Main theme: the political contrasts in Florence at the turn of the century and their reflection in Michelangelo's artistic work.

Part 2. Savonarola's City of God

• Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Back in Florence things were turning for the worse, the fronts between rich and poor sharpening. Botticelli's Birth of Venus was painted for Lorenzo's second cousin Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici's villa in Castello, outside of Florence. It was designed to be hung above Lorenzo's marital bed and therefore a perfect symbol of the loose morals of late 15C Florentine society, food for Savonarola's religious onslaught. Botticelli's Primavera, another example of pagan inspiration, was painted for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici's villa as well.
• Savonarola's sermons. For years Savonarola had been striking a responsive cord across the city, especially among the poorer citizens. The divide between rich and poor was only too obvious. While Florence's leading families, such as the Pittis, built new palaces, the poor were struggling just to get by; for many it was a time of uncertainty, depravity. In 1482 Savonarola was posted at San Marco, recently rebuilt at the expense of Lorenzo the Magnificent. In 1489 he gave sermons in San Marco's gardens. Michelangelo would at some point listen to them. In 1491 Savonarola gave his sermons in the larger Cathedral denouncing the city's tyranny and moral depravity. By 1494/5 he was Florence's real power broker, his influence fostering a more democratic and religiously austere Florence. It all came to to a head at the legendary Bonfire of the Vanities which took place in Piazza Signora in 1497. In many ways it was reaction against the Renaissance.
• Savonarola's downfall. Savonarola's rule was not the solution and it soon generated powerful critics. His stand-off with the Franciscans in Piazza Signoria - walking burning brushwood - clearly showed that his popularity was waning. At Easter 1498 the mob laid siege to San Marco demanding Savonarola's surrender. He was eventually dragged out, tortured, condemned to death and finally burned at the stake in Piazza Signoria.

Sights and art works:

Birth of Venus, c. 1485, Botticelli, Galleria Uffizi

Primavera, c. 1477, Botticelli, Galleria Uffizi

Girolamo Savonarola, Fra Bartolomeo, Museo di San Marco

Execution of Savonarola in the Piazza Signoria, 1498, Museo di San Marco