He studied law before joining the Jesuits and following the curriculum in their college in Naples, later teaching logic, physics, metaphysics and theology. In his extensive writing he presented alternative theories, including those of

Christopher Clavius Christopher Clavius, (25 March 1538 – 6 February 1612) was a Jesuit German mathematician, head of mathematicians at the , and astronomer who was a member of the Vatican commission that accepted the proposed calendar invented by Aloysius ...

and

Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

, even when he disagreed with them, though theologians of that period did not always explain opposing views. He sought to establish workable science without undermining theology.

References

Scholasticon by Jacob SchmutzEdward Grant, ''Much Ado about Nothing : Theories of Space and Vacuum from the Middle Ages to the Scientific Revolution'' (1981) - Chapter 7

Bibliografia

* Carlo Caterini, Gens Catherina de terra Balii, Rende, Edizioni Scientifiche Calabresi, 2009. 1562 births 1649 deaths 17th-century Italian Jesuits Catholic clergy scientists Jesuit scientists Clergy from Naples {{theologian-stub

See also

References

Bibliografia