First Day
Before beginning the story-telling sessions, the ten young Florentines, 7 women and 3 men, referred to as the Brigata, gather at the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella and together decide to escape Black Death by leaving the city to stay in a fictional villa in the countryside for the next two weeks. Each agrees to tell one story each day for ten days. The stories are told in the garden of the first villa that the company stays at, which is located a few miles outside the city.
Under the rule of Pampinea, the first day of story-telling is open topic. Although there is no assigned theme of the tales this first day, six deal with one person censuring another and four are satires of the Catholic Church.
Read more about this topic: Summary Of Decameron Tales
Famous quotes containing the word day:
“Just as petals fall from drying garlands, which you can see aimlessly swimming in wine-bowls are we lovers, who now puff up our chests, but perhaps tomorrow the fateful day will shut us down.”
—Propertius Sextus (c. 50–16 B.C.)
“But each day brings its petty dust
Our soon-choked souls to fill,
And we forget because we must,
And not because we will.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)