Boccacio's Decameron - Eighth Day, Third Story Summary

Boccacio was an Italian writer in the 14th century. Although he was a prolific writer who produced many works in his lifetime, he is known today really only for the Decameron. The Decameron consists of one hundred tales told over ten days by ten people who are staying in a house seeking refuge from a plague ravaging Italy. Most of his tales are risqué to an extent, and some are even obscene, but they generally tend to avoid being outright immoral, as such would not have been received well by his audience.

In this story, the third story told on the eighth day by a woman named Elissa, Calandrino is a painter living in Florence who has a reputation for being naïve and gullible. His two friends, Bruno and Buffalmaco...