The Burning of the Vanities by Desmond Seward

The Burning of the Vanities by Desmond Seward

'The city will no longer be a place of flowers, but an abode of robbery, of evil doing, of bloodshed.' This is the dramatic story of Girolamo Savonarola, the visionary friar who terrified Renaissance Florence by his uncannily accurate prophesies of doom - especially of a new barbarian invasion from Charles VIII - and denounced Lorenzo the Magnificent as a tyrant and the Borgia Alexander VI as an unworthy pope. He became virtual ruler of Florence, restoring republican government, and burning 'profane art' in pubic bonfires, most notably in the famous 'Bonfire of the Vanities' in 1497. The years when he dominated the city are among the most dramatic and tragic in Florentine history, and his supporters included: Michelangelo, Botticelli and Machiavelli. But, in the end, Alexander VI turned the Florentines against Savonarola and destroyed him. They stormed his friary, and after a mockery of a trial during which he was tortured and condemned as a heretic, he went to the stake. Desmond Seward tells the extraordinary story of the man who, even after his death, became a cult figure.

Desmond Seward was born in Paris and educated at Cambridge University. He is the author of numerious books, including biographies of Henry IV of France, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Marie Antoinette, Empress Eugenie and Napoleon's Family.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780750929813
ISBN 10	0750929812
Title	The Burning of the Vanities
Author	Desmond Seward
Condition	Unavailable
Publisher	The History Press Ltd
Year published	2006-03-16
Number of pages	320
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable