The first epic poem written in Italian is the Teseida delle nozze di Emilia (Theseid of the Nuptials of Emilia) by Giovanni Boccaccio, the well-known author of the Decameron. Conceived and composed during the Florentine author s stay in Naples, it combines masterfully both epic and lyric themes in a genre that may be defined as an epic of love. Besides its intrinsic literary value, the poem reflects the author s youthful emotions and nostalgia for the happiest times of his life."

Several poetic and prose compositions in early Italian literature contain references to the bubonic plague and other illnesses that were used in the language both literally and metaphorically. The first detailed description of a plague epidemic, however, was written by Giovanni Boccaccio in the introduction to The Decameron. It is a precise and dramatic view of the physical, social, and medical conditions of Florence during the epidemic of 1348. The Theme of the Plague in Italian Letters follows the subsequent developments, both in poetic and prose works, until the time of the plague of Milan...