Wondrous Boccaccio

In mid-14th century Florence, a group of wealthy youths flee the city haunted by the plague and retreat to a sprawling country house where they pass the time by telling stories. The setup frames their stay as a meditation on love, loyalty, deceit, and appetite. The chorus of voices hints that these tales will probe the edges of virtue and desire.

Catalina falls gravely ill and Nicoluccio’s mother fears the plague will spread if she stays, prompting plans to move her to the countryside. Gentile Garisendi follows the wagon, ready to intervene, while others weigh the risk of abandoning the sick. The decision sets in motion a chain of events that will test fortunes and loyalties.

On the road, Catalina dies and her body is left in a crypt beneath an abandoned church. Gentile discovers the corpse, kisses it, and senses a heartbeat, hinting at a miraculous revival. He retrieves Catalina and brings her to his mother's villa, where she is nursed back to health. He announces his intention to marry her and gathers Nicoluccio and others to witness the moment.

Gentile poses a morally provocative question: should the second man who nurses a loyal servant be free to keep him if the patron abandons him? Nicoluccio claims the original patron forfeits the servant, while Gentile asserts the opposite. When Catalina is revealed to the group, she is asked to choose between Gentile and Nicoluccio, a choice that tests loyalty and love.

In a Florentine workshop, Calandrino is teased by two apprentices who spin a legend about a stone that grants invisibility. They guide him to the river where he finds a stone and is enticed by its promise. The prank begins to spread as neighbors are led to believe he has literally become unseen.

The trick escalates as Calandrino uses the myth to justify leering at a girl and robbing neighbors, while the painter's studio is disrupted by his antics. His wife, unaware of the ruse, greets him with a simple meal at home. Terrified that the stone's power is waning, Calandrino accuses his wife of witchcraft, triggering fear and a domestic confrontation.

The prank culminates when Calandrino's wife shows the supposed stone, exposing the whole deception. He is publicly humiliated by the consequences of his credulity. The tale ends with Calandrino left exposed and his status in shambles.

In Salerno, Duke Tancredi arranges a marriage for his daughter Ghismunda to a wealthy older husband. Ghismunda falls for a handsome young metalworker who works for her father, igniting a forbidden passion. The love story is bound to end in tragedy as power and desire collide.

When the Duke learns of the affair, he murders the lover and serves Ghismunda a goblet containing the heart of her beloved. Grief-stricken, Ghismunda melts the heart, adds poison, and drinks it herself, dying in the wake of her forbidden love.

One night at Certaldo, the nuns discover a sister with a man in her cell, and rush to tell the mother superior. Unbeknownst to them, the mother superior hides a lover in her own chamber. In the end, she pardons the sisters and shares a pragmatic view: God has both sin and sainthood within people, and such scandals can be kept concealed within the convent.

Federico degli Alberighi is in love with Giovanna, but she does not return his feelings. He spends his money courting her and ends up with nothing but a falcon, while Giovanna marries another man and bears a son. The falcon becomes a tangible token of his unreciprocated desire.

Years after Giovanna's marriage, her husband dies and she moves to a villa near Federico's property. Her son befriends Federico and learns falconry from him. When the boy falls ill and asks for the falcon as a gift, Giovanna travels to Federico's home to discuss it. Federico kills the falcon to prepare a meal for Giovanna; the boy dies soon after, and Giovanna relocates. Later, her brothers return to tell Federico she is ready to remarry him, and he accepts.