Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for Renaissance Florence

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Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for Renaissance Florence

3.32 of 5 stars 3.32 · rating details · 93 ratings · 19 reviews

A gripping and beautifully written narrative that reads like a novel, Fire in the City presents a compelling account of a key moment in the history of the Renaissance, illuminating the remarkable man who dominated the period, the charismatic Savonarola.
Lauro Martines, whose decades of scholarship have made him one of the most admired historians of Renaissance Italy, here...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published April 1st 2006 by Oxford University Press (first published January 1st 2006)

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Nov 07, 2009 Thomas rated it 2 of 5 stars

In short:
Talks a lot, says very little.

A little longer:
Know how one is able to discern the meaning of a word through its context within a sentence or paragraph? And, as more words whose meaning is a mystery are added to the sentence/paragraph, your understanding of the meaning of those words gets fuzzier and fuzzier? Have you ever read a paragraph so full of foreign/unknown words that the book loses its grip (if there was one to begin with) on you altogether?
So it is with this book....

A littl...more

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May 05, 2013 Louise rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: italy, biography

Murder of a Medici Princess piqued my interest in Renaissance Italy. I selected this book because the jacket of this book says it "reads like a novel"... but it didn't. It's a tough read. If you don't have any background in this era, I recommend trying something else. The author says the book is for the general public. He also says it is not a biography, but a rendering of Florence at the time through the impact of Savonarola.

I'm a general reader, I had 3 main problems in reading this book: 1) t...more Murder of a Medici Princess piqued my interest in Renaissance Italy. I selected this book because the jacket of this book says it "reads like a novel"... but it didn't. It's a tough read. If you don't have any background in this era, I recommend trying something else. The author says the book is for the general public. He also says it is not a biography, but a rendering of Florence at the time through the impact of Savonarola.

I'm a general reader, I had 3 main problems in reading this book: 1) the text goes back and forth in time, 2) the absence of verbal links that could provide clarity and 3) some of the major players and events are cameos.

As example of a layman's problem, on p. 80 the discussion "six bean" rule danced around the idea that a bean was a vote. Maybe the meaning of "vote" should have been obvious (it is clearly stated about 100 pages ahead) but with all the text devoted to "bean" on p. 80, I thought I was missing something bigger.

Another example is that after two pages describing the pageantry and "sweet signing" of Charles VIII's entry into Florence, we learn that the residents were only "grinning and bearing it" because they were "on the brink of cataclysm". Then we learn that 2 days before (the sequence problem), 500 people met and the dominant theme was the hatred for Pietro Medici (not about the entry of Charles). When you don't have a background here, the meeting, the festivities and the "cataclysm" are hard to reconcile. You go back to reread it, but the link isn't there. Many pages later, even after reading of Charles as a liberator (which doesn't reconcile with "grin and bear") and then Savonarola as a saving the city from the French army (which doesn't reconcile with liberator), you see what might have been meant by cataclysm.

I felt there was a lot more to tell. Since this is the story of Florence, and not a biography of Savonarola, some major players should not be reduced to cameos. For instance, what became of Charles VIII? The author says that the ill feeling towards Florence throughout Italy stems from their embrace of him... but he basically disappears from the text. The Medici's are frequently cited when a string is pulled, they are obviously major players, but where are they? How are they holding on to their fortune and influencing events? What of Savonarola's youth group? (It sounds like Mao's cultural revolution.) How did this large group meet? Did they convince people to surrender their "vanities" or did they take them?

The author is obviously knowledgeable and has assembled a lot of information. I recommend this book for those who know something about the period, but not the "general reader".
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Mar 15, 2010 Frank Stein rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book tells a great story reasonably well, but becomes shockingly repetitive at points and gets bogged down in unnecessary details.

Savonarola was the fire-breathing Dominican monk who, in 1494, encouraged the overthrow of the Medici regime in Florence, and then became the most powerful figure in the city until his execution in 1498.

There is so much I didn't know about him that Martines brings to light. First, he recruited armies of "angels" or "enforcers" (children who were already members o...more This book tells a great story reasonably well, but becomes shockingly repetitive at points and gets bogged down in unnecessary details.

Savonarola was the fire-breathing Dominican monk who, in 1494, encouraged the overthrow of the Medici regime in Florence, and then became the most powerful figure in the city until his execution in 1498.

There is so much I didn't know about him that Martines brings to light. First, he recruited armies of "angels" or "enforcers" (children who were already members of religious sodalities) and had them roam the streets at Carnival and other times breaking up dice games, roughing up prostitutes, and collecting chess sets, makeup, and fine clothes for their famous "bonfire of the vanities." At a certain point the resolutely corrupt Florentines fought back to protect their gambling and whoring (the upper class formed a group called the "Ugly Companions" that fought for their right to party) until eventually the enforcers themselves were scared to enforce.

Apparently everyone from Pope Alexander VI (the notorious father of Caesar Borgia) to the Sforza dynasty in Milan was trying to take Savonarola out, mainly due to his encouragement of the French invasion of Italy as a necessary "scourge of God." They were joined in opposition by locals who thought the monk "wanted to turn Florence into a convent." Savonarola's downfall came when he and his monks refused to engage in a trial by ordeal, namely, walking through a raging fire to see if God's grace would save them. It reminds one that despite all the talk of political parties and skulduggery, the Renaissance was still a profoundly superstitious age. After Savonrola's execution, the Signoria ordered that his monastery's bell, la Piagnona (the Lady Weeper or Wailer), be removed and subject to a "spectacle of public infamy." The bell was driven through the streets and literally whipped at and jeered. Again, this is a different age.

Focusing on just five years of Florentine politics gave me a real detailed sense of everyday political tactics that I didn't get from Martines' other book on Renaissance Italy, "Power and Imagination." For instance, even the upper class families that sided with the monk felt the need to balance their interests. Soderini, one of Savonarola's most ardent supporters, urged his own son to join the opposing Ugly Companions, so he would have family in both camps.

But overall this book tries too hard to be both popular and scholarly at once, and Martines feels the need for extensive explanations and repetitious reminders of simple facts. This is not bad, but I imagine there is a better book out there about the "little friar."

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Jul 03, 2011 A.J. Deus rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Martines prides himself in being opposed to all mystifications. This may be the source of one of the main problems in the Florentine story about Savonarola. As the Dominican Savonarola was exerting his power through sermons, understanding the mythical messages seems paramount. After the first 100 pages or so (of a hard to read translation), I felt left in the dark as to what the conflict was all about. Given that fifteenth century Florence is one of my favorite research areas and that I am not a...more Martines prides himself in being opposed to all mystifications. This may be the source of one of the main problems in the Florentine story about Savonarola. As the Dominican Savonarola was exerting his power through sermons, understanding the mythical messages seems paramount. After the first 100 pages or so (of a hard to read translation), I felt left in the dark as to what the conflict was all about. Given that fifteenth century Florence is one of my favorite research areas and that I am not a novice to Savonarola, this needs explaining:

At the end of the fifteenth century, a greater conflict was in motion. The nascent nation-states were in an exploration frenzy to expand their colonial influence over newfound territories in North and South America. The Jews had to leave Spain within three months in an indescribable Holocaust and the Italian Peninsula was flooded with Melchite Saracens fleeing the forced conversions in Spain. Plague and famine shook the foundations of Florence, which seems to also have had a magnetic attraction for the refugees. The papacy and all of Italy were in sheer uproar. The pope faced an intellectual challenge like none other before─but not from Savonarola. A Renaissance man by the name of Pico della Mirandola had found an entirely new way of absorbing everything there was to learn, be it Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, or Muslim. Mirandola’s systematic approach opened up all frontiers and breached all restraints that had been imposed by the church. Achievement became the focal point. Having carried his ideas to the center of spiritual evil in Rome, he had made sure that his words fell on fruitful grounds.

Savonarola was at the other end of Mirandola’s views: his intention was to establish Florence as a “New Jerusalem” and his claim was that God himself had spoken to him. The implication of this can be derived from the context from which the Book of Revelations in the New Testament was born. In the New Jerusalem, the Christians expected the kingdom of heaven to be established in Jerusalem, where the book of Revelations promised free booze, plenty of food, and eternal life without worries. Hence, Savonarola was an apocalyptic radical, who glorified poverty, called for the termination of those that thought differently, and pulled the political strings from behind the scenes.

Instead of global context and curiosity, which would have helped in better understanding the preacher Savonarola, the author seems lost in details. For example, Martines is talking at length about a group of demons but seems to dismiss them as superstitions. Instead, there is an apocalyptic wave of purification of the faith by the innocent (e.g. Savonarola’s followers) against those that endorsed wealth and sensuality (the demons). These real ‘demons’ had been in control of Florence before (the Medici) and needed rooting out, so the plan went.

What was the Holy League about (Rome, Venice, Milan, and Spain)? Why would Florence support the French and not the Holy League? Why had they driven out the Medici? What were Savonarola’s predictions and why were they offensive? There were five leading churches in Florence (among 70); what were their doctrinal differences and their role for or against Savonarola?

Having said that, the shortcoming is not Martines’s; it is one of a profession that is still impressed by the bias of a socio-economic history that was brought about by the Catholic Church. The author notes where the Florentine records of history were destroyed in a most thorough manner and under threat of excommunication, immediately after Savonarola’s pulverization and shoveling into the Arno River. They knew exactly what they were doing in preventing relics to keep Savonarola alive.

The book turns good─no, excellent─when the time comes to sack Savonarola’s church San Marco; to arrest Savonarola as an impostor and to see a prophet fall through the insults and kicks of a mob angered by an anticipated miracle that had gone sour; to put the preacher on (show) trial and finally on the stakes. Martines finally manages to pull the reader into the story and bring it to life with just enough detail as to keep the narrative engaging and exciting.

The conclusions might as well be skipped. Was Savonarola a terrorist? Let me answer this with a counter question: Is the fundamental Muslim teacher Anwar al-Awlaki, currently an imam hiding in Yemen’s hinterland, a terrorist? U.S. President Obama’s commissioned murder mission surely suggests so, if not by implication of participation in terrorist attacks, then by providing the intellectual framework for the violent missions. Savonarola glorified poverty and called for the stoning of sodomists (as in the modern Taliban). This is an unacceptable hatred against mankind, regardless of the political and ecclesiastical context. Spiritual leaders of the time were no less aware of their destructive power than those modern “Awlakis.”

This book should be rewritten in modern English, put in a global context and better chronology (I love chronology), cleansed from an onslaught of unnecessary names, and complemented with the spiritual side of Savonarola’s teachings. The author has the skills to unlock a truly fascinating mystery of the time with the potential for a hit in history books. Why? Because the book beautifully carves out how a narrow majority was able to take and loose power and how both majorities acted with cruelty against their foes─all within less than a decade. It demonstrates how an influential preacher can recruit an army with thousands of children, turning them into extremist servants of God in an astonishingly brief time span and in the shadow of trusting parents. The book shows how the institution of the confession can act as an information hub─the whispering network of ecclesiastical power. It suggests that religious preachers have a competitive advantage with a clear and narrow mission against a notoriously fragmented opposition, and that entire cities can welcome religiosity in times of calamities. On the stage of “democratic” politics, it lays out how voting by name compromise the system’s integrity and how the masses were (or maybe are) manipulated easily.

A.J. Deus, author of The Great Leap-Fraud - Social Economics of Religious Terrorism
ajdeus.org

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Jan 03, 2011 Peter Dunn rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A bit of a disappointment this. Though to be fair at least I now know much more about Savonarola and his times, which is why I selected this book as my understanding of him and his period was fairly basic. However the book has a significant flaw.

As an Ulster Prod I was already inclined to give this bogey man historical figure a bit of a break on the count of his anti clericalism and his confrontations with the papacy of his day. However even this bias of mine still wasn’t enough to allow me to...more

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Oct 11, 2009 Lauren Albert rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-european, religion

I couldn't get into this. Partly it was because of the flood of names and that the people named switched sides frequently and sometimes only for protective coloration. I realize that nothing is black and white but the 'sides' in this were so vague that it was hard to follow the narrative. I'm sure this was part of the author's intent--to show how complex the events were. I did learn some things of course. I never knew anything about Savonarola before.

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Oct 29, 2012 Lisa Spillane rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history

Studied Savonarola ten years ago at university, as part of wider florentine renaissance history, so I was looking forward to a study of the man himself. While obviously well researched to be honest I found the book a bit of a slog. It took me a long time to read and I felt a bit like I was wading through it rather than actually enjoying what I was reading. Yes, it did provide insight into the period, but it felt a bit like penance reading it as well! It certainly didn't have the pace of some oth...more

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Apr 24, 2010 Justin Evans rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-etc

The blurb claims that this reads like a novel. That would be a novel written by someone who was simultaneously writing their dissertation, and had accidentally mixed up the chapters I guess. Martines has a couple of narrative chapters, and a couple of thematic chapters, and a couple of wtf chapters... and it doesn't really work. On the upside, lots of information about a great story.

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May 14, 2013 Rich rated it 3 of 5 stars

Was not the "reads like a novel" book we were promised but overall not bad.

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Aug 15, 2009 Rob Roy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: biographical, history

Fascinating story, poorly written

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Jan 18, 2010 A. Non marked it as to-read

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Feb 24, 2011 Angela Lewis added it

This is the book I am currently reading for my Renaissance & Reformation class.

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Aug 02, 2008 Colin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: scholarly-works

An in-depth account of the rise and fall of Savanarola, who instigated the famous "bonfire of the vanities." A bit dry, and too much for the layperson I should think, but anyone interested in really understanding this aspect of Renaissance Florence ought to read this book.

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Sep 25, 2007 Andy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: italy

The Savonarola story has been on the fringes of my reading for some time, so I was excited when I heard Martines was writing a book about it. I wasn't disappointed. This book was a perfect follow up to "April Blood."

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Jun 07, 2010 Doug rated it 3 of 5 stars

As someone who's interested in the Renaissance - I was a bit disappointed in this book. Maybe what was odd to me was that this was the only book I've read where the author was a Savonarola apologist and even defender.

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Nov 22, 2011 John marked it as to-read

I can't take any more Herzen, Marx or Stalin at the moment - so I though a bit of Savonarola might afford a few days' diversion. We'll see. Nothing like a fire-eating fundamentalist.

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Apr 27, 2013 Redsteve rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, nonfiction, biography, renaissance, religion, italy, politics, rome

Good detail but not the most engauging prose ever. I also feel that the author rang in a bit heavily as a Savonarolan apologist. I liked April Blood much better.

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May 24, 2008 Robert Finlay rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fine, well-written work on early 16th-century Florence; a casual, informal voice.

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Jul 14, 2007 Julie marked it as to-read · review of another edition

sine I am ejoying April Blood, it is also likely that I would enjoy this.

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May 20, 2013 Msberky marked it as to-read

Shelves: history-art

May 14, 2013 Liana marked it as to-read

May 13, 2013 Matthew is currently reading it

May 06, 2013 Steve Rowe marked it as to-read

Apr 23, 2013 Ak Hauck rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Apr 15, 2013 Steven Brubaker marked it as to-read

Apr 05, 2013 Crazyconfession marked it as to-read

Apr 05, 2013 Doug rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 01, 2013 Annette Hartzer marked it as to-read

Apr 01, 2013 Coldfeet22 is currently reading it

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About Lauro Martines

From Oxford Press:

Lauro Martines , former Professor of European History at the University of California, Los Angeles, is renowned for his books on the Italian Renaissance. The author of Power and Imagination: City-States in Renaissance Italy , and most recently of Strong Words: Writing and Social Strain in the Italian Renaissance , he reviews for The Times Literary Supplement and lives in London w...more

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April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici

Power and Imagination: City-States in Renaissance Italy

Lawyers and Statecraft in Renaissance Florence

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“It follows that the one thing we should not do to the men and women of past time, and particularly if they ghost through to us as larger than life, is to take them out of their historical contexts. To do so is to run the risk of turning them into monsters, whom we can denounce for our (frequently political) motives—an insidious game, because we are condemning in their make-up that which is likely to belong to a whole social world, the world that helped to fashion them and that is deviously reflected or distorted in them. Censure of this sort is the work of petty moralists and propagandists, not historians (p. 5).” — 1 person liked it

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