Sotto turpissime forme d’uomini: forma del corpo e forma dell’anima nel Decameron di Boccaccio

This paper explores the relationship between bodily appearance and moral or intellectual virtue in three novellas of the Decameron: VI.5 (Forese da Rabatta and Giotto), VI.6 (the Baronci), and V.1 (Cimone). While the first two narratives depict exceptional virtues embodied in deformed or grotesque bodies, the third presents the opposite case: extraordinary physical beauty initially paired with intellectual and moral deficiency. By reading these novellas in parallel, the study investigates how Boccaccio connects corporeal description with the representation of virtue, and whether these narratives reflect not only ethical traditions, but also concepts derived from medieval natural philosophy and medical thought. Particular attention will be devoted to the ways in which medieval theories of complexion and the relationship between body and soul may have informed Boccaccio’s literary construction of character.