A comprehensive biography of the celebrated author of the Decameron, a medieval masterpiece written in early Italian. Boccaccio (1313-75) stands with Dante and Petrarch as one of the -Three Crowns- of Italian letters, a trio of writers who shaped the history of international humanism, literature, and poetry. In this book, Dante-s award-winning biographer, Marco Santagata, takes up the moving life and legacy of Boccaccio-whose unflinching story of a pandemic-era community (the Decameron) created new possibilities for vernacular Italian prose writing. This first major biography sheds new light on Boccaccio-s life-his family, friends, and foes, aspirations, fears, and frustrations. Santagata shows how transformations in Italian culture affected Boccaccio throughout his life. He charts the influences that shaped Boccaccio-s understanding of literature: what kinds of stories it could tell and what kinds of characters it could depict; and, perhaps most importantly, what role art could play i
