Populus vult et non vult: Girolamo Savonarola

Girolamo Savonarola(1452-1498) the name of monk Savonarola said very short, because is a marginal personage in the Florence of 15^th century, certainly I don’t wait an knowledge  much breaded of this spiritual dictator, because he was it, some years in Florence the religious dictatorship of Savonarola was very important motive, and he has condemned to capital pain through the stake, from same agent that have had the success to him, this is the Florentine people. It isn’t alone a hypothesis it is a truth that we can take from the words of Sandro Filipepi, called Botticelli (1445 – 1510), very famous painter in Renaissance and in Florence, during a dialogue to Doffo Spini, political personage in Florence and against the Savonarola, asked about the stake of condemn of the monk, and Spini said that the condemn of Savonarola has decided from superior orders; we can imagine that this order came from the pope, but in this dialogue we can identify the supreme judge that has wanted this sentence, who is? The people, in fact in dialogue is element fundamental: “Asking to him, Sandro, because he known that Doffo has been one of the principal, that has examined Savonarola, that he say the truth: what sins have found in Savonarola, for this punishment so drastic. And Doffo answered: “Must I say the truth? We didn’t find nothing mortal sin and neither venial. And Sandro asked: “Why do we have condemn him to this death so shameful? And he answered: it isn’t my responsibility but the principal cause has been Benozzo Federighi; if we didn’t condemn this prophet the people have condemn us, and cut to pieces. The question was so important that we have decided for our life that he have to die”; this step is very important for the motive of this essay, because revels what is the importance of people in policy; the comments are: “It is simply obvious”, no! Because alone the violent reactions of peoples has determined historical change, the American “revolution”, that has determined the birth of a new nation, the French Revolution, that has determined the new with and new conception in policy, this is the republic state; in this case, very much modestly, the change was a continuity, because in Florence the govern of the city was, formally, held form the richest and important families, but the truth is that the power has held from the people, and the policy has dread of people, because it is always thought as inert form the policy and when it instead has revolted the reactions are uncontrolled and very violent, and the importance of this step is also in the biographical date of death of Savonarola, in year 1498, when the democracy wasn’t neither thought and the right was, as in this case, used for the context, policy context, that Spini has confessed: “…the people have condemn us, and cut to pieces…”; it is the dread of a policy that in front of the people, have to satisfy the principal judge, this is the people, that wanted the death of Savonarola. Why this condemn if he was innocent? Simple because the people was very boring of this austerity, and the memories of precedent time were again life. The Florentine people wanted the immoral richness.

Alessandro Lusana