Giovanni Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio - a statue of the famous writer in front of the Uffizi in Florence, Italy. Click on the image to expand its view.

Boccaccio (1313-1375), an Italian writer and poet, was working mostly in Naples and Florence before the Black Death arrived in Italy. Historians are certain he was not living in Florence, however, when "the pestilence" (as he often referred to the plague) arrived.

As "the Death" took its toll on people in Florence, Boccaccio worked on his greatest achievement - The Decameron.  It took him ten years to complete.

To learn more about The Decameron, and its author, visit Brown University's highly regarded web site, Decameron Web.