In the second part of his Florentine Trilogy, David Swatling focuses on Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), a Dominican friar who arrived in Florence in the late 15th century. His sermons were said to be “so full of terror and alarms that everyone went about the city bewildered, speechless and, as if it were, half dead”. He inspired the “Bonfire of the Vanities”, barely escaped a trial by fire and ended his life in flames. With the help of guests and readings, David brings to life the life and times of this renaissance ayatollah.
Producer: David Swatling
Broadcast: August 30, 2000