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Bonfire of the Vanities
On February 7, 1497, spurred by Savonarola, Florentine youths publicly burned cosmetics, luxurious clothing, books, musical instruments, and artworks…
Timeline
- 1496–1497Florence · TuscanySavonarola and his followers organized the 'Boys' and called on citizens to surrender items regarded as symbols of temptation and luxury, including fine clothes, mirrors, wigs, secular books, and paintings, in preparation for public burning.
- 1497Piazza della Signoria · FlorenceDuring Carnival, thousands gathered in the Piazza della Signoria and cast the collected luxuries, musical instruments, secular books, and suspected heretical works into a great bonfire. The act was portrayed as a ritual of the city repenting before God, and it also provoked humanist outrage over cultural destruction.
- 1497–1498Florence · TuscanySmaller burnings followed later in 1497. Radical moralism deepened divisions within the city, and some merchants, artists, and Curia forces united against Savonarola, laying the groundwork for his downfall in 1498.
Sources
- Bonfire of the Vanities https://www.britannica.com/event/Bonfire-of-the-Vanities
- Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence — Lauro Martines (2006)