The author of the "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili", Francesco Colonna, was a Renaissance humanist in Florence. He is an ardent fan of knowledge, books, arts and anything that has a Renaissance identity on it. His passion for Greek and Roman literature was immense. But a fanatical priest, one Girolamo Savonarola, sees the exact opposite; in his mind Florence was gradually turning into a free-thinking city, with its people starting to forget God and worshipping knowledge. As soon as he rises to power in Florence, Savonarola starts the infamous Bonfire of the Vanities, a practice of burning books and art that seemed to contain elements of blasphemy. Colonna could not stand this practice and confronted Girolamo Savonarola himself as a sign of protest, only to be disappointed. Colonna started the building of a large underground vault to seal away a number of ancient books and pieces of art to preserve them and protect them from the followers of the priest. On one occasion, to prove his stand, Francesco and two of his men walked onto the raging inferno of the bonfire. As a result, Francesco met a fiery end. As he expected, the death of Francesco sparked the cry against the reign of Savonarola, who was later himself hung and then burnt to ashes. Before dying, Colonna wrote the "Hypnerotomachia", an encrypted book, in his efforts to uplift humanism despite religious dogmas. He disguises its contents in a seemingly innocent piece of Renaissance romantic literature, concerning the love between Poliphilo and Polia. "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili" itself meant "Poliphilo's Struggle of Love in a Dream".