Giovanni Boccaccio is an Italian prose writer and poet of the 14th century, a prominent representative of Renaissance literature. Boccaccio's work greatly influenced Western culture. Boccaccio is known to the current reader primarily as the creator of The Decameron.
The early years and first works
Giovanni Boccaccio was born in the Florentine Republic, in the town of Certaldo, in the summer of 1313 (the exact date is unknown). His father was a merchant, and since about ten years he tried to teach his son a merchant business, but the boy categorically did not like this occupation. In the end, Giovanni was allowed to study in law. However, he did not become a lawyer either.
In the thirties of the XIV century, Boccaccio lived in Naples. And just at that time the writer created the first works - an erotic poem called "Diana's House", the novel "Filokolo", the poem "Philostratus".
Maria d'Aquino and Boccaccio
As Boccaccio himself writes, in 1336 in the church of San Lorenzo he saw a beautiful girl - Maria d'Aquino (later in his works he will call her Fiammetta). Soon, Mary became the main love and muse of Giovanni. Basically, the early texts of Boccaccio were written about Mary or dedicated to her. However, the girl, as the writer himself claims, remained faithful to him for not too long. Judging by the verses, her betrayal really upset Boccaccio. Alas, to date, there is no absolute evidence that Maria d'Aquino really existed.
It is worth noting that, in general, throughout his life, Giovanni Boccaccio had many novels with different women and several children. For example, he had an illegitimate daughter of Violant, to whom he dedicated some of his verses.
Friendship with Petrarch and diplomatic activity
In 1340, in connection with the ruin of his father, Giovanni Boccaccio came back to Florence (Republic of Florence). A year later, in 1341, another important event occurred in his biography - he personally met the brilliant poet Francesco Petrarch. Their friendship lasted more than thirty years. It was after conversations with Petrarch that Boccaccio broke with his former frivolous life and, on the whole, became calmer and more demanding of himself.
It should be said that in the Florentine Republic, Boccaccio was a very respected person. It is known that the citizens of Florence repeatedly elected him for responsible diplomatic work. For example, in 1350 he was a messenger in Ravenna under Astarro di Polento, and in 1351 he was sent to Padua to inform Francesco Petrarch that he could come to Florence (although Francesco was once expelled from this for political reasons) and become the head of one of the local university departments. There is also information that in 1353 Boccaccio was sent to Pope Innocent VI for negotiations regarding the relationship of the highest clergyman with the ruler of Germany, Charles IV.
The Decameron and other works of the Florentine period
For three years, from 1350 to 1353, Boccaccio created his most famous work - The Decameron. In fact, this is a collection of one hundred realistic short stories imbued with the ideas of humanism, the denial of ascetic morality, free-thinking and sparkling humor. Here, the reader can get an idea of the mores and types of Italian society of that era.
In addition to the Decameron, the so-called Florentine period of Boccaccio's creative work includes the idyllic novel Ameto, the poem allegory Love Vision, the poems Fiesolan Nymphs and Korbaccio, the treatise Dante's Life, etc.
