What Is The Decameron About?
The premise of The Decameron in 329 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In a sun‑baked medieval Naples that throbs with the scents of market stalls, street songs, and frescoed walls, a young painter sent by his master Giotto arrives to document a bustling basilica. His wandering eye and the rhythm of a Neapolitan ballad set the stage for a tapestry of stories that pulse with bawdy humor, earthy sensuality, and a keen observation of everyday desire. The city itself becomes a character, its narrow alleys and lively piazzas echoing with laughter, whispered longing, and the clang of everyday survival.
Across the cobblestones, a bevy of colorful figures meander into one another’s lives. Andreuccio, a bright‑eyed traveler from Perugia, steps into the town seeking opportunity and quickly discovers that fortune often wears a mischievous mask. Ciappelletto, a quick‑witted schemer, glides through Naples with a reputation for clever manipulation, his presence turning ordinary encounters into delicate performances. In a cloistered convent, Masetto pretends to be mute, letting silence become a catalyst for hidden passions among the nuns. Meanwhile, Peronella navigates the domestic sphere with a sharp sense of humor, crafting playful deceptions that keep her household in a constant state of amused bewilderment.
These episodic threads intertwine like the brushstrokes of the fresco the painter is creating, each vignette revealing a different facet of human nature—lust, greed, wit, and the relentless chase for luck. The tone swings effortlessly between raunchy comedy and tender reflection, allowing the audience to savor the raw, unvarnished truths of a world where morality is fluid and pleasure is celebrated. Through the narrator’s eyes, the city’s pulse feels both timeless and intimately chaotic, inviting viewers to relish the uncanny blend of the sacred and the profane.
As the painter completes his work, the final strokes linger on the wall, echoing the film’s own meditation on storytelling, art, and the fleeting, dream‑like quality of life itself. The lingering question hangs in the air, urging us to consider whether the act of dreaming might be more potent than the finished picture.
What Happens in The Decameron?
The complete story of The Decameron, from the first scene to the last, in 1,065 words (about 5 minutes). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 1 cast member page.
Spoilers ahead
Pasolini’s Neapolitan-dialect tapestry reimagines Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron as a cinematic mosaic, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini and framed by the tellings of a Giotto’s-pupil narrator who travels to Naples to paint a mural. The film opens with a Neapolitan ballad playing over the credits, inviting the viewer into a sequence of loosely connected tales that ebb and flow from comedy to bawdy and from moral parable to sly trickery. The structure is as much about mood and setting as it is about plot, and the through-line is the human compass—desire, cunning, luck, and the small cruelties of everyday life in a vibrant city.
Andreuccio of Perugia, [Ninetto Davoli], arrives in Naples on a horse-buying mission, only to become the target of a wealthy woman’s shrewd ploy. She feigns kinship, invites him to supper, and lures him toward a bed where he leaves money and clothes, only to slip into a trap door that dumps him into a trough of filth. After a harrowing escape, he becomes entangled with two tomb-robbers who aim to steal from the Archbishop’s tomb. Andreuccio’s wit surfaces in a dangerous game of deception: he retrieves a ring from the tomb and pretends his search is fruitless, then, as another robbery unfolds, he hides and strikes back when a lead robber taunts his courage. The robber is bitten, the other assailants flee, and Andreuccio emerges with a newfound fortune and a story of improbable luck that will echo throughout Naples.
Across town, the tale of Ciappelletto—[Franco Citti]—unfolds in a stark, humorous, and morally ambiguous fashion. In a convent, a nun’s affair is exposed, the Mother Superior’s own complicity becomes a punch line, and Ciappelletto, a thief and schemer, slides money to a young helper in exchange for sexual favors. The story intensifies as the crowd is drawn into his act of social theater, while Ciappelletto himself moves through a city of spectators with practiced feints and a sharpened sense for who’ll believe what.
Masetto da Lamporecchio, [Vincenzo Amato], is pressed into service at a convent filled with beautiful women after pretending to be deaf and dumb to avoid suspicion. The sisters, initially curious, find themselves drawn to the seemingly mute gardener, and one by one they seek his silence in a cycle of longing and exposure. As the convent fills with a chorus of whispers and desire, Masetto’s ruse becomes a fragile balance between silence and revelation, until the abbess insists on a miraculous cure that would justify keeping a young man in residence.
Peronella, [Angela Luce], winds a clever cuckold plot with her dimwitted husband Giannello. While he pretends to be at work, Peronella hosts her lover in a pot, then uses a heap of theatrical misdirection to convince her husband that the pot contains a buyer—an exchange that requires careful timing as the lovers resume their affair and the husband remains blissfully unaware, teased by the ruse as other scenes of family life continue around them. The scene plays with intimate detail and social embarrassment, delivering light comedy through domestic misdirection.
In the fourth episode, Ser Ciappelletto’s long, wily shadow again moves through Prato and beyond. A Neapolitan merchant-turned-fraudster, Ciappelletto spins a pattern of self-promotion that captivates a monk, who then blesses a reputation built on a string of lies. The tale ends with the monk delivering a sermon praising a saint he never truly knew, and Ciappelletto’s plan succeeds by cunningly shaping the perceptions of those who visit his dying bed. The character remains a study in how reputation can be crafted from misinformation and desire to appear unblemished.
A brief intermission interrupts the main arc with Giotto’s pupil and his companion as they arrive to paint the Basilica of Santa Chiara. This interlude, while short, acts as a bridge to the next set of tales, hinting at the source of the film’s framing device and foreshadowing the visual inspiration that knits the episodes together.
Caterina di Valbona and Riccardo unfold in a romance that crosses social boundaries. Caterina, [Elisabetta Genovese], falls for Riccardo and the two retreat to a makeshift terrace bed for a night of secrecy. When dawn comes, Caterina’s father discovers the couple sleeping naked, the mother’s confusion erupts, and the father faces a choice: deny the match or secure it with a dowry. The father’s solution—arranging a marriage—leads to a wedding on the spot, with the couple embracing their fate as the household’s fortunes shift in a single afternoon.
Elizabeth of Messina and Lorenzo the Sicilian center on a jealous family and a secret tragedy. Elizabeth’s brothers, furious at the romance, lure Lorenzo to a private garden where he is killed and buried. Elizabeth, tormented by grief, discovers Lorenzo’s body and, in a haunting gesture, removes his head and places it within a pot of basil, tending to it as an unseen, living memorial. The tale blends gothic mood with a sharp calculus of power, kin, and the costs of keeping love in a world that conspires to sever it.
Gemmata, with [Mirella Catanesi] in the role, brings a farce of enchantment and deception into a shared domestic space. Don Gianni, a sly opportunist, conjures a mythic ritual designed to open a private life to profit. He provokes Pietro to witness a supposed transformation so Gemmata can be used for work in the fields. The ruse becomes a spectacle of manipulation as Gemmata’s body is described in startling clinical terms, while Gemmata and Pietro confront the ethical boundary of deceit and desire.
Heaven and Hell pairs two Neapolitan men, Meuccio and Tingoccio, as they recount the afterlife and test the boundaries between sacred and profane. Their exchanges blur the lines between sin and salvation, culminating in a dreamlike moment where Meuccio learns that sex, a recurring sin in his life, might not be condemned as mortal in the celestial calculus. The tale toys with belief and consequence, leaving room for doubt, laughter, and moral ambiguity.
The Epilogue returns to the painter’s pupil, who has completed a fresco that narrates the film’s episodes. He marvels at his work and, in a final, pensive moment, asks a question about the nature of art and dreams: Why complete a work when it is so much better just to dream it?
The film closes with the painter’s question echoing through the studio, a quiet meditation on creation, viewer interpretation, and the power of dream to outlast any finished frame.
The Decameron Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
12 key events in the order they happen, from “Prologue: Naples framing sequence” to “Epilogue: Giotto's Pupil completes the fresco”. 12 events name a place, across 9 locations.
- 1
Prologue: Naples framing sequence
The film opens with credits and a Neapolitan ballad playing over the title sequence. It then shows Ser Ciappelletto committing a murder and hiding the body, establishing a dark frame for the following stories. A pupil of Giotto, who will later paint the mural, arrives in Naples to begin his commission.
When:Prologue Where:Naples
- 2
Andreuccio of Perugia
Andreuccio travels to Naples to buy horses and is soon targeted by a rich lady who invites him to supper under the pretense they are long-lost siblings. After the meal he falls through a trap door and ends up in a trough, from which he escapes. He then encounters thieves while attempting to steal jewels from a tomb, outwits them by using cunning, and leaves with the ring he has seized.
Where:Naples
- 3
Ciappelletto, the Thief
In Naples, Ciappelletto's tale is told as he quietly slips pockets among the crowd. He offers money to a male child in exchange for sexual favors, revealing his predatory character and sly opportunism. The story within the film culminates with the crowd considering him holy while he continues his discreet misdeeds.
Where:Naples
- 4
Masetto da Lamporecchio
A gardener encourages Masetto to seek work at a convent filled with beautiful women. He pretends to be deaf and mute to gain entry, and a pair of nuns quickly exploit his supposed silence for sexual favors. The other sisters join in until he protests that he cannot keep up, and the abbess pretends a miracle restored his voice to justify his continued stay.
Where:Convent near Lamporecchio
- 5
Peronella
Peronella orchestrates a cuckolded scenario with her lover by hiding him inside a large pot when her husband comes home. She sells the pot to a buyer, claiming it is already taken, while the lovers resume their tryst beside the container. The husband remains oblivious as the plan unfolds around him.
Where:Home (near Naples)
- 6
Ser Ciappelletto of Prato
In Prato, Ciappelletto, a notorious Neapolitan merchant, travels to Germany to seal a deal. On his deathbed he crafts a confession filled with lies, fooling a monk into praising him as holy. After his death, the crowd venerates Saint Ciappelletto, and visitors flock to touch his body seeking miracles.
Where:Prato, then Germany
- 7
Giotto's Pupil
During a brief intermission, a Giotto pupil and his companion travel to decorate Santa Chiara with a fresco. They observe passersby in a market for visual inspiration before resuming their painting. The interlude provides context for the later tales about Caterina and Ricciardo.
Where:Market and church vicinity (Naples/Prato area)
- 8
Caterina di Valbona and Riccardo
Caterina from Valbona falls for Ricciardo and the lovers plan to spend the night on a terrace. When her father discovers them, he arranges that Ricciardo marry Caterina to preserve the dowry and social standing. The couple is married on the spot, and the family is relieved at the match.
Where:Valbona, near Naples
- 9
Elizabeth of Messina and Lorenzo the Sicilian
Elizabeth, wealthy and beautiful, falls in love with Lorenzo, but her brothers murder him to preserve the family honor. Elizabeth dreams of Lorenzo and later discovers his buried body in the garden. She retrieves Lorenzo's head and keeps it in a basil pot she tends daily, preserving his memory.
Where:Messina
- 10
Gemmata
Gemmata and her husband Pietro host a visiting Don Gianni who claims he can transform Gemmata into a mare for sowing the fields. The ruse involves a staged ritual and exposure to sexual advances, observed by Pietro, who is shocked but complies. The plan collapses when the husband realizes the deception and objects.
Where:Gemmata's home
- 11
Heaven and Hell
Meuccio and Tingoccio discuss the afterlife, debating whether Heaven or Hell awaits them. Tingoccio dies, and Meuccio dreams of a limbo-like state where sex is not considered a mortal sin. He rushes to his girlfriend, declaring that it is not a sin after all.
Where:Naples
- 12
Epilogue: Giotto's Pupil completes the fresco
The Giotto pupil finishes painting the mural that stitches together the film's episodes. He marvels at his work and quietly muses that some works are better left to dreams than completed by hands. The film ends on this contemplative note.
Where:Naples / Studio
Who Are the Main Characters in The Decameron?
9 characters, among them Andreuccio of Perugia (Ninetto Davoli), Ciappelletto and Masetto da Lamporecchio: who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
- AO
Andreuccio of Perugia (Ninetto Davoli)
Played by Ninetto Davoli
A young, eager traveler who comes to Naples to buy horses. He is quick-witted and opportunistic, yet easily duped by a polite rich woman and a dangerous urban underworld. His luck swings between peril and cunning as he navigates traps and thieves to come away with a ring and a tale of survival.
- 💼 Resourceful
- 🐎 Naive
- 🗺️ Traveler
- C
Ciappelletto
Played by Franco Citti
A roguish old thief and sly fraud who weaponizes lies and a sham sanctimony to survive. His scheme culminates in a posthumous sainthood of convenience, exposed only after his death. The character embodies the trope of deceit masquerading as virtue within a corrupt social order.
- 🕵️♂️ Trickster
- 🕊️ Hypocrite
-
Masetto da Lamporecchio
Played by Vincenzo Amato
A young gardener who seeks work at a convent and pretends to be deaf and dumb to avoid suspicion. Inside the convent, he becomes the subject of sexual curiosity, and his silence is used to cope with the mounting demands. His arc highlights desire, power, and the fragility of virtue.
- 🌹 Temptation
- 🧑🌾 Humility
- P
Peronella
Played by Angela Luce
A cunning housewife who manipulates her husband through a ruse involving a pot and a lover. Her scheming keeps social order within the domestic sphere while exposing the gullibility and complicity of her husband. The episode centers on wit, sexuality, and social cunning.
- 💑 Trickster
- 🪣 Domestic Comedy
- CD
Caterina di Valbona
Played by Elisabetta Genovese
A young woman who falls in love with Ricciardo and orchestrates a plan to sleep with him outside the eye of her family. Her father's practical consent—marriage for dowry—drives the social logic of the tale. The couple's gamble pays off in a socially strategic marriage.
- 💍 Romance
- 🏛️ Family Honor
- R
Riccardo
Played by Francesco Gavazzi
A lover who scales walls to be with Caterina, willing to secure a future through marriage. His relationship with Caterina navigates the tension between illicit love and social legitimacy. The tale centers on youth, risk, and pragmatic arrangements.
- 💘 Love
- 🧭 Risk-Taking
- G
Gemmata
Played by Mirella Catanesi
A married woman who becomes entangled in a magical ruse that threatens her sense of self and her marriage. Don Gianni's scheme exposes the vulnerability of sexual narratives and the male gaze. The episode blends farce with a critique of manipulation.
- 🪄 Fantasy
- 🧑🤝🧑 Seduction
- GP
Giotto's Pupil
Played by Pier Paolo Pasolini
A pupil of Giotto who travels to Naples to paint a mural, serving as the frame that binds the episodic stories. His art-seeking journey anchors the film in medieval storytelling and artistic aspiration. The interlude underscores the tension between dream and reality.
- 🎨 Artist
- 🧭 Framing Device
- DG
Don Gianni
Played by Lino Crispo
A crafty figure who embodies mischievous cunning and practical scheming. He orchestrates the events that enable Gemmata to become a subject of his proposed 'transformation' tale, highlighting the interplay of manipulation and desire. His actions propel the satire of social norms.
- 🗡️ Conspiracy
- 🤹 Mockery
Where and When Is The Decameron Set?
The Decameron is set in Naples, Prato, Messina, Valbona and Germany (14th century). Here is why the time and place matter to the story.
When
14th century
The stories unfold in 14th-century Italy, a medieval world of merchants, convents, and noble households. The tales explore contemporary social norms, humor, and morality through episodic vignettes rather than a single linear narrative. A painterly frame by Giotto's pupil connects the episodes to the era's art and storytelling traditions.
Where
Naples, Prato, Messina, Valbona, Germany
The film traverses several Italian locales to present its mosaic of tales, with Naples as the central hub for two stories. Other episodes move to Prato for Ciappelletto's arc, to Messina for the Caterina-Ricciardo plot, and to the Valbona region for the tale of Caterina. A journey to Germany appears within Ciappelletto's chapters, all linked by the frame of Giotto's pupil painting a mural.
- 🗺️ Italian Cities
- 🕰️ 14th Century
- 🎭 Period Drama
What Are the Themes of The Decameron?
4 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Sex Deceit, Moral Hypocrisy and Art Narrative.
-
01
Sex Deceit
Desire and sexual cunning drive several episodes, using seduction and exposure to manipulate others and secure advantage. Andreuccio is lured by a wealthy widow, while Masetto's experiences in the convent revolve around the power dynamics of bodies. The film uses bawdy humor to critique how sexual appetite intersects with social reputation.
-
02
Moral Hypocrisy
Religious and lay figures frequently manipulate virtue to conceal self-interest. The Mother Superior's comical missteps trigger a cascade of confessions and revelations. Ciappelletto's staged piety shows how reputation can be manufactured through deceit, satirizing social pretensions around virtue.
-
03
Art Narrative
A frame featuring Giotto's pupil ties the episodic tales to medieval art and storytelling, making the mural a mirror for the stories told. The painting process and the fresco-like structure invite reflection on how stories are crafted and remembered. The finale reinforces the theme by gazing upon the completed artwork and pondering the nature of creation.
-
04
Satire Folly
The film revels in farce and social satire, skewering convent life, merchant culture, and aristocratic pretensions. The ensemble of episodes acts as a carnival of human foibles, gently lampooning hypocrisy and vanity. Through humor, the movie examines how people navigate desire, luck, and social judgment.
What Kind of Film Is The Decameron?
Light in tone, with variable pacing and a moderate story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Light
- Pacing
- Variable
- Story
- Moderate
- Intensity
- Medium
- Ending
- Ambiguous
An earthy, ribald, and playful mosaic of medieval tales that celebrates human cunning and desire, punctuated by moments of reflective melancholy and a final, dreamlike contemplation on the nature of art.
- ribald
- earthy
- bawdy
- playful
- satirical
- meditative
- medieval tales
- deception
- desire
- social satire
Content notes: murder, sexual content.
Quiz
How well do you remember The Decameron? Test yourself on the story.
Where to Watch The Decameron
Stream it on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi TV, or rent or buy it from Amazon Video. US availability and prices from JustWatch.
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