Giovanni Boccaccio
Although Giovanni Boccaccio is more often than not associated with his friend Petrarch, he has created his own name and place in Florentine history and literature.
Giovanni Boccaccio is a famous Florentine writer/poet and humanist of the renaissance. He was born probably in Florence or it may have even been Certaldo in Tuscany in June or July 1313. Although born out of wedlock to an unknown woman and a wealthy Florentine merchant, Boccacino di Chellino he was officially recognized by his father and was named Giovanni Boccaccio and grew up in Florence.
Giovanni Boccaccio spent most his life in Italy and travelled all over the country including Florence. He began his career as an apprentice in the bank his father worked in, moved on to study canon law but gained fame as a writer and poet.
In 1332 Boccaccio began his first foray into literature with his essays in Latin - the Allegorica Mitologica and Elegia di Costanza as well as vernacular poetry. In 1350 Giovanni Boccaccio met Petrarch in Florence and forged a lifelong friendship which lasted till Petrarch’s death.
Giovanni Boccaccio became a diplomat and government representative for Florence on and off during the period 1351 to 1371 to Padua, Rome, Ravenna, Brandenburg and Avignon.
However Boccaccio has received most accolades for his major works which include his famous and vernacular poetry, the Decameron and Concerning Famous Woman. The Decameron has been translated into most of the European as well as other languages, the earliest English translation dating back to 1620. He is famous for his prose works, his poetry as well as his pastorals.
On December 21, 1375 Giovanni Boccaccio died in his home at Certaldo leaving behind a legacy of famous writings. Giovanni Boccaccio has been considered as one of the first humanists along with Petrarch, a good friend as well as a man of independent thought and a patriot.