Wondrous Boccaccio

Wondrous Boccaccio

Year: 2015

Runtime: 116 mins

Language: Italian

Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani

DramaRomanceComedyHistory

In 1348, as the plague ravages Florence, a group of young people—seven women and three men—escape the city's grip. They seek refuge in a secluded villa nestled within the Tuscan hills. To combat the pervasive sense of dread and pass the time, the group shares a diverse collection of stories, ranging from tragic and bizarre to humorous and erotic. These narratives explore a variety of themes, with the female perspective consistently at the forefront, until the group ultimately chooses to return.

Bittersweet
Mixed feelings
Moderately emotional
Medium intensity
Mixed pacing
Complex story

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Timeline & Setting – Wondrous Boccaccio (2015)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Wondrous Boccaccio (2015). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1340s

Set in the mid-14th century, the tale unfolds against recurring plague outbreaks that alter daily life in Italian cities. The plague forces people into hiding and secrecy, shaping the tone of each tale. Across cities and convents, the period's strict codes of honor and family duty press on personal choices.

Location

Modena, Florence, Salerno, Certaldo, Florentine countryside

Frame narrative unfolds in mid-14th-century Florence amid a devastating plague, as noble youths flee the city to a country house. The stories travel between Modena, Florence, Salerno, and Certaldo, each anchoring a different vignette in medieval Italy. The settings emphasize public spaces, religious houses, and private manors where love, power, and fear drive the action.

🌍 Italian cities 🧭 Plague era 🏛️ Historical drama

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:48

Main Characters – Wondrous Boccaccio (2015)

Meet the key characters of Wondrous Boccaccio (2015), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Ghismunda (Kasia Smutniak)

Ghismunda is the daughter of Duke Tancredi, married to a wealthy older man, and drawn to a young metal smith. Her longing tensions with family duty and dynastic expectations, setting her on a path toward tragedy. Her choices and the consequences reveal the limits of power, passion, and reparative love within a rigid society.

👑 Noblewoman 💔 Tragic love

Gentile Garisendi (Riccardo Scamarcio)

A nobleman who loves Catalina and orchestrates a social test to determine who should care for a sick servant. His charm and pride drive a contest of loyalty and possession, exposing the fragility of social status and personal honor.

👑 Nobleman 💔 Unrequited love

Catalina (Vittoria Puccini)

Wife of Nicoluccio whose illness prompts Gentile's romantic gambit. She embodies a choice between loyalty and new love, ultimately choosing a path that aligns with a perception of paradise over propriety.

👑 Noblewoman 💖 Romantic choice

Nicoluccio Cacciamanico (Flavio Parenti)

Catalina's husband who reluctantly agrees to send her away for care. He challenges the notion of rightful ownership in a moral dilemma about who deserves to nurse and keep the servant.

💔 Husband 🧭 Loyalty

Calandrino (Kim Rossi Stuart)

An apprentice who is duped by friends into believing a magic stone can render him invisible. The prank spirals into violence and suspicion, illustrating how gullibility can endanger personal and social bonds.

🔮 Trickery 🧠 Gullibility

Giovanna (Jasmine Trinca)

A woman pursued by Federico but who does not love him; she marries another man and has a son. Years later, she returns, and the shadow of past romance influences present choices and future remarriage.

💖 Love and choice 👰 Marriage

Federico degli Alberighi (Josafat Vagni)

A knight in love with Giovanna who, in a moment of desperation, kills a beloved falcon to impress her, reflecting the costs of obsession and the violence hidden within desire.

⚔️ Romance 🦅 Falconry

Duke Tancredi (Lello Arena)

Ghismunda's father who organizes a tragic sequence by killing her lover and serving Ghismunda the heart. His authority and decisions reveal the destructive weight of dynastic power.

👑 Power ⚔️ Family honor

Badessa Usimbalda (Paola Cortellesi)

The mother superior whose secret affair becomes a public matter, prompting a controversial pardon. She represents the film's examination of morality within religious life and the possibility of mercy amid hypocrisy.

⛪ Religious life 💬 Mercy

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:48

Major Themes – Wondrous Boccaccio (2015)

Explore the central themes of Wondrous Boccaccio (2015), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

❤️ Love and loyalty

Explores how love can be uplifting or ruinous when social rules clash with personal desire. Gentile's pursuit of Catalina tests loyalty against passion and challenges who deserves care. Catalina's choices reveal the tension between affection and duty. The stories ask whether love can survive social judgment and personal heartbreak.

🎭 Illusion and deception

Calandrino's belief in an invisibility stone sparks a prank that spirals into real harm. The other apprentices manipulate him, highlighting how gullibility and performance can masquerade as truth. The episode comments on the danger and humor of tricks within a tightly observed social order.

💔 Tragedy and vengeance

Ghismunda's forbidden love collides with paternal authority, culminating in a brutal sequence of acts. The father kills the lover and offers Ghismunda the heart in a goblet, provoking a fatal conclusion. Ghismunda's response—melting the heart and consuming poison—drives the story toward tragic end.

⚖️ Hypocrisy and morality

The convent tale probes hypocrisy within religious life as the mother superior's secret lover is revealed. The mother superior pardons the sisters, arguing that sinners and saints coexist within all souls. The story uses humor and moral ambiguity to challenge rigid judgments and celebrate a more complex moral landscape.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:48

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Wondrous Boccaccio Summary

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