Page 140 - SUMMARIES OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’S DECAMEON : A Visionary Journey In 100 Stories And 100 Etchings By Petru Russu

Michele Scalza and Baronci : When Wit Redefines Nobility

In the bustling city of Florence, where wit is currency and reputation is a game,
Michele Scalza strolls into a lively gathering of young men. The conversation,

as spirited as the wine, turns to the question of nobility, who, among all
Florentine families, can claim the most ancient and exalted lineage? The
debate simmers until Scalza, with a glint in his eye and mischief in his voice,
declares that the most noble family in all the world, and certainly in the wild
marshes of the Maremma, is none other than the Baronci.

The room erupts in laughter. The Baronci? That clan of famously grotesque
men, whose faces seem sculpted by a distracted apprentice rather than a

divine hand? Scalza nods solemnly, unfazed by the ridicule. He wagers a
supper on his claim, and the young men, eager for entertainment, accept.

With theatrical flair, Scalza launches into his argument. Nobility, he insists,
is measured by antiquity. And what family could be older than the Baronci,

whose appearance suggests they were fashioned when God was still learning
the rudiments of human design? Their exaggerated features, misshapen
noses, lopsided eyes, and unfortunate proportions, are not flaws, but proof of

primordial origin. They are living relics, monuments to divine experimentation,
and thus, by Scalza’s logic, the most noble of all.

The absurdity is irresistible. The young men, unable to counter such audacious
STYLED WITH SATIRICAL reasoning, concede the wager. Scalza wins his supper, and the Baronci
ABSTRACTION AND VIBRANT
win a peculiar immortality. From that day forward, any man of exceptional
CARICATURAL GEOMETRY,
THE SCENE TRANSFORMS ugliness is dubbed a “Baroncio,” a term born of jest and sealed by laughter. A
MICHELE SCALZA’S MOCKERY celebration of rhetorical daring, a satire on social pretensions, and a reminder
OF THE BARONCI INTO A
that in the right hands, nonsense can be more persuasive than truth. Michele
RIOTOUS VISUAL FABLE, WHERE
Scalza doesn’t just win a meal; he wins the moment, proving that wit, when
ABSURDITY IS CROWNED, AND
WIT BECOMES FORM. wielded with confidence, can reshape perception and redefine nobility itself.
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