 Trade In this Item for up to £1.50
Trade in The Burning of the Vanities: Savonarola and the Borgia Pope for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £1.50, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
'The city will no longer be a place of flowers, but an abode of robbery, of evil doing, of bloodshed.' This is the dramatic story of Girolamo Savonarola, the visionary friar who terrified Renaissance Florence by his uncannily accurate prophesies of doom - especially of a new barbarian invasion from Charles VIII - and denounced Lorenzo the Magnificent as a tyrant and the Borgia Alexander VI as an unworthy pope. He became virtual ruler of Florence, restoring republican government, and burning 'profane art' in pubic bonfires, most notably in the famous 'Bonfire of the Vanities' in 1497. The years when he dominated the city are among the most dramatic and tragic in Florentine history, and his supporters included: Michelangelo, Botticelli and Machiavelli. But, in the end, Alexander VI turned the Florentines against Savonarola and destroyed him. They stormed his friary, and after a mockery of a trial during which he was tortured and condemned as a heretic, he went to the stake. Desmond Seward tells the extraordinary story of the man who, even after his death, became a cult figure.
About the Author
Desmond Seward was born in Paris and educated at Cambridge University. He is the author of numerious books, including biographies of Henry IV of France, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Marie Antoinette, Empress Eugenie and Napoleon's Family.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
For those who want a good general knowledge of Savonarola this is the best English language book to date. Forget all the others, and don't struggle with Villari, get hold of this work. The narrative is well written and constructed, resulting in a book which is a very easy read, without lacking substantial scholarship. It's subject is brought to life as are the issues which motivated him and the forces that defeated him. Recomended!
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you think that the life of a dominican friar living in Florence on the cusp of the renaissance doesn't sound much like the stuff of thrillers,think again. This particular friar took on the Borgias and the Medici. Throw in a hefty dose of 15th century power politics and you have a fast moving tale of plots, counter plots and general skulduggery.
At the heart of all this is Savonarola himself. To some, the architypal puritan killjoy. To Dominicans, a saint. To Victorian England, a Protestant martyr. Savonarola challenged everybody and everything: the lifestyles of the super rich who tolerated appalling poverty under their noses; power hungry churchmen; corrupt and self seeking political structures.
This is a fascinating and highy readable account of the impact of one person on a world that is both very different from our own and, at times, worryingly familiar.
At the heart of all this is Savonarola himself. To some, the architypal puritan killjoy. To Dominicans, a saint. To Victorian England, a Protestant martyr. Savonarola challenged everybody and everything: the lifestyles of the super rich who tolerated appalling poverty under their noses; power hungry churchmen; corrupt and self seeking political structures.
This is a fascinating and highy readable account of the impact of one person on a world that is both very different from our own and, at times, worryingly familiar.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I also can recommend this book as a good read over some others I have read on this fascinating and controversial figure, Savonarola. The author holds one's interest throughout. His treament is informative yet colourful, and he handles his subject both sympathetically and well.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Europe
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Italy
- Books > Biography > Religious > Christianity
- Books > History > Europe
- Books > History > Religious History > Other Religions
- Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > History & Criticism > Literary Studies
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Catholic > Popes
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
