giovanni boccaccio was an italian poet and scholar, best remembered as the author of the earthy tales in the decameron. he was born in certaldo, italy in 1313 and died in the same city in 1375. he is considered one of the 'three crowns' of italian literature along with dante alighieri and petrarch. he is remembered for being one of the precursors of humanism, of which he helped lay the foundations in the city of florence, in conjunction with the activity of his friend and teacher petrarch. he was the one who initiated dante's criticism and philology: boccaccio devoted himself to copying codices of the divine comedy and was a promoter of dante's work and figure.
