Page 118 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 118
“Federigo degli Alberighi and the Falcon“
A nobleman called Federigo Alberighi falls in love with companion with her and sets off for Federigo’s farm. You
a woman named Monna Giovanna. She is, of course, can imagine his surprise when she appears and says she
beautiful beyond all imagination. She’s also married. wants to have breakfast with him, to make amends for
Federigo spends a lot of effort and money on showing ignoring him all this time. Federigo’s overjoyed, but now
Giovanna that he’s in love with her, but to no avail. he realizes just how poor he is: he has nothing to put on
Federigo realizes that she’ll never dishonor her husband, the table for breakfast. In his panic, he reaches for the
but too late he’s spent all his money and now has only only edible thing in the house his falcon. Federigo and the
his good falcon and a small farm in the country. Monna lady eat up the bird and then Giovanna tells him the real
Giovanna carries on with her husband until he dies early. reason for coming. Federigo’s inconsolable and has to
She’s left with only one son to inherit all of his father’s explain the problem to Giovanna. At first, she admonishes
wealth. As a fashionable Florentine woman, Giovanna him for killing so good a bird just to feed a woman. Then
takes her son to spend the summer in their country she’s utterly blown away by his generosity. And then she’s
house. It happens to be near Federigo’s farm. Giovanna’s dismayed, because now her son can’t have his falcon.
young son loves birds and dogs, so he quickly becomes Sure enough, the lad dies some days later. Fiammetta isn’t
friends with their neighbor. He’s especially enamored of really willing to say it was because of the falcon mishap
Federigo’s falcon. The boy then falls ill and believes that (he might have had some incurable disease, after all).
he might have something to live for if only his mother can Giovanna inherits the estate from her son (note the line
get Federigo’s falcon for him. This puts Giovanna on the of inheritance, ladies), and her brothers urge her to marry
spot: she knows that Federigo loved her so much that he after a period of mourning. She swears she’ll only marry
was reduced to poverty, but she never gave him the time Federigo even though her brothers laugh at her, because
of day before. How can she now ask for the falcon? But he’s truly noble. So Federigo marries Giovanna, becomes
things go from bad to worse for the boy, and Giovanna’s a wealthy man again (and smarter about his money), and
maternal instincts get the better of her. She takes a lives happily ever after.
“Federigo degli Alberighi and the Falcon” retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
DECAMERON 118 <https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/decameron/summary/fifth-day-ninth-story>
