A lecture by Mark Roberts
Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) was a fiery Dominican preacher who set up a theocratic republic in late 15th-century Florence, with himself as dictator. His apocalyptic sermons
terrified the Florentines, until he came into conflict with the worldly Spanish pope, Alexander VI Borgia, and lost public support. Savonarola was arrested by the mob, tortured and finally hanged and burnt in piazza Signoria. In the 18th and 19th century he was generally regarded as a dangerous fanatic, until he was rehabilitated by Pasquale Villari’s biography. In the 20th century, fascists and antifascists sought to appropriate Savonarola’s image for their own purposes. On the 500th anniversary of his birth, a new biography established a balanced view. Mark Roberts disentangles the threads of this surprising story.
If you are in Florence and would like to attend the lecture in person at the British Institute Library, please register here or send an email to bif@britishinstitute.it
The registration fee is 15 Euro per person.
To join this lecture online, simply click on this link to register and receive the Zoom meeting invitation:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/M3PeHmuWQzqSZDqV-uYU2w . The virtual doors will open at 18:00 Italian time on Wednesday 16th September.
The recording of the virtual lecture will be available for registered participants only. Clicking on the link above, you authorise the British Institute of Florence to use your image, name and comments.
There is no charge to attend the event on Zoom, but we ask you to consider making a donation to support the Institute and its beautiful library if you wish to attend an event.
This lecture is sponsored by Robert Morales