Boccaccio's House

In the historical part of Certaldo the house of Giovanni Boccaccio is jealously guarded, one of the fathers of the Italian language and author of the "Decameron". The house is now the seat of the National Centre of Studies on Boccaccio.

Rebuilt after the second world owing to considerable damage caused by the conflict, the house was probably once rebuilt in the 15^th century. The reconstruction was however done in the most scrupulous way and with the utmost respect for the original structure. Thanks to the inhabitants of Certaldo and their affection for the famous yellow-citizen, whom they also dedicate an exhibition of drawings made by contemporary authors and the "Boccaccio Award" for writers appreciated by critics. In the house there is also a museum and a rich library.
Giovanni Boccaccio was born in Florence in 1313, illegitimate child of a merchant, and he spent part of his youth in Naples following his father, where he made merchant and banking studies and took active part in the worldly (he was also said to have an affair with an illegitimate daughter of the king) and cultural life of the town. This experience left such a strong mark on him that he decided to leave his activity and begin the literary career by starting classical and historical studies. In 1334 he made his debut in "Diana's Hunt", an erotic poem followed by "Filostrato", his first narrative work.
He was then called back to Florence, escaped the plague in 1348 and two years later he met Francesco Petrarca, another famous poet of "dolce stil nuovo". A fellowship developed between them, which went on until their death. In the Tuscan town Boccaccio was also entrusted with diplomatic tasks as the one of ambassador in Baviera in 1351. In 1360 he was ordained priest and then he went to Avignone as ambassador at the Holy See. At the beginning of the ‘70s he retired to his house in Certaldo where he died in 1375.
During his life, his work was not particularly recognised. Yet, nowadays the "Decameron", a collection of tales written between 1349 and 1351, is considered one of the most important reference points for the Italian medieval literature, as well as the anticipation of the renaissance one. The book tells the story of a group of young people who, after having escaped the plague and having stopped outside the town, tell each other tales in turns. The humorous feature and the references to eroticism thwarted the spread of this work, which was censured and blamed for immorality in many times.
The critics appreciate the "Decameron" mainly as a work giving a cross-section of life in the fourteenth century and a wide range of characters that manage to escape misery, problems and fate through the irony and the insight that marks them. Besides, the described ambitions give a description of the medieval towns and of the life that swarmed around them. A real champion of the triumph of passions and intelligence, Boccaccio represented in a rather unusual way both love, certainly not described as angelic feeling, and the clergy, far beyond the traditional concept of the clerical characters meant as models of mysticism and morality. He thus opened the doors to Renaissance.