A few months ago on a much dreamed of trip to Italy, I stood in a place that literally sent chills up my spine; the cell of Girolamo Savonarola, in the convent of San Marco in Florence. Savonarola, the Dominican priest who in the year 1494 led an anti-Renaissance movement which gave Florence "The Bonfire of the Vanities".
Savonarola’s rise began at the age of 20 when he wrote the poem De Ruina Mundi (On the Downfall of the World), followed by De Ruina Ecclesiae (On the Downfall of the Church), in which he severely criticized the Catholic Church.
In the same Florence which today houses The David, a testament to artistic perfection and human beauty created out of left-over marble by the young Michelangelo, future painter of the Sistine Chapel, a mere three years after the fall of Savonarola. Michelangelo, almost certainly a homosexual (it’s still being debated) and unquestionably one of history’s finest artists.
Chills – from standing in a place once inhabited by someone who, right or wrong, strongly influenced the course of history. And from the obvious and not-so-obvious similarities to today’s events...
Savonarola was a passionate preacher who gave many standing room only sermons about the Last Days, the sinfulness of the times, the lax morals. He believed the republic of Florence should be a Christian Commonwealth. He had visions and made prophetic pronouncements of his direct communication with God. After The French invaded Florence and the ruling Medici family was overthrown, Savonarola became leader of the city. He set up a "Christian and religious Republic" and one of his first acts was to make sodomy into a capital offence.
In 1497 he and his followers carried out the Bonfire of the Vanities. They went from door to door collecting immoral items; mirrors, cosmetics, lewd pictures, musical instruments, fine dresses, jewelry and the works of immoral poets and burnt them in a large pile in the Piazza della Signoria. Many fine artworks were lost in the numerous bonfires during his rule.
But, alas, as Savonarola grew increasingly extreme in his views, Florence soon tired of him. Gangs of youths rioted, taverns re-opened, and men gambled publicly! In 1498 at the new elections, the Medici party came back into power. Savonarola’s troubles multiplied; he was excommunicated by the Pope and arrested. He was charged with heresy, uttering prophecies, sedition and religious error. He was tortured on the rack, taken out to the Piazza della Signoria, hanged from a cross where a huge fire was lit beneath him in the same place where the Bonfire of the Vanities took place. It was written that his executioner lit the flame exclaiming "The one who wanted to burn me is now himself put to the flames."
Back to The David for a moment. A common interpretation of Michelangelo’s version of David is that it differs from others in that David is depicted before his battle with Goliath. He looks tense and ready for combat. The statue shows David after he has made the decision to fight Goliath but before the battle has actually taken place. It is a representation of the moment between conscious choice and conscious action.
The moment between conscious choice and conscious action.
Traveling through Italy, one cannot help but imagine the past and ponder the events that led to the fall of the Roman Empire. The ruins of the Roman Senate and Coliseum are stark reminders of the excesses of power and the vulnerability of even the most invincible republics. And in the church of Santa Croce in Florence, where the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Dante, and Machiavelli share their space in eternity, one cannot help but reflect on how our current drama will play out.
Will future generations look at us as heroes; a people who, when faced with corruption and greed, hypocrisy and callous indifference to thousands of lives, whose democracy teetered on the edge of fascism, took charge of the democracy that was theirs – as they were taught in grade school – and demanded that their constitution be respected and the rule of law be followed? Or will they shake their heads in bewilderment at our inaction, and apathy, wondering why we gave away our rights, our freedom, our privacy, and our democracy, without a fight?
Are we at a moment between conscious choice and conscious action?
Finally, I must agree with many here that impeachment is the only way. We must show future generations that we were people who believed not only in the concept of democracy but who were willing to fight for it. If we lose, we will not have lost our idealism or our self-respect...we will have done the right thing. And perhaps, in the end, we will inspire future generations beyond us to aspire to the ideals of liberty and justice for all.