Girolamo Savonarola

About Girolamo Savonarola

Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498) was a fiery Dominican friar and religious reformer in Renaissance Florence, whose influence peaked before the rise of the Medici. He gained immense power by preaching against the secularism and perceived corruption of the Papacy and the ruling class, famously instigating the "Bonfire of the Vanities" where Florentines burned luxury items, art, and pagan books. His zealous campaign led to a brief theocratic republic in Florence until his eventual excommunication, trial, and execution by burning at the stake, solidifying his place as a pivotal, albeit controversial, figure whose impact merits his HPI ranking of #805.

In the contemporary digital landscape, Savonarola occupies an Attention Gap of approximately 1x, suggesting his online visibility aligns closely with his historical importance. His 357K annualized Wikipedia views in 2025 place him in a similar viewership bracket to other religious figures like Methuselah (#884 importance, 560K views) and Jerome (#835 importance, 582K views). This suggests that, unlike some high-ranking figures whose cultural resonance has faded significantly online, Savonarola maintains a stable, if not dominant, level of modern internet attention relative to his historical ranking.

Despite this stable gap alignment, his current digital trajectory is noteworthy: his pageviews saw a +21.5% year-over-year increase and a +18% momentum boost between Q1 and Q3 of 2025, indicating a recent uptick in public or academic interest.