The Elegy of Lady Fiammetta by Giovanni Boccaccio is a groundbreaking psychological narrative that gives voice to one of literature's earliest and most compelling female protagonists. Written in the 14th century, this remarkable work stands apart from traditional medieval storytelling by placing the emotional and interior life of a woman at its center, creating an intimate portrait of love, betrayal, longing, and despair. Presented as a first-person monologue, the narrative unfolds through...

In the summer of 1348, as the Black Death ravages their city, ten young Florentines take refuge in the countryside...Taken from the Greek, meaning 'ten-day event', Boccaccio's Decameron sees his characters amuse themselves by each telling a story a day, for the ten days of their confinement - a hundred stories of love and adventure, life and death, and surprising twists of fate. Less preoccupied with abstract concepts of morality or religion than earthly v...

La raccolta di novelle è stata quasi certamente scritta fra il 1349 e il 1353, all’indomani cioè della terribile pestilenza che dal 1348 devastò l’Europa. Come dice il titolo grecizzante l’azione si svolge e si chiude nel giro di dieci giorni.Dopo un “proemio” indirizzato alle “vaghe donne” che per prova conoscano l’amore, la lunga introduzione alla prima giornata dà un quadro terrificante dell’atmosfera di orrore e di morte che circonda Firenze in preda alla peste. Boccaccio immagina che ...

The medieval masterpiece that shaped the modern short story — a hundred tales of wit, desire, and fortune told against the shadow of the Black Death. Florence, 1348: as plague ravages the city, seven young women and three young men flee to a secluded villa in the countryside. To pass the days, each tells one story every evening for ten days — a hundred tales in all, ranging from bawdy comedy to tragic romance, from clever tricksters outwitting fools to lovers defying fate. Giovanni Boccacc...

Ten young Florentines shut themselves in a country villa to escape the plague of 1348 and tell each other a hundred stories in ten days - merchants, nuns, tricksters and unfaithful wives, told without moralising. Boccaccio had watched the plague take his father and stepmother. The frame is grief; almost everything inside it is comedy. Fifty-five plates of painting, among them Panini and Joli, carry the tale from ancient ruins to the crowded piazzas and pantheon interiors of a later Rome.

Ten young Florentines shut themselves in a country villa to escape the plague of 1348 and tell each other a hundred stories in ten days - merchants, nuns, tricksters and unfaithful wives, told without moralising. Boccaccio had watched the plague take his father and stepmother. The frame is grief; almost everything inside it is comedy. Ninety-seven plates of Venetian squares and river cities by Canaletto and Guardi run alongside the tales, matching the restless, worldly energy of the hundre...

"The Decameron" is framed as a series of stories told by a group of young people who have retreated to a villa outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was ravaging the city at the time. The group consists of seven women and three men who each take turns telling stories over the course of ten days, hence the title "Decameron" which means "ten days" in Greek.The collection comprises a total of 100 stories, each exploring various themes such as love, morality, wit, trickery, and hum...

"Rebhorn deserves our gratitude for an eminently persuasive translation. . . . I celebrate his accomplishment."—Edith GrossmanThe year is 1348. The Black Death has begun to ravage Europe. Ten young Florentines—seven women and three men—escape the plague-infested city and retreat to the countryside around Fiesole. At their leisure in this isolated and bucolic setting, they spend ten days telling each other stories—tales of romance, tragedy, comedy, and farce—one hun...

The Decameron (/dɪˈkæmərən/; Italian: Decameron [deˈkaːmeron, dekameˈrɔn, -ˈron] or Decamerone [dekameˈroːne]), subtitled Prince Galehaut (Old Italian: Prencipe Galeotto [ˈprentʃipe ɡaleˈɔtto, ˈprɛn-]) and sometimes nicknamed l'Umana commedia ("the Human comedy"), is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a ...

Giovanni Boccaccio'Äôs "The Decameron" is a masterful collection of 100 stories narrated by a group of young Florentines who retreat to the countryside to escape the ravages of the Black Death. Written in the 14th century, this pioneering work of prose fiction employs a frame narrative structure, intertwining tales ranging from the humorous to the poignant. Boccaccio'Äôs vivid characterization and sharp social commentary reflect the complexities of human nature, revealing themes of love, f...

The Decameron, is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio probably conceived of The Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. The various tales of love in The Decameron range from t...

The Decameron is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city.