The Decameron. A Feast During the Plague

In the 14th century, when Italy was engulfed by a plague epidemic, hundreds of corpses covered the streets of cities, and people prepared for the end of the world. Three noble young men and seven young women escaped from the very jaws of the epidemic to the countryside. Isolating themselves from the world in an ancient villa, they spent their evenings telling each other stories. Some of the stories struck them with their frankness, others frightened them, and others made the young people suddenly remember what such words as love, humanity, and nobility really mean. Every day they discussed the horrific details of the plague epidemic that had almost destroyed their hometown, and every day, wanting to feel the joy of life on the brink of death, they told more and more captivating and horrific stories. For ten days they told ten stories each.
Boccaccio's "Decameron" became one of the main works of the Italian Renaissance. The great book was written in the 1350s, after the outbreak of the plague that took away half of Italy's population. The Church banned the "Decameron" due to its numerous immoral, erotic, and violent scenes, but the people of the country instantly fell in love with the book, celebrating the power of love and the joy of life, a book that describes everything, even the most terrible sides of human life and reminds us of the strength of the human spirit. Like never before, the "Decameron" is relevant today. The proposed edition contains the most complete translation of the book, published without any cuts or reductions.