Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What stopped Giovanni Boccaccio’s public commentary on Dante’s Divine Comedy?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Giovanni Boccaccio
Italian poet and scholar Giovanni Boccaccio, detail of a fresco by Andrea del Castagno; in the Cenacolo di Sant'Apollonia, Florence.
Giovanni Boccaccio began public readings of Dante’s Divine Comedy in Florence in October 1373. However, his public commentary on the work was cut short early in 1374 when he suffered from ill health, which caused him to lose heart and eventually retire to the village of Certaldo.1