This book investigates how the religious and political movement inspired by Girolamo Savonarola shaped the transition of Florence from a republic to a principate between 1494 and 1545. Lorenzo Polizzotto, a scholar of Renaissance history, utilizes extensive archival research and primary manuscript sources to reconstruct the influence of the 'Piagnoni' or Savonarolan followers. The work argues that this movement was not merely a religious phenomenon but a central force in the political ideology and cultural evolution of the Florentine state during a period of significant institutional change.

Historians and scholars of the Italian Renaissance recognize this work as a foundational study for understanding the long-term impact of Savonarola's movement on Florentine governance. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the meticulous nature of the archival evidence presented throughout the text.