The Decameron
The book The Decameron is a set of one hundred stories written by Giovanni Boccaccio between 1351 and 1353. They tend to have a joking, witty tone and provide valuable life lessons. They can be grouped into three main themes: love, fortune and intelligence.
The book links one story to another through a framed narrative. As a starting point, the black plague epidemic that hit Florence in 1348 is described, causing a group of ten young people to flee the city to avoid the plague and take refuge in a villa on the outskirts.
In addition to the literary value itself and its influence, the book stands out for how well it documents the life of the time.
In order to create the digital edition of this book we have used the translation of John Payne, the first truly complete translation in English.
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Public domain (US)·No sign-up·DRM-free·Real text, not scans
Copyright note. The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio is believed to be in the public domain in the United States only. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not in the United States, please check your local laws to ensure this eBook is in the public domain in your country before downloading The Decameron in PDF or EPUB.
- Pages
- 756
- Reading time
- 25 hours 29 minutes
- Pace
- Intermediate
- First published
- 1353
- Language
- Italian
- Downloads
- 4,453
673 years later, still timely
Why Read The Decameron in 2026?
During a plague, ten friends leave the city and trade stories until fear loosens its grip. The range is enormous—tender, bawdy, sly—and together they map how people improvise meaning.
Today's connection
Ideal for reading circles. The frame makes sampling easy, and the humor travels well. A way to study ethics, class, and desire through unforgettable miniatures.
Community in crisis
Conversation as shelter and mirror.
Many voices
Styles and moods in lively rotation.
Human weather
Kindness, mischief, longing, grace.
These collections include The Decameron
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About the author
Giovanni Boccaccio
Storytelling as repair: wit and mercy in times of crisis and change.
If this one stays with you…
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The Happy Prince and Other TalesOscar Wilde
Monday or TuesdayVirginia Woolf
A Simple SoulGustave Flaubert
From The Decameron
To have compassion for those who suffer is a human quality which everyone should possess, especially those who have required comfort themselves in the past and have managed to find it in others.
Wrongs committed in the distant past are far easier to condemn than to rectify.
Kissed mouth don’t lose its fortune, on the contrary it renews itself just as the moon does.
People tend to believe the bad rather than the good.
The scholar, as wise as he was full of wrath, knowing that threats only serve as weapons to the person so threatened, kept all his resentment within his own breast. . .