The Decameron – Giovanni Boccaccio

"To have compassion for those who suffer is a human quality which everyone should possess."

While the Black Death ravages Florence in 1348, seven young women and three young men flee to a secluded villa in the countryside. Over the course of ten days, they tell each other one hundred stories ranging from the erotic and tragic to the witty and practical jokes. The stories celebrate the resilience of the human spirit and the power of intelligence and love to overcome fortune.

Boccaccio's work is a masterpiece of early Renaissance literature. It moved away from medieval allegory to focus on the human experience in all its earthy, sensual, and realistic detail. It influenced writers from Chaucer to Shakespeare.