Birth: Giovanni Boccaccio was born around June or July of the year 1313. Although it's not known where he was actually born, records say Florence, Paris, and Certaldo. Boccaccio called himself a Florentine, his mother had a good family from Paris, and the family had some family in the valley of Elsa about 20 m. from Certaldo. Unfortunately, no record has been found on his parents.
Death: During his last years, Boccaccio lived at his home in Certaldo in retirement. He would not do anything people asked him to do and just enjoyed it. On December 21, 1375, he died of old age, poverty, and ill health.
Early Influences: Always being around a market greatly impacted the life and future of Boccaccio. His father was a merchant and always took him there to show Boccaccio what his life would be like in the future. He would see all of the people running around the market and watch what they were doing. After a while, though, it got boring and he went to the grave of Virgil and devoted himself to poetry. Criticism is another factor that influenced Boccaccio. After he wrote his first work, many of his countrymen would tell him he was stupid and his writing was stupid. Well, this starting getting to his head and he started to believe it. Thankfully, Boccaccio didn't ever get a chance to burn his poetry like he wanted and therefore became real good. The Black Death was a huge influence on his life. In 1348, Florence suffers from the plague and it takes the lives of his father, stepmother, and many of his friends. After this he begin working as a service of the Republic. He had nothing else to do and felt he had lost everything he had.
Education: Boccaccio was brought up his first few years with the tender care of his father. Then he received his elementary education from Giovanni de Strada, a wonderful teacher of grammar. In Boccaccio's opinion, after this he wasted six years with an eminent merchant. Although they are not sure were, he later went to Naples or Paris and learned French.
