Today, by pure serendipity, I had the incredible opportunity to observe one of the hallowed ceremonies performed annually in Florence. It was the first time I’ve ever been present for this event and I must admit I am still kind of stunned that I caught it at all, let alone that I caught ALL of it!

On this day we remember Girolamo Savonarola, the consequential friar who could be said to have played with fire.

The photo above shows the plaque that is installed in the pavement in the Piazza della Signoria, marking the spot where the friar was executed in 1494. It was a gruesome end for the priest: he was first hanged and then burned, as were 2 of his devotees.

Every year, on the morning of the anniversary of his death, there is a Renaissance era type parade from the Palazzo della Parte Guelfa to the main governmental square known as the Piazza della Signoria. The parade stops in front of the Palazzo Vecchio where a gorgeous floral wreath is ceremoniously laid on the plaque which marks the spot where the burning took place.

It was in this self same square where, at the height of his power, he held the infamous Bonfire of the Vanities during the periods of Lent in 1497 and 1498. Non-Christian books, artworks depicting any subjects not sanctioned by the church, and objects of earthly passion and distraction, such as cards, precious fabrics, jewelry, make-up and wigs, were burned in the square on a platform made of seven steps, symbolizing the Seven Vices.

Savonarola was an extremely influential preacher who had called for great reforms of the church at the beginning of his career in Florence, which provoked anger from Pope Alexander VI. In 1491 Savonarola was made prior of San Marco monastery in Florence and his ascent to power began. Soon he was preaching in the city’s cathedral and his influence spread like wildfire. When the Medici family was thrown out of Florence in 1494, due to a sharp decline in its popularity after the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent de’ Medici and the incompetence of his son Piero, Savonarola filled the power void and substituted a theocratic government for the humanist thought and neo-platonic philosophy of the former regime.

Savonarola reorganized the city-state’s government and, inspired by the model of Venice, increased political representation to 1500 people. He then commissioned an extension to the town hall, the Salone del ‘500, where the newly enlarged government could meet. He referred to this room as the Hall of Christ.

His sermons increased in religious fervor and he claimed that Christ was speaking through him. He attacked the papacy, who initially offered him a cardinal’s hat to silence him. He rejected this and was excommunicated. The Pope’s son, Cesare Borgia, was the head of the papal army and came to Florence where a forced confession was taken from the friar, followed by his execution in the town square.

The ashes of Savonarola and his two followers were carted away and scattered in the Arno river, in order to prevent devotees from searching for relics, although the cult of Savonarola continued throughout the 16th century. The morning after the executions, flower petals covered the area where the event took place. Nowadays a commemorating plaque (near the Neptune fountain) indicates the exact point where Savonarola was executed and is annually commemorated.

Visitors to the beautiful San Marco monastery can enter his cell where many of the sermons would have been written and can see the bell that used to call the Florentines to hear him speak. This bell was exiled to the dreaded enemy of the Dominicans, the Franciscan church San Salvatore al Monte, after his death. A few years later the Gonfaloniere Pier Soderini, head of the Republic, in an act of clemency, returned the bell to the Dominicans.

In commemoration of Savonarola, whom many Florentines respect greatly for his early efforts to reform the corrupt Catholic Church, a traditional parade and laying of a wreath takes place on May 23 of each year. It has taken place annually since the Renaissance, not counting periods such as the World Wars, etc. Known as La Fiorita, on May 23rd rose petals and flowers are placed on the plaque in Piazza della Signoria. This event is officially celebrated with a 10 am mass inside the Priori’s Chapel in Palazzo Vecchio, followed at 10.30 by the Fiorata, and at 11 the historical parade proceeds to the Ponte Vecchio where a Florentine woman from the parade throws more rose petals in the Arno river.