Decameron

Another Italian famous masterpiece is The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. First of all, Decameron is a collection of 100 novellas,, probably begun in 1350 and finished in 1353 and it is a medieval allegorical work best known for its bawdy tales of love, appearing in all its possibilities from the erotic to the tragic. Other topics such as wit and witticism, practical jokes and wordly initiation also form part of the mosaic. Moreover, beyond its entertainment and literary popularity Decameron remains an important historical document of life in the fourteenth century. Furthermore, this masterpiece is structured in a frame narrative, or frame tale. For instance, Boccaccio begin the description of the Black Death and leads into an introduction of a group of seven young women and three young men who flee from plague-ridden Florence to a villa in the countryside of Fiesole for two weeks. To pass the time, each member of the party tells one story for each one of the nights spent at the villa. Although fourteen days pass, two days each week are set aside: one day for chores and one holy day during which no work is done. In this manner, 100 stories are told by the end of the ten days. In conclusion, Boccaccio’s book is not only a wonderful masterpiece of the fourteenth century, but also an interesting book to read because of its nice stories.