Giovanni Boccaccio
Personal Information
Description
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was sometimes simply known as "the Certaldese" and one of the most important figures in the European literary panorama of the fourteenth century.
Books
Man against nature
Decamerone
Decameron, collection of tales by Giovanni Boccaccio, probably composed between 1349 and 1353. The work is regarded as a masterpiece of classical Italian prose. While romantic in tone and form, it breaks from medieval sensibility in its insistence on the human ability to overcome, even exploit, fortune. The Decameron comprises a group of stories united by a frame story. As the frame narrative opens, 10 young people (seven women and three men) flee plague-stricken Florence to a delightful villa in nearby Fiesole. Each member of the party rules for a day and sets stipulations for the daily tales to be told by all participants, resulting in a collection of 100 pieces. This storytelling occupies 10 days of a fortnight (the rest being set aside for personal adornment or for religious devotions); hence, the title of the book, Decameron, or “Ten Days’ Work.” Each day ends with a canzone (song), some of which represent Boccaccio’s finest poetry. –Britannica
Prentice Hall Literature--World Masterpieces
9-10th grade
Thirteene most pleasaunt and delectable questions, entituled A disport of diverse noble personages
Giovanni Boccaccio, Theseid of the nuptials of Emilia = Teseida delle nozze di Emilia
"The first epic poem written in Italian is the Teseida delle nozze di Emilia (Theseid of the Nuptials of Emilia) by Giovanni Boccaccio, the well-known author of the Decameron. Conceived and composed during the Florentine author's stay in Naples, it combines masterfully both epic and lyric themes in a genre that may be defined as an epic of love. Besides its intrinsic literary value, the poem reflects the author's youthful emotions and nostalgia for the happiest times of his life."--BOOK JACKET.