In 2013, 700 years passed since the birth of Giovanni Boccaccio, renowned Renaissance writer. Czech Mint highlights the anniversary of this exceptional personality with the collector series Decameron, which will contain ten splendid medals made of pure silver inspired by stories from Boccaccio’s best known literary work.

Well-known love stories liven up in beautiful reliefs created by academic sculptor Vladimír Oppl. The reverse of the medal features the portrait of Giovanni Boccaccio on the background of his house in Certaldo where he lived. The composition also contains three dates – the year of the writer’s birth (1313), death (1375) and the 700th anniversary (2013). The obverse is decorated with a scene from the story Broken Promise and with a symbol of the tree of life, which serves as a connecting link of the entire Decameron series. A rare Roman erotic token is also featured on the obverse of the medal corresponding perfectly with the theme of the series. The proof quality lends the medal a luxurious look.

Broken Promise is about how easy it is to get carried away by love and go overboard for love, but it also deals with the consequences of such rash deeds. Gerbino, the main character of the story, breaks a royal promise – one which his grandfather had given to the Tunisian king. He attacks his ship in order to get hold of the beautiful princess whom he fell head over heels in love with, and who was promised to marry – against her will – the ruler of Granada. However, the girl is killed during fight on the ship, for which Gerbino takes revenge by murdering the entire crew. In the end, his grandfather has to keep his royal promise and to punish Gerbino by beheading him.

Decameron is a set of one hundred stories which are told in ten days by ten young people who fled from Florence to escape “black death“. The work has become one of literary symbols of the Italian Renaissance thanks to the author’s excellent story-telling skills and lightness with which he describes human virtues and weaknesses.

Broken Promise is the fourth story told on the fourth day. The attractive silver medal struck by Czech Mint reflects the depth and vividness of the story. It is the fourth item in the popular collector series, the mintage of which is again strictly limited to 500 pieces. Do not hesitate and order one of them for yourself in time!