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His ashes were "dispersed in the gentle winds of a Florentine May"; the city might have donned sackcloth to go with them, but instead, it quickly reverted to its old ways. Today, a simple plaque marks the place where Savonarola was burned; few tourists ever notice it in the pavement, are drawn instead to a spot only a short distance away, where an array of nude marble statues seem to look ironically down at the inconspicuous marker. Dominicans have made several attempts—the last only five years ago—to have their hero canonized. But sainthood is unlikely, say Vatican spokesmen, because the man Savonarola defied was a Pope, even though he was a Borgia. To the historian, perhaps the most fascinating question is what would have happened if the Roman Catholic Church had been reformed at the time the angry friar demanded it. When Savonarola died, Martin Luther was 14 years old.