Giovanni Boccaccio and his Decameron

The Italian writer and humanist Giovanni Boccaccio is one of the most famous persons in literary history He has been praised especially for composing the Decameron, a masterpiece that is known all over the world. Who was Boccaccio, and what is it that makes him so special? What are his most important works? And how does the Decameron fit into this list? By the end of this story you will understand why Boccaccio embodies one of 28 statues in the niches in the Uffizi where only the greatest Italians are featured.