Girolamo Savonarola (; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) was an Italian
Dominican friar and preacher active in
Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of secular art and culture, and his calls for Christian renewal. He denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule and the exploitation of the poor. He prophesied the coming of a biblical flood and a new
Cyrus from the north who would reform the Church. In September 1494, when
Charles VIII of France invaded Italy, and threatened Florence, such prophesies seemed on the verge of fulfillment. While Savonarola intervened with the French king, the Florentines expelled the ruling
Medici and, at the friar's urging, established a "popular" republic. Declaring that Florence would be the
New Jerusalem, the world center of
Christianity and "richer, more powerful, more glorious than ever", he instituted an extreme puritanical campaign, enlisting the active help of Florentine youth.