Giovanni Boccaccio

The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio - Part I (Dodo Press)

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) was an Italian author and poet, a friend and correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist in his own right and author of a number of notable works including: On Famous Women: The Decameron and his poetry in the vernacular. Boccaccio's characters are notable for their era in that they are realistic, spirited and clever individuals who are grounded in reality. It is believed he was tutored by Giovanni Mazzuoli and received from him an early introduction to the works of Dante. In Naples, he began what he considered his true vocation, poetry. Works produced in this period include: Filostrato, Teseida, Filocolo a prose version of an existing French romance, and La Caccia di Diana a poem in octave rhyme listing Neapolitan women. He began work on The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio around 1349. The work was largely complete by 1352 and it was Boccaccio's final effort in literature and one of his last works in Italian. Amongst his other works are La Fiammetta, Life of Dante and A Story of Ravenna.