It is common to blame the invention of the smartphone for negative contemporary tendencies. But how many of us would actually be willing to burn our mobiles?
In the academic year 2025/2026, Martin Romatowski is a guest researcher at the Norwegian Institute in Rome. Martin has an MA degree in art history from Stockholm University and started his doctorate at Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas (University of Oslo) in the autumn of 2024. His project on the so-called bonfires of the vanities (falò delle vanità) – the mass burning of art works and artefacts in fifteenth-century Italy – has brought him to Rome, and from there to several of Italy's most beautiful cities.
Decks of cards, chess boards, and perfume
– Tell us a bit about your project.
– My project is about a phenomenon in central and northern Italy in the fifteenth century where various kinds of objects and art works were burnt on the bonfires because they were viewed as immoral. The bonfires were organised by religious preachers with plenty of followers – I tend to compare them to the influencers of our own time. They held great sway and were inspirational to many when it came to how to live one's life. Like some kind of rock stars on tour, they went from city to city and preached before tens of thousands of people.
Martin explains that the trend of burning objects at the bonfire was started in the 1420s by the Franciscan Bernardino da Siena. The Franciscans constituted a religious order that unlike traditional monks did not live in monasteries but aimed to evangelise amongst common people. Bernardino had a great audience, and when he argued in favour of burning “immoral” objects, it did not take long before the bonfires were a fact.
– What was Bernardino’s problem with these objects?
– He lived in politically and religiously uncertain times, when many were looking for structure and guidelines in their existence. The objects came to symbolise everything that was negative in this period. However, some of these objects were also connected to real problems, for instance gambling. Decks of cards, chessboards, and game pieces were all thrown on the flames. Other objects, such as perfume and mirrors, were associated with a vain and superficial way of life.
From objects to humans
Although mainly objects were burnt, human lives were sometimes lost.
– Bernardino da Siena was here in Rome in 1424 and had a large bonfire organised at the Capitol. Shortly after, a woman was burnt as a witch in this city. While Bernardino was not directly responsible for this, the burning of the ostensible witch may have been inspired by all the other bonfires.
The falò delle vanità phenomenon culminated in the late fifteenth century with Girolamo Savonarola. He was a member of the Dominican Order, whose way of life and practices were similar to those of the Franciscans. Girolamo was a controversial figure; having been excommunicated by the Pope, he himself ended up being burnt to death in 1498.
Bernardino and Girolamo, representing the start and end points of the bonfires of vanity phenomenon, constitute the focus of Martin’s project. As well as mapping the categories of the objects that were burnt and identifying the practical and symbolic role these objects played in their own time, he studies texts connected to the two “influencers” to understand how they viewed the artefacts in question.
– Since I work on objects that have been lost, it is useful for me to examine similar artefacts from the period, and there are many such artefacts here in Italy.
Italian resources
Rome and Italy have other resources that are useful to Martin, especially the rich research libraries and the access to Italian scholarship. He also appreciates having contact with research environments working on the pre-modern period, both at the Institute and at other institutions in and outside of Rome.
– I have known all along that I wanted to do a research stay in Italy, since it’s so relevant to my project. After starting my doctorate in Oslo, I came to know Kristin B. Aavitsland, then director of the Norwegian Institute, and she encouraged me to come here.
– How has it been so far?
– Absolutely amazing! It's amazing to be part of an academic environment which is so right for me. My thesis has gained a lot from this stay.
The place to be
Martin highlights last autumn’s institute seminar where he presented his project as something he particularly benefited from.
– It was a really supportive forum with many great questions and feedback. In April, I will present at another seminar, where I get to share what I have been doing over the last months. I also look forward to participating at the institute seminars held by other researchers, and to the evening lectures.
Having a base in Rome is practical when travelling for work elsewhere in Italy – not least when one is following in the footsteps of the touring bonfire preachers. So far, Martin has visited Florence, Venice, Urbino, and Gubbio, and at the end of February he is going to Genova, Siena, and Assisi.
– What would you say to other PhD fellows and researchers considering a stay in Rome?
– The Norwegian Institute is a very good base to form new contacts, both Italian and international. If you are studying anything related to Italy in any way, this is the place to be.