Giovanni Boccaccio (; ; 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of
Petrarch, and an important
Renaissance humanist. Boccaccio wrote a number of notable works, including
The Decameron and
On Famous Women. He wrote in the Italian
vernacular and is particularly noted for his realistic dialogue which differed from that of his contemporaries,
medieval writers who usually followed formulaic models for character and plot.