Giovanni Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author who wrote during the Renaissance. He was born on June 16, 1313, in Paris to a salesman from Florence Boccaccio and a French noblewoman.

His father brought him to Florence where he planned on continuing his work and because of that, he sent Boccaccio to Naples in 1325 so he could get the necessary education in banking to be able to take on his father's business.

He rejected his father's proposal, left law school, and enjoyed a lifestyle more involved in art. He also started writing, which disappointed his father even more.

His first works came to life in Florence and they were: "Filocolo" and novels in verses "Teseida" and "Filostrato".

In 1340 his father had financial loss which, for him, meant the end of life as he knew it because he was cut off from his financial resources. He was forced to come to Florence where he became a diplomat. During his work, he never stopped writing and he became an esteemed author.

He also published "Ninfale Fiesolano", "Ninfale d'Amato", a love novel "Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta" and many scientific works in Latin. He was also so infatuated with Dante that he decided to write his biography and comment on the 17th canto of "The Divine Comedy".

In  1348 plague came to Florence and he lost his father. The plague was his inspiration for "The Decameron" which made him famous worldwide. This book has a hundred novels, and they are filled with optimism.

In 1362 he went through a spiritual crisis and even thought about giving up on writing. He thought about death more often and he became more introverted. Boccaccio died on December 21, 1375, in Certaldo.