Boccaccio, Giovanni

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 - 1375), an Italian author and poet, was probably born inTuscany, the illegitimate son of a merchant of Certaldo. He lived in Florence and Naples for many years and, abandoning the study of business and law, began to write prose tales, pastorals, and poems. Boccaccioalso produced Filocolo(1336 - 1339), a series of prose romances that featured his beloved. He contributed to the humanism of theRenaissance and to the canon of Italian vernacular literature.

Italian writer and humanist, Boccaccio is best-reminisced as one of the greatest patrons of Renaissance literature. He presented characters that were grounded in reality and icons of medieval virtues. His works are a delicate combination of prose and poetry.