What problems did Girolamo Savonarola see in Italian society during his youth?

During his youth, Girolamo Savonarola was deeply troubled by what he described as the "blind wickedness of the peoples of Italy". He found the prevailing culture of his time to be profoundly corrupt, specifically citing the influence of humanistic paganism, which he believed had corrupted manners, art, poetry, and religion itself.1

Furthermore, Savonarola identified the root cause of this widespread moral decay as a clergy that he viewed as vicious, even at the highest levels of the church hierarchy. These early observations shaped his future role as a reformer and preacher, as he felt compelled to speak out against the moral and spiritual decline he perceived in Italian society.1