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BY DAWN ON 7 April 1498 people were already filing into the Piazza della Signoria. Only three entrances were left open, and these were heavily guarded by armed men. No spectator was permitted to carry arms, and on specific orders of the Signoria no women or children were permitted to enter the square, on the grounds that their expressions of emotion might stir the crowd beyond control. By ten o’clock in the morning the piazza was crammed with spectators, a large portion of whom were Piagnoni and their supporters; but it was equally evident that other large sections of the crowd were openly anti-Savonarolan. Anticipating this tense situation, the Signoria had commandeered a thousand men to take up various strategic positions throughout the piazza, with the aim of maintaining order and quickly thwarting any disturbances that might occur. These armed men too consisted of representatives of both sides of the divided population, making no effort to hide their sympathies. With a show of characteristic arrogance, Doffo Spini, the head of theCompagnacci, led in a group of several hundred of his supporters, all resplendent in full armour. Warned by the Dominicans that the Compagnacci might well make a move to seize Savonarola, the Piagnoni sympathiser Marcuccio Salviati had raised a corps of 300 armed men who also reported for guard duty in the piazza that day. All troops present were nominally under the command of Giovanni della Vecchia, the Signoria’s Captain of the Square, who in addition commanded 500 armed men of his own. Most of the men of this detachment were ordered to guard the Palazzo della Signoria, containing Gonfaloniere Popoleschi and his Signoria, in case any attempt was made to storm the building by Piagnoni, who were now under no illusions concerning the Signoria’s anti-Savonarolan sympathies.
By noon all three public entrances to the piazza had been sealed to prevent any further spectators cramming into the already overcrowded space. Despite the colourful appearance of the multitude and the soldiery beneath the April sky, the atmosphere was far from festive, with tension mounting as the time passed. The contesting parties had been ordered to present themselves in the piazza at 1 p.m., and at the appointed hour 200 Franciscans duly arrived. Dressed in their plain brown robes tied with knotted white ropes, they filed silently between the cleared crowds across the piazza, their heads bowed. Without any outward display or show of emotion, they took up their allotted position in the open Loggia dei Signori, beside the Palazzo della Signoria, which had been divided in two by a wooden barrier to separate the opposing parties. The Franciscan side of the barrier, on the eastern side closest to the Palazzo, was protected by breastplated Compagnacci, whilst Salviati had deputed a squad of his pro-Savonarolan troops to guard the western side. Before the Loggia, stretching from the edge of the raised pavement in front of the Palazzo della Signoria towards the western side of the piazza, stood the long raised-earth walkway ready for the ordeal, its sides piled with incendiary-soaked logs and brushwood.
Around noon Savonarola had celebrated High Mass at San Marco, before delivering a brief sermon to a large audience of fellow friars and supporters. Curiously, even at this late stage, he told them: ‘I cannot be sure whether the ordeal will take place, because this does not depend upon us.’1 Yet he went on to assure his audience, ‘if it does take place, victory will certainly be ours’.
Savonarola and his Dominican delegation then set out from San Marco, reaching the Piazza della Signoria half an hour after the arrival of the Franciscans. Landucci watched their entrance:
And then came the Dominicans, with the greatest show of devotion. There was a great number of Frati, about 250, walking in pairs, followed by Fra Domenico bearing a crucifix, and then Fra Girolamo holding aloft the Host; whilst behind them was a great multitude with torches and candles, devoutly singing hymns. After they had taken their place in the Loggia and prepared an altar, they sang a mass; and the people awaited the great spectacle.2
Yet the expectant crowds were in for a disappointment if they expected the ordeal to get under way at once. It soon became clear that the Francisans were determined to raise certain procedural objections. According to the eyewitness Parenti, Fra Domenico had taken it upon himself to don for the occasion a full-length cloak ‘of fiery red velvet’.3 It was evident to many present that he was playing up to the full his central role in this potentially miraculous occasion, although the ironic symbolism of his flame-coloured attire seems to have escaped him. As Martines has observed, it was as if he was ‘engaged in an extraordinary and contradictory pantomime of the martyrdom that he believed would not overtake him’.4 Chief amongst the Franciscan objections were these very robes that Fra Domenico had decided to wear (‘The Franciscans were afraid they might be bewitched’5) in order to protect him from the flames. When his red cloak was removed, the Franciscans further protested that the Dominican robes he was wearing underneath the cloak might also be ‘bewitched’, and Fra Domenico was taken into the Palazzo della Signoria, where these too were removed and he was stripped naked. According to word that later circulated amongst the Piagnoni, the Franciscans even insisted upon scrutinising his genitals for any untoward supernatural signs.
Fra Domenico was made to don the robes of another Dominican friar before he returned to the Loggia. Even then, the Franciscans insisted that Savonarola or one of his fellow Dominicans might attempt to bewitch him before the ordeal, so he was made to wait amongst the Franciscans, where he stood clutching the crucifix that he firmly believed would protect him from the flames.
Next the Franciscans insisted that Fra Domenico should not be permitted to enter the flames carrying his crucifix, in case this too was somehow ‘enchanted’. Savonarola proved willing to concede this point, on Fra Domenico’s behalf, and suggested that instead he should enter the flames bearing a piece of the consecrated Hostfn1 that Savonarola himself had borne into the piazza. Once again there was an objection, and representatives of the Dominicans and the Franciscans were invited into the Palazzo della Signoria for a theological discussion of this matter, while Fra Domenico and Savonarola waited outside. The Franciscans were determined not to let the Host enter the flames, on the grounds that this ‘was most wicked’6 and ‘against the Church’, whilst the Dominicans insisted that even if the appearance of Christ’s body (the bread) was consumed by the flames, its essence (Christ’s body itself) could not possibly be affected.
Outside, the mood of the vast confined crowd was beginning to change. All had come expecting a spectacle – some in the belief that they would witness a miracle, no less; others stirred by anticipation of the gruesome sight of people being burned to death. In expectation of such a wonder, one way or the other, both factions had been willing to remain patient for a considerable time, but by now their patience was beginning to wear thin, as the disputations went on and on behind the closed doors of the palazzo. Savonarola, becoming increasingly worried about this developing state of affairs, sent an urgent message into the palazzo, insisting that both sides settle their differences as soon as possible so that the ordeal could go ahead. The reply from the palazzo made it clear to Savonarola that if this was his attitude, the Dominicans were quite free to proceed with the ordeal on their own. Savonarola naturally turned down this request. Villari, summarising the many detailed eyewitness reports, described what happened next:
The patience of the multitude was now running out. All of these people had been assembled in the piazza for many hours: most had been without food or water since dawn, and were becoming impatient at the boredom and futility of waiting in vain for something to happen. Grumbling murmurs were beginning to arise from all parts of the crowd, interspersed with the occasional seditious cry. The Arrabbiati, who had been eagerly awaiting just such an opportunity, tried to turn it to their advantage. A lackey employed by Giovanni Manetti was encouraged to incite a disturbance, and all of a sudden the piazza was in a tumult. Many of the exits from the piazza were closed, so that the people found themselves hemmed in and confined on all sides. Consequently they began to rush forward towards the palazzo. This had evidently been the moment when the Arrabbiati had planned to grab Savonarola and put an end to him with their bare hands. Indeed, they attempted to do just this, but Salviati lined up his men in front of the Loggia, and then drew a line on the ground with his sword, exclaiming: ‘Whoever steps over this line will find himself run through by the sword of Marcuccio Salviati!’ And such was the determined manner in which he said these words that no one dared step forward.7
Meanwhile the troop of soldiers employed by the Signoria to guard the palazzo, seeing the crowd surging forward, advanced into their path and began forcefully driving them back. ‘By now the Signoria was completely at a loss as to what to do.’ Fortunately the situation was transformed by the outbreak of a sudden violent storm, with thunder, lightning and a deluge of rain. This might have put an end to the entire proceedings, but the crowd was by now so determined that they refused to budge, continuing to stand there despite the continuing downpour. Even so, some could not help seeing this as an omen of God’s displeasure at the ordeal taking place. Then the storm ceased as suddenly as it had begun. The city mace-bearers, the official heralds of the Signoria, emerged from the palazzo to announce that the ordeal had been cancelled. This was greeted with consternation amongst the crowd.
By now it was becoming dark, and the Arrabbiati did their best once again to take advantage of the situation. Rumours were spread that the ordeal had been cancelled because Savonarola had not permitted Fra Domenico to take part in it. There was some truth in this, as Savonarola had refused the Dominican pair permission to undertake the ordeal on their own, and the crowd had witnessed this refusal. Those at the front who had been able to hear and understand what was going on had quickly relayed the information to those behind them. Even the Piagnoni were now becoming persuaded that Savonarola ought to have taken up the challenge himself. Here had been his chance to reveal his miraculous powers before all who believed in him, and at the last moment he had been revealed as a charlatan. The mood of the crowd began to change. The Franciscans soon departed the square, and some time afterwards the Dominicans were hustled out through the angry crowd under cover of darkness, making their way quickly back to San Marco.
With hindsight, it is possible to see that Savonarola was tricked into this ordeal. Indeed, judging from his words, it seems that he himself may well have had increasing misgivings about the entire affair for some days beforehand. The aim of the Signoria, in league with the Arrabbiati and theCompagnacci, had been to turn the crowd against Savonarola, and in this they certainly succeeded. Savonarola was now seen as the one who had deprived the people of Florence of their spectacle: he was a charlatan and a cheat, who was incapable of miracles and had never intended his friars to be put to the test. The remaining crowd in the piazza began giving vent to their anger, before they were eventually dispersed and sent home into the night by the attendant armed troops.
This was in many ways the significant event, the pivotal moment. Prior to the planned ordeal the city had been divided. As a result of this fiasco, even the Piagnoni turned against Savonarola – in significant numbers, if not totally. From now on the Arrabbiatihad the upper hand and were determined to exploit this.
fn1 Holy Mass during this period usually involved the taking of a piece of bread torn from an unleavened loaf, known as the Host, as well as a sip of wine, after they had both been consecrated by the priest, a ritual that transformed them into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This was no mere symbolic act, and the Host was regarded as the actual body of Christ.