In Book I: The Inferno, Fra Savonarola damns the societal decay of Florence under the rule of the Medici, first Lorenzo the Magnificent and then his son Piero. With his prophecies and charismatic preaching, Savonarola helps drive out the Medici after Lorenzo's death and Piero's downfall and foretells the coming of the Scourge of God. Machiavelli enters the story as an ambitious political operator.
