Page 122 - SUMMARIES OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’S DECAMEON : A Visionary Journey In 100 Stories And 100 Etchings By Petru Russu

Nastagio degli Oneste

In the ancient city of Ravenna, Nastagio degli Onesti, a young nobleman
of great wealth and reputation, falls hopelessly in love with a lady from
the illustrious Traversari family. Despite his generous gifts and persistent
courtship, she remains cold and unyielding, scorning his affection. His

heart heavy and his fortune dwindling, Nastagio is urged by his kin to
leave the city and seek solace elsewhere.

He retreats to the pine woods of Chiassi, hoping to escape the torment of his

unrequited love. One day, while wandering alone, he witnesses a terrifying
vision: a naked woman fleeing through the forest, pursued by two ferocious
black dogs and a wrathful knight on horseback. The knight overtakes her,
slays her with his sword, and commands the dogs to tear her apart.

Horrified, Nastagio confronts the knight, who reveals that both he and the
woman are condemned to reenact this gruesome punishment every Friday
for eternity. The woman had cruelly rejected the knight’s love, driving him

to suicide. Her indifference and his despair earned them this supernatural
fate, a divine retribution for their sins.

Struck by the symbolism and its eerie relevance to his own plight, Nastagio devises

a bold plan. He invites the Traversari family to a lavish banquet in the very woods
where the ghostly scene unfolds. As the guests dine, the cursed knight and his
THIS PAINTING IS PURE prey appear once more, reenacting their eternal torment. The lady Nastagio loves,
PHANTASMAGORIA, A
witnessing the horror and fearing a similar fate, is shaken to her core.
CHROMATIC HAUNTING
WRAPPED IN MYTHIC
NARRATIVE, IT DOESN’T Moved by fear and perhaps a newfound understanding of Nastagio’s
ILLUSTRATE NASTAGIO’S TALE; devotion, she agrees to marry him. Their union brings joy and prosperity,
IT REANIMATES IT THROUGH
and the tale ends with a chilling reminder: cruelty, especially in matters of
SPLINTERED MEMORY AND
SYMBOLIC VERTIGO. the heart, may not go unpunished.
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