Page 98 - Petru Russo | The 100 Days of Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

A Love That Could Not Be: Girolamo and Salvestra

This novella is a heart-wrenching tale of youthful love lost to he secretly enters her home and lays beside her as she sleeps.

circumstance and rekindled in tragedy. Themes of devotion, fate, Overcome with heartbreak, he dies by her side.
and the inescapable pull of love shape the narrative.
The next morning, Salvestra awakens to find Girolamo lifeless
Girolamo, a young man of noble birth, falls deeply in love with beside her. Stricken with grief and unable to bear the loss, she
Salvestra, a girl of humble origins. Their bond blossoms during their follows him in death. Their bodies are brought to the church, where

youth, but Girolamo’s mother, opposing the match, persuades him they are laid to rest together, uniting them in death as they could
to leave for Paris to pursue a more prosperous future. Reluctantly, not be in life.
he departs, promising to return to Salvestra.

This tale concludes as a tragic reminder of love’s power to endure
When Girolamo comes back, he discovers to his despair that even when circumstances conspire to keep it apart, leaving readers
Salvestra has married another. Unable to reconcile his feelings,

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