Background
His father was a notary in Florence.
His father was a notary in Florence.
He suffered from poor health most of his life, which prevented him from taking a more stable job. In the late 1480s, he and Mirandola became students of Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498). In 1496, he translated the teachings of Savonarola from Italian to Latin.
After he began following Savonarola, he rejected his earlier poetry and attempted to write more spiritually.
He participated in Savonarola"s Bonfire of the Vanities, and documented the destruction of art worth "several thousand ducats". He was supported in his writing by noblewoman Lucrezia de" Medici (1470–1553).
They were both interested in the works of poet Dante Alighieri (1265–1321). In 1506, Benivieni published an edition of the Divine Comedy with maps by Antonio Manetti (1423–1497) and commentary by Manetti and Benivieni.
On 20 October 1519, Benivieni signed a Medicean Academy petition to Pope Leo, again requesting the return of Dante from Ravenna.
In 1530, he wrote a letter to Pope Clement in defense of Savonarola, seeking to have his reputation restored within the church.
He was a leading member of the Medicean Academy, a society devoted to literary study.
