One of the most famous people born in Ferrara was Girolamo Savonarola. It’s hard to tell today what a man he really was, what his real intentions were and if we’d be able to agree.
What we have is a distorted image of a man who was a danger to the rich. He may have been a crazy religious fanatic, unscrupolous and vile, but the opposite may be true as well. What we know is that he died on the gallows, that his body was burned and the remains were thrown into the river. Such was the hatred thrown against him.
If you think of it, it’s not much better today, even in our time of meticulously recorded history.
John F Kennedy was shot in Dallas, that much we know. By whom? The official record is dubious. 911? Don’t get me started!
History is a reconstruction by necessity, and much more so when money and strong interests come together to shape it.