Chief among the sinners that Savonarola denounced was the infamous Pope Alexander VI, whose riches and lascivious lifestyle perfectly represented the corruption that Savonarola sought to purge. Savonarola's opponents in Florence, urged on by Alexander, were becoming more vocal, and bad economic times in Florence meant that Savanarola's influence was waning. Gangs of young aristocrats harassed Savonarola's followers and heckled him during his sermons. The Franciscan order, traditional rivals of Savonarola's Dominicans, demanded that he show some evidence of his holiness and proposed a trial by fire. Representatives from both orders met in the piazza on April 7, 1498, but the contest was delayed by squabbles over what items the contestants could carry into the fire with them, and a rainstorm finally led to the cancellation of the event. It was perceived that the entire event had been a sham from the start, and Savonarola's charismatic hold over the populace was broken. The next day, a mob attacked his church, and he was put in prison. He and two fellow friars were hanged in May 1498, their bodies burned, and their ashes thrown in the Arno river. In June, Machiavelli would take up his post in the new republican government.
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