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Execution of Savonarola

Type Event Region Europe Time 1498

On May 23, 1498, Florence, under pressure from the papacy, executed Girolamo Savonarola and two companions, first by hanging then by burning.

Timeline

  1. 1498Florence Cathedral · FlorenceIn April 1498 Savonarola agreed to an "ordeal by fire" to prove his prophetic mission, but heavy rain prevented it from taking place and popular support quickly collapsed. That same day opponents stormed the Convent of San Marco and arrested him; two close companions, Domenico da Piacenza and Silvestro Maruffi, were also arrested.
  2. 1498Florence · TuscanyUnder the presiding papal legate and Florentine officials, Savonarola was tortured into partially retracting his earlier prophecies and was charged with false prophecy, heresy, and inciting rebellion. Church and city authorities jointly ensured the verdict met both political and religious needs.
  3. 1498Piazza della Signoria · FlorenceSavonarola and his two companions were hanged in Piazza della Signoria; their bodies were then burned and the ashes scattered in the Arno River to prevent them becoming martyr relics. The site was the same as the 1497 "Bonfire of the Vanities," symbolizing the complete end of his reform experiment.

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