Left: Portrait of Girolamo Savonarola (1497-98) by
Fra Bartolomeo (WikiArt);
right: A mid-17th century rendering of the execution of Fra Girolamo, Fra Domenico, and Fra Silvestro Maruffi (Wikipedia)
There can’t be many men who have been given the title of Servant of God by the Church but who were also burned at the stake by the Church. That’s what happened to the Italian Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola, who died on May 23, 1498. Understanding Savonarola’s controversial life may help us avoid making some of the mistakes he made in trying to reform his culture.
What were some of the decisions facing Savonarola in the fifteenth century?