Looking back: 7th February 1497 - The Bonfire of the Vanities

Today, in 1497: Girolamo Savonarola organised one of the most infamous moments in Renaissance history - the Bonfire of the Vanities. Here's an old post I wrote on the subject...

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Savanarola by Fra Bartolomeo

Giralomo Savonarola is probably one of the most famous people from Renaissance Italy, next to the Borgia and Medici families. He is best known as the preacher who fundamentally ruled Florence with his sermons, and the man who was behind one of the greatest atrocities in Renaissance history: The Bonfire of the Vanities. As a man, Giralomo Savonarola is fascinating and I will be doing a piece on him and his life in more detail soon. Today however, I wanted to do a brief post on the Bonfire of the Vanities - an event in which the supporters of Savonarola piled up all manner of famous works of art, books and fine clothing...and burned the lot.

Painting of Savonarola's execution, in the same spot where he had started the Bonfire of the Vanities

It was Lent, 1497. Giralomo Savonarola had already been ruling the city of Florence for many years, preaching to the people and almost brainwashing them into believing that their extravagant life's were sinful. He regularly packed out the Santa Maria del Fiore, famous for it's massive dome built and finished by Brunelleschi in 1469, where he delivered rousing sermons against the extravagant clothes and art that the Florentine people were famous for.

At the start of Lent Savonarola sent a band of innocents around the city to collect up what he called 'vanities'. These innocents, known as the 'blessed innocents' were groups of children who up until then had walked around the city dressed in robes of purest white and singing the praises of God. They had previously been barred from a number of streets in the city when it became apparent that some Florentine's didn't actually support the friar. However this time they had armed guards with them and every vanity that they could get their hands on were piled into a huge pyramid in the middle of the Piazza della Signoria (as seen in the painting above of Savonarola's eventual execution, but this will be covered in more detail in later posts).

At the very bottom of the pyramid were items such as wigs, false beards, pots of rouge that women used to redden their cheeks and perfumes. On top of that were books that Savonarola and his followers considered to be 'Pagan' - these were all important historical works from Greek philosophers, books of poems by Ovid and Petrarch, works by Cicero. Next came paintings, drawings and bust sculptures of subjects considered profane. Included among these were works by the famous Sandro Boticelli, who is said to have been a follower of Savonarola and abandoned his paintings to follow the friar. Next were musical instruments, sculptures and paintings of naked women. And right at the very top of the pyramid were sculptures of Greek Gods and mythical legends. This was then finalised by an effigy of Satan, reigning over these sinful items. It is said that this model of Satan was given the face of a Venetian man who had offered to buy the items for 22,000 florins. This can only hint at the worth of all the items together, and I can only imagine that such works of art were worth much, much more.

The Palazzo Veccio, Florence.

The bonfire was lit on Shrove Tuesday, 7th February. As the entire signoria assembled from the balcony of the Palazzo Veccio, flames began to lick up the pyramid which by now was now over sixty feet high, and the crowds surrounding the massive bonfire singing a Te Deum.

This event divided Florence even more than it already was. The people were turning against Savonarola, and Piero de Medici ended up leaving Florence and heading to Rome where he received the blessing of Pope Alexander VI to lead an army against the city. Yet even as the army approached, the majority of Florentine citizens did not want to return to Medici rule (they had been ousted from the City during the early part of Savonarola's "rule"). Piero returned to Rome, not as the victor he envisaged.

Savonarola's reign of religious tyranny (for want of a better word), would start to decline in June 1497 when Pope Alexander VI issued a papal bull excommunicating him from the Roman Catholic church. Yet when Savonarola continued to preach in the Santa Maria del Fiore, the signoria tried to ban him from preaching and riots occasionally broke out.

His reign would not come to an end until 1498 when he was arrested and made to prove that he had a special relationship with God. When he failed he was jailed in the Bargello before being tortured and eventually executed. But that's for a different post.

For now, all I can do is feel the huge loss of so many works of art lost to Savonarola's flames. This really was a crime against the art that was created during the renaissance, and from my reading of Savonarola I have to wonder how anyone could condone doing something like that? A crime yes, but certainly a very interesting event in the history of both the fascinating man and the beautiful city of Florence.

Further reading

Donald Weinstein, Savanarola: The Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Prophet.
Lauro Martines, Scourge and Fire: Savanarola and Renaissance Italy
Paul Strathern, The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
Paul Strathern, The Artist, The Philosopher and the Warrior
Paul Strathern, Death In Florence: The Medici, Savanarola and the Battle for the Soul of the Renaissance.
Christopher Hibbert, The Borgias and their Enemies

Review: Death in Florence by Paul Strathern

I picked this book up on a bit of a whim when I was off sick from work. I'd had a really rough couple of weeks and needed cheering up. Plus, I adore Paul Strathern's work on the Medici and thought his book on Cesare Borgia, Leonardo Da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli was top notch. When I saw this beauty on Amazon for less than a tenner I knew I just had to have it. I have to say that this book has also proven to be a rather excellent bible when it has come to working on my book. But anyway, I digress. I should be reviewing this book and not gushing about how it's been awesome for my own research.

Anyway, from the moment this tome of a book arrived I devoured it. The book, in a nutshell, tells the story of Girolamo Savonarola - right from his early years up until his rather grisly death. Mixed in with that you have the stories of Lorenzo de Medici's death, Piero de Medici's flight from Florence (he never returned) and Charles VIII and his relationship with the Dominican friar. Right from the first sentence I was hooked, Strathern's writing style certainly doesn't fail to disappoint. He writes with an amazing fluidity and tells these most fascinating stories in an exceptional manner yet retaining that academic manner that makes his books so readable. 

What surprised me when I was reading this was how much was going on in the background of Savonarola's life, and how his life was so interconnected with the politics of the day. For instance, Girolamo decided to become a friar at a time when Ferrara was going to war with other Italian states. He also paid exceedingly close attention to Charles VIII of France and his invasion of Italy, even going as far as to meet up with Charles and convince the deformed little man that he would be the scourge of Italy. Sadly, Charles let him down and didn't prove that he would be the "New Cyrus" but Savonarola also kept abreast of political goings on in Florence and also had a close say in the new government after Piero de Medici's flight. And Strathern did a wonderful job of interweaving everything so the story ran smoothly, it was so interesting reading how Savonarola's life and work mixed in with everything else that was going on. It really was such an intricate web of politics at that time that it could have been so easy to make the story dry and boring, but Strathern did a really good job of telling the stories in an engaging manner.

Superbly written and engaging, I don't want to go into too much detail as you really need to read this book to understand that it really is a masterpiece. I'll say it til the cows come home, Paul Strathern is one of my favourite Renaissance historians (next to Christopher Hibbert) and he's just fantastic. Of course his works aren't perfect, but this one is as close to perfect as you can get. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the history of Renaissance Italy and in particularly, Renaissance Florence.

Girolamo Savonarola - A Novel In The Making

I've always wanted to write a book and when I was younger I would often write little stories. Looking back, they were kind of rubbish but even back then I was telling myself that one day I would write a book that people would read. More recently I've found myself getting smacked in the face over and over again with ideas for novels some of which I've dismissed right off the bat and others which have been written down in my little note book in the hope I'll come back to it later. But then, a couple of weeks ago I was hit with an idea that just wouldn't go away.

And I knew I had to write it.

And so, the idea for my first ever novel was born. Some of you may have seen on my twitter that I've been spending a lot of time talking about Girolamo Savonarola, quoting some of his sermons and tweeting facts about his life (and, rather morbidly, his death) and the reason for this is that I've been spending rather a lot of time researching the mans life. Why? Because Savonarola and his life are the subject of the book I have started to write.

It's my aim to be as accurate as I possibly can when telling his story, but of course there will be parts of it that are fictional. It's a historical fiction work after all. But at the same time I'll be telling Savonarola's story, having him doing what we was doing, predicting the death of various tyrants, his arguments with Pope Alexander VI, his hatred of the vices that plagued Florence, his bonfire of the Vanities, his arrest, his torture and his death. Let's face it, his life is so interesting and I wouldn't really want to make up anything extra because he did so much exciting stuff. His story is exciting enough without adding a ton of embellishments. 

I'm not all that far into his story yet, but I am working away on it and writing whenever I can. It's thoroughly enjoyable and the words are just spilling out onto the page right now - I don't think I've ever been able to write anything with such enthusiasm and it's amazing. Not only is the writing exciting me, but the research too so much so that I am planning a trip to Florence so I can see the places where he lived, worked and died. All in the name of research of course.

I'll be updating here with my progress and I'll be adding a link onto my sidebar about it over the next few weeks or so. Please do keep your eyes peeled, and wish me luck!

The Trial And Execution of Girolamo Savonarola

The Execution of Savonarola by Anonymous

I've been spending a lot of time recently researching Girolamo Savonarola recently, for particular reasons that will hopefully be announced soon as well as the fact that the man fascinates me. I don't really know why he does, as he was the man behind the terrible travesty known as the Bonfire of the Vanities but there is just something about his incredible self belief and his unwavering faith that has really pulled me in. And having just finished Death In Florence by Paul Strathern (review coming over the next few days), whilst I can't say I really like the man, I can now say I feel incredibly sorry for him and respect the little Dominican friar utterly. But why? As I mentioned previously, his incredible self belief and unwavering faith are partly to do with it but there is also something else. He endured torture bravely and approached his death calmly. If anything, Girolamo Savonarola became a martyr to his supporters in Florence and those who served with him in the Dominican monastery at San Marco. Today, I am going to write about Savonarola's trial and execution and I will warn you now, it does not make for light reading.

On the 8th April 1498, Fra Girolamo Savonarola was arrested within the church of San Marco, following what can only be described as a siege. The people of Florence had risen up against him following the botched "trial by fire" only a few weeks previously, and the ruling signoria (currently being run by men of the anti-Savonarola faction) had the excuse they were looking for to place the man on trial for treason and heresy. Previously, the city of Florence had hung on to Savonarola's every word and had believed the prophecies that he had made; he had even taken part in setting up the new government after Piero de Medici was exiled. But now it seemed as though the city was tired of him, and Pope Alexander VI wanted the friar out of his hair for good. Arrested alongside Savonarola were two other Dominican friars - Fra Domenico and Fra Silvestro Maruffi. Savonarola and Domenico were taken first, and Maruffi joined them the next day.

Savonarola and Domenico were placed in irons and marched to the Piazza della Signoria, where they were presented to the Gonfaloniere who asked them both if they still persisted in believing that Savonarola's words came from God. When they both replied that they did they were taken to separate cells within the palazzo and Savonarola was taken to the tiny room at the top of the tower known as the Alberghettino.

The Palazzo della Signoria, now known as the Palazzo Vecchio

The next morning, Savonarola was brought down from his tiny cell and there subjected to some initial informal questioning. As he had been arrested for both treason and heresy, he would now face everything that the law could throw at him. And that included torture. This ordeal would begin on the Tuesday. The man assigned as Savonarola's interrogator was Francesco de Ser Barone, also known as "Ser Ceccone" - after Piero de Medici's flight from the city this man had pretended to join Savonarola's following but in reality he had been an informant, sending ever word to the men who conspired to bring the friar to heel. The initial 'investigation' would last for just over a week and finish on 17th April, and despite the fact that Easter fell in this week, the interrogation was not stopped for these most holy days in the christian calendar. Instead, Savonarola was subjected to the strappado after being at first invited to make his confession. When he refused, his arms would have been tied behind his back and with use of a pulley he would have been lifted and dropped over and over again until he did confess. The method was ingenious because it very rarely proved fatal, it would have been agonisingly painful as each drop would have dislocated the victim's shoulders and a surgeon would have been on hand to pop the shoulders back in place before they could be dislocated again.

The Strappado

When news reached Pope Alexander VI that Savonarola had been arrested and subject to trial (which by the way was illegal - despite having been excommunicated, as a man of the cloth he should have been tried by the church courts) he was undoubtedly pleased. But he sent a message to Florence demanding that once they were finished with the man, he wanted him sent to Rome so he could be tried and tortured by the church courts. And whilst Alexander lifted the excommunication that he had previously placed on the city, the signoria were reluctant to sent Savonarola away from Florence as he knew intimate details of the goings on of their parliament, and their foreign policy. It would not do for the friar to give away such information that could be used against them.

The diarist Landucci recorded the following about the torture inflicted on Savonarola:

"Fra Girolamo was put to the rack (stappado) three times, and Fra Domenico four times; and Fra Girolamo said: 'Take me down and I will write you my whole life.'"

It should be noted though that there is no way that we can know how many times he was dropped, there are so many differing numbers given and no actual material evidence. The most quoted is 14, but Savonarola was incredibly frail so it is unlikely he would have been to put up with many drops before he said he would confess. But when he said he would write them his whole life if they stopped torturing, it wasn't enough for the Signoria - they wanted a confession of his heresy and his treason so they could have him executed. Following the torture, Savonarola admitted that he did not receive prophecies from God and that for all intents and purposes he had made everything up, and he justified his motives for everything he did - he said he wanted credit and he wanted reputation. However, Savonarola undoubtedly believed that he was a prophet and believed that he was receiving visions from God, that he believed he was working for the good of Florence. Was this Savonarola's way of trying to save himself? At any rate, the answers he gave did not constitute treason, so Ceccone pressed on and on, trying to outwit the friar. Still his answers did not constitute treason.

Girolamo Savonarola by Fra Bartolomeo

The Pope was still insisting that Savanarola and the other friars be taken to Rome, and still the Signoria held back on this. But Savonarola's confession wasn't enough, and the signoria decided that Savonarola should be tried for a second time although according to reports this did not use any form of torture. On 24th, Savonarola was told to sign his confession, some of which was written himself but other parts were written be Ceccone. The confession told of how he (Savonarola) had lost his faith in God, how he had sinned and how he had lied about his prophecies and visions. As Savonarola was signing his confession, the other friars brought in with him were also being tortured, and the torture faced by Maruffi broke the frail old man and terrified him out of his wits. Domenico however faced his ordeal bravely, and kept singing Savonarola's praises.

On the 5th May, the Signoria made the decision that Pope Alexander VI could send a papal commission to place the friars on trial in the ecclesiastical manner. They would however not allow the men to be taken to Rome as they believed that the men should be tried and executed in Florence. And so, on 19th May the Papal commission reached Rome and their own trial began the next day.

As the trial began, it became evident that Savonarola had regained much of his previous demeanour and he would obscure the truth from them, but without lying. The commission grew tired of this and demanded that the strappado be brought back out, and when faced with the rope Girolamo fell to the floor and cried out in terror, admitting that he had said what he had previously in fear of being tortured. Now, he was tortured again, despite the fact that the previous strappado sessions had rendered one of his arms useless. It is said that as he faced the prospect of the rope again, he raved and screamed; and in the transcript it is obvious that faced with terror Savonarola told the truth.

After two days of this, the commission retired and the signoria discussed the judgement. And as this was being discussed the commission sent a report to Alexander detailing most of what was said by Savonarola although some of it was kept hidden, likely to try and protect the Pope from what was perceived as great wickedness on Savonarola's part. And on May 22nd, Savonarola and his fellow friars were given the verdict - the very next day they would be stripped of their church membership and then they would be executed.

The method of execution would be the usual one for heretics - they would be burnt. But it would be slightly different to the burning at the stake normally done for such matters. The men would be hanged, and a fire set beneath their feet. The gallows and pyre was built in the piazza della signoria, on the very spot where the trial by fire was supposed to have taken place just weeks before; the stake was built to look like a cross. The people cried out that Savonarola was going to be crucified, and so the part making it look like a cross was sawn off.

At daybreak on 23rd, the three friars were lead out into the piazza and there were faced with three tribunals. The first stripped them of their membership in the church and removed their vestments. The second was an indulgence granted by Pope Alexander, forgiving them their sins and the third was where they were handed over to the secular authorities who confirmed their fate and then shaved their hair and beards. The men were then lead along the wooden walkway towards the gallows. Silvestro was the first man who was taken up and there the rope was placed around his neck and he was pushed off the ladder. The rope however was too short and not tight enough, so Silvestro dangled, slowly being strangled and repeating "Jesu" over and over again. This was of course done on purpose so that he and his fellow condemned would be able to feel the pain once the flames were lit. Domenico was next, and he went to the gibbet with a smile on his face, seemingly glad to meet his maker. Savonarola went last - he did not speak to the crowds and only muttered to himself as he walked towards his death - he did not say a word about his guilt or even his innocence - and then he too was hanged, though allowed to suffer slowly before the flames were lit. As the kindling beneath the gallows was lit, the fire spread very quickly and a wind blew, making the arm of Savonarola rise in the draft and look as if he were blessing those in attendance. Then the wind dropped again, and the flames turned into an inferno. Stones were thrown at the bodies as they burnt, making arms and legs drop into the flames, and guards surrounded the fire so that those present could not pick up anything that could be used as a relic. To make doubly sure that nothing would be left, as only the burning torsoes of the men remained, the gibbet was pushed into the flames.

Once the fire was out, the ashes were shovelled into a cart and taken to the Ponte Vecchio. There the ashes were tossed into the River Arno so that nothing would remain behind.

Further Reading
Paul Strathern - Death In Florence
Paul Strathern - The Medici
Desmond Seward - The Burning of the Vanities
Lauro Martines - Scourge and Fire: Savonarola and Renaissance Italy
Lauro Martines - Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for Renaissance Florence