Savonarola was tried, convicted of heresy (1498), and hanged and burned in 1498. ... They were thereby executed in the same place where the "Bonfire of the Vanities" had been lit, and in the same manner that Savonarola had condemned other criminals himself during his own reign in Florence.

What did Girolamo Savonarola do?

Burning books and the destruction "immoral" art. Girolamo Savonarola (21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498), was an Italian Dominican priest and leader of Florence from 1494 until his execution in 1498. Savonarola is famous for burning books, and for the destruction of what he considered immoral art.

Why was Savonarola eventually executed for heresy?

Excommunication and death

On 12 May 1497, Pope Alexander VI excommunicated Savonarola and threatened the Florentines with an interdict if they persisted in harbouring him. After describing the Church as a whore, Savonarola was excommunicated for heresy and sedition.