Historedia
EuropeEvent

Bonfire of the Vanities

When
1497
Where
Public square of Florence
Episodes
1

On Shrove Tuesday, February 7, 1497, followers of Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola burned thousands of objects deemed immoral in Florence's public square. This event, known as the Bonfire of the Vanities, targeted cosmetics, art, and books during Carnival.

Episodes

  1. February 7, 1497 · Public square of FlorenceBonfire of the Vanities

    Savonarola's supporters burned thousands of immoral objects in Florence's public square on Shrove Tuesday, 1497.

Background and detail

The Burning. Supporters collected and burned thousands of items, including cosmetics, art, and books, in the public square of Florence. The event occurred on the occasion of Shrove Tuesday, also known as martedì grasso, during the Carnival season.

People involved

Sources

  1. Bonfire of the vanities Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-24
  2. Girolamo Savonarola Wikipedia

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.