Written by Christine Contrada
When the spring sun comes out in Florence, be a rebel. Leave the cell phone and the selfie stick at home and arm thyself instead with witty tales from an old master. Boccaccio, along with Petrarch and Dante, is a prong in the triple crown of Florentine literary giants. His Decameron is a collection of fictional tales told over ten days by ten young Florentines who left the city to escape the plague. Before social media, this was how they passed the time. Ten locations in Florence serve as the perfect backdrop for these often shocking misadventures. Click through the gallery above to start exploring.
-
- Day One presents stories chastising the clergy. Settle into your favorite enoteca and read about the drunkard who said his wine was awesome enough for Christ himself. Bottoms up!
-
- Day Two offers tales of misadventures that end happily. Do some shopping along via dei Calzaiuoli and read about cross dressing. When an angry husband loses his money and condemns his innocent wife, she dresses herself as a man, a clever way to avoid capture.
-
- Day Three includes tales of loss and redemption. While you are waiting for summer highlights to bake at the salon, read about how a king shaved the head of his wife’s lover so he could identify the man, only to find out that all his servants also shaved their heads.
-
- Day Four tells of lovers whose relationships end horribly. Head to a historic café. While the heart in your cup will be made of foam, read about the princess who received her lover’s heart in a golden goblet. Distraught, she poured in poison and met her end.
-
- Day Five also contains tales of lovers facing disasters, but with happy endings. Read about the woman who is saved from death because she is recognized by her strawberry-shaped birthmark while searching for the perfect spring strawberries at the Sant’Ambrogio market.
-
- Day Six is comprised of stories where embarrassment is shrewdly avoided. On a trip, Giotto and his jurist friend make fun of each other’s ugly appearance. Climbing up Giotto’s striking bell tower is the best way to contemplate that even he was a hot mess.
-
- Day Seven holds wives’ tales who play tricks on their husbands. Find a wooden confessional in one of Florence’s neighborhood churches and read about the jealous husband who pretended to be a priest only to hear his wife’s confession that she loves a clergyman who visits her nightly.
-
- Day Eight considers tricks that men and women play. Brave the throngs of tourists to visit the porcellino and read the tale of a stolen pig and truth serum. Bizarre!
-
- Day Nine beckons, so head to the English Cemetery and read about the woman who had two lovers but loved neither, convinces one to play dead and the other to enter the tomb to find him. That’s one way to wash a man out of your hair.
-
- Day Ten offers deeds of munificence. Watch the ambulances racing into Santa Maria Nuova and read about the man who heals an abbot’s stomach. The abbot spoke so highly of him that the pope himself made him the prior of a Roman hospital.
Illustrations by Rostislav Drozd and Radek (Red) Belanec
