Girolamo Savonarola, OP or Jerome Savonarola was an ascetic Dominican friar from Ferrara and a preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He became known for his prophecies of civic glory, his advocacy of the destruction of secular art and culture, and his calls for Christian renewal. He denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule, and the exploitation of the poor.
Girolamo Savonarola by Fra Bartolomeo, c. 1498, Museo di San Marco, Florence.
Fantasy portrait of Girolamo Savonarola by Moretto da Brescia, c. 1524.
Illustration from Compendio di revelatione, 1496, by Savonarola
Italian Renaissance Medal of Girolamo Savonarola by Fiorentino. Electrotype, obverse
Ferrara is a city and comune (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. As of 2016, it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated 44 kilometres northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north. The town has broad streets and numerous palaces dating from the Renaissance, when it hosted the court of the House of Este. For its beauty and cultural importance, it has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Image: Castello esterno
Image: Via Giuseppe Mazzini. Ferrara, Italy
Image: Palazzo Braghini Rossetti (Ferrara) 01
Image: Cattedrale di San Giorgio di Ferrara
