Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,823
A Black Day For Art And Science!
On February 7, 1497, the monk Girolamo Savonarola...
... holds a flaming speech at Florence against what he considers to be unchristian striving for wealth and luxury!
Fanaticized by Savonarola's hate speech, large crowds of young people and children ("fanciulli") march through Florence, confiscating everything "in the name of Christ" that could be interpreted as a symbol of the depravity of the people.
These included not only pagan writings (or those that Savonarola included) or pornographic images, but also "luxury items" such as paintings, jewelry, cosmetics, mirrors, secular musical instruments and sheet music, playing cards, elaborate furniture, or expensive clothing.
Sometimes the owners delivered these things themselves, either out of actual "remorse" or out of fear of reprisals. Most of them are valuable books, manuscripts – and pictures. These "luxury" items are then burned!
The painter Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi (known as Sandro Botticelli)…
… hands over some of his paintings to the flames...:
They are lost forever.
Savonarola's reign of terror will continue for over a year. In May 1498 he was first excommunicated by the Pope, then imprisoned (and tortured), finally sentenced to death and first publicly hanged and then burned in the Piazza Signora...:
On February 7, 1497, the monk Girolamo Savonarola...
... holds a flaming speech at Florence against what he considers to be unchristian striving for wealth and luxury!
Fanaticized by Savonarola's hate speech, large crowds of young people and children ("fanciulli") march through Florence, confiscating everything "in the name of Christ" that could be interpreted as a symbol of the depravity of the people.
These included not only pagan writings (or those that Savonarola included) or pornographic images, but also "luxury items" such as paintings, jewelry, cosmetics, mirrors, secular musical instruments and sheet music, playing cards, elaborate furniture, or expensive clothing.
Sometimes the owners delivered these things themselves, either out of actual "remorse" or out of fear of reprisals. Most of them are valuable books, manuscripts – and pictures. These "luxury" items are then burned!
The painter Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi (known as Sandro Botticelli)…
… hands over some of his paintings to the flames...:
They are lost forever.
Savonarola's reign of terror will continue for over a year. In May 1498 he was first excommunicated by the Pope, then imprisoned (and tortured), finally sentenced to death and first publicly hanged and then burned in the Piazza Signora...:
