Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was sometimes simply known as "the Certaldese" and one of the most important figures in the European literary panorama of the fourteenth century. Some scholars define him as the greatest European prose writer of his time, a versatile writer who amalgamated different literary trends and genres, making them converge in original works, thanks to a creative activity exercised under the banner of experimentalism.
Portrait by Raffaello Morghen, circa 1822
16th-century portrait of Boccaccio
Portrait by Andrea del Castagno, c. 1450
1845 statue of Boccaccio by Fantacchiotti in Uffizi Gallery
Francis Petrarch, born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar and poet of the early Italian Renaissance and one of the earliest humanists.
Portrait by Altichiero, c. 1370–1380
Santa Maria della Pieve in Arezzo
La Casa del Petrarca (birthplace) at Vicolo dell'Orto, 28 in Arezzo
Summit of Mont Ventoux