Savonarola, Guicciardini e la Storia d’Italia

The essay offers a critical reassessment of the complex relationship between Francesco Guicciardini and Girolamo Savonarola. It contends that, notwithstanding existing scholarship, fresh insights emerge when the subject is examined through a renewed critical framework. The study opens by analysing the varied attitudes within the Guicciardini family toward Savonarola, emphasizing the divergent positions held by Francesco’s father and brothers. It then turns to a close textual analysis of Guicciardini’s Storia d’Italia, investigating his representation of Savonarola against the backdrop of the political upheavals that marked the late Quattrocento, when Italy became a contested arena for European powers. Finally, the essay traces the evolution of Guicciardini’s historiographical approach over three decades, juxtaposing his extensive treatment of Savonarola in the Storie fiorentine with the more compressed and strategically revised account in the Storia d’Italia. This comparative analysis reveals significant shifts, omissions, and editorial choices that illuminate Guicciardini’s working method as a historian