Il Decameron di - Giovanni Boccaccio

In 1348, faced with the unrelenting advances of the Bubonic Plague, which was ravaging Europe, Giovanni Boccaccio, a member of the great Italian literary triumvirate which included Dante and Petrarca, devised the ultimate plan for surviving the plague. His entertaining masterpiece detailing the adventures of 10 young Florentines – 7 women and 3 men - seeking safety from the pandemic is framed within a collection of 100 short stories. Not only are these novelle a healthy distraction from the inevitable suffering and probable death left behind in the city, many of them also shine an early light on the upcoming socio-cultural changes of the Renaissance. Il Decameron was revolutionary for its times in so many ways. It remained on the Catholic Church’s Index Librorum Prohibitorum until the 20th Century!

So please join us in this inspiring and light-hearted adventure as we discover how Boccaccio, his "lieta compagnia" and others confronted the Great Mortality of the Middle Ages with their focus on survival and rebirth.