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How did Girolamo Savonarola’s followers collect objects for the Bonfire of the Vanities?
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Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola, painting by Fra Bartolomeo; in the Museo di San Marco, Florence.
To collect objects for the Bonfire of the Vanities, Girolamo Savonarola organized bands of young men starting in 1497. These groups traveled from house to house throughout Florence to persuade residents to surrender worldly possessions to which they were particularly attached.1
The items collected included:
* Dice
* Books
* Paintings
* Elegant dresses1
Once gathered, these "vanities" were placed on a bonfire, and their destruction was solemnly dedicated to the Lord. This campaign was part of a broader moral crusade led by Savonarola and his followers, known as the Piagnoni, or "Wailers," who sought to purge the city of behaviors they deemed sinful, such as gambling, blasphemy, and illicit sex.1