Previous Concurrent Next Bonfire of the Vanities Timeframe Conflict Date Place Outcome Affiliations involved Participants The Bonfire of the Vanities was a political movement in Florence during the years 1497 and 1498 in which Girolamo Savonarola, an Italian priest of the Dominican Order, preached for Florentine civilians to return to medieval lifestyles. Following the expulsion of Florence's former rulers, the Medici, Savonarola assumed control of the city after acquiring an Apple of Eden in 1488.