Decameron Web
A new edition of the project first launched in 1995, renewed as a bilingual, searchable text for today’s readers.
About the Work
Written in Florence in the aftermath of the Black Death, the Decameron is one of the defining literary monuments of medieval Europe. Boccaccio frames one hundred tales within a frame narrative: ten young Florentines retreat to a villa in the hills of Fiesole, where over ten days each tells one story.
This edition presents the complete text in a fully aligned bilingual format: the original Italian on the left, the English translation on the right. Each paragraph carries a milestone number for precise cross-referencing. Named persons and places are tagged in the text and indexed separately.
About the Project
The project was started at Brown University in 1995 with the goal of exploring how contemporary information technology can facilitate, enhance, and innovate the complex cognitive and learning activities involved in reading a late medieval literary text like Boccaccio’s Decameron. After almost thirty years, it was time to create a new platform able to respond to the current increase in AI-driven technologies.
Features
Bilingual Text
Italian and English in parallel columns. Toggle either language on or off, and adjust font size and line spacing to your preference.
Paragraph Links
Every paragraph has a milestone number. Enable paragraph links to copy a direct URL to any paragraph – useful for citation and sharing.
Named Entities
Person and place names are highlighted in the text. Each has a dedicated index page listing every appearance in the work.
Concordance
Search any word across the full Italian and English text simultaneously. Results show context and link directly to the passage.
Display Controls
Light, dark, and system display modes are remembered across reading sessions, with adjustable text controls for sustained reading.
Accessible Design
Designed toward WCAG 2.1 AA expectations: keyboard navigation, visible focus states, skip links, and reduced-motion support.