Bluffer’s guide

Florence, 7 February 1497

Everything you need to know about the Bonfire of the Vanities

What was it?

Florence was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance but in 1497, a fanatical Dominican friar named

Girolamo Savonarola convinced the citizens to burn many of their masterpieces. Books, paintings, fine clothing, decorative carpets and even cosmetics were rounded up by Savonarola’s followers and piled high in the Piazza del Signoria. Representatives of each Florentine district symbolically lit the pyre, which was topped with an effigy of Satan, while women wearing white robes, olive branch garlands and red crosses danced around it.

The city’s ‘vanities’ were destroyed because Savonarola claimed they were distracting from religious duties. The friar prophesied God would punish them by sending an apocalyptic flood in 1500 if they didn’t repent. The spiritual leader also forbade the city’s famous carnivals, replacing them with solemn religious processions. Sodomy was also banned and he declared that anyone overweight was declared a sinner. Street urchins were employed to hunt anyone wearing immodest clothing or eating fancy foods.

Why did it happen?

Savonarola moved to Florence in 1490 at the invitation of the city’s ruler. Lorenzo de’ Medici was convinced the Dominican friar would bring him prestige and so offered to protect him after his unorthodox views had got him into trouble elsewhere. However, Savonarola gained popularity by preaching against the exploitation of the poor and corruption within the clergy. He also warned that the city’s vices were making God angry, which was seemingly confirmed when Charles VIII of France invaded in 1494.

The people had already started turning against the Medicis when Lorenzo died in 1492 but his son’s inability to prevent the invasion only worsened things. Savonarola welcomed the French king as Christianity’s saviour, while his followers burned down the Medicis’ bank. The ruling family fled into exile.

After the French marched further south, Savonarola filled the power vacuum. His new political party, the Frateschi, established a ‘popular’ republic that imposed his strict theocratic law for several years.

Who was involved?

Girolamo Savonarola 1452-98

This Dominican friar belonged to a fringe group within the already strict order that sought to reassert simplicity and poverty.

Sandro Botticelli 1445-1510

Either out of ardent support for Savonarola or self-preservation, this painter burned several of his own artworks.

Pope Alexander VI 1431-1503

Profiting from the corruption Savonarola rallied against, the Pope didn’t tolerate the friar’s rule for long.