Salutati, Coluccio ............................
(1331–1406)
Important humanist, scholar, and political
leader of Florence, Italy. Born in the vil-
lage of Stignano, Tuscany, he studied at
the University of Bologna and was then
appointed as the secretary to Pope Urban
IV. Appointed the chancellor of Florence
in 1375, Salutati held the post for the rest
of his life. As chancellor, Salutati supported
Leonardo Brunt in his struggles with the
church hierarchy, hosted Manuel Chryso-
laras in Florence and granted this impor-
tant scholar a pension. His patronage of
scholars on behalf of Florence provided
impetus to classical scholarship.
Salutati opposed Giangaleazzo Visconti
of Milan in his efforts to take control of
Florence. Salutati waged a war with Milan
that lasted for more than twelve years, un-
til the death of Visconti in 1402. Florence
remained an independent city and in the
next century flourished from its involve-
ment in banking and trade.
Salutati is credited as much for his cul-
tural achievements as for his political ones.
A skilled orator and writer, Salutati
amassed a large collection of books. He
sought out classical manuscripts and dis-
covered the lost letters of Cicero as well as
the works of other Roman writers, includ-
ing Cato and Germanicus. Salutati also
supported the merits of pagan classical lit-
erature, which was still under assault by
the church.
Savonarola, Girolamo ......................
(1452–1498)
Dominican monk whose fiery preaching
ignited a movement of cultural reform and
puritanism in Florence, and who became a
martyr for his cause on the day of his pub-
lic execution in the city’s main square, the
Piazza della Signoria. Born in Ferrara, the
son of a doctor, Savonarola was trained
for a career in medicine but took a stron-
ger interest in the Bible, the writings of
Aristotle, and the work of the medieval
Scholastics, including Saint Thomas
Aquinas. He studied at the University of
Ferrara but spurned a career as a scholar
by turning to the Dominican order, which
he joined in 1475. In this year he began
his harsh public criticism of the Papacy,
naming it a “proud whore” in his poem
De Ruina Ecclesiae.
Favoring the solitary and ascetic life,
he withdrew to the monastery of San Do-
menico in Bologna and, in 1481, joined
San Marco, a convent in Florence. At the
Church of San Lorenzo, he preached
against the vice, corruption, and vanity of
the church and its leaders as well as the
pursuit of riches among the Florentines.A portrait of Girolamo Savonarola, by Fra
Bartolommeo.Salutati, Coluccio