A Decameron in the time of Covid. Certaldo launches literary contest

Certaldo, hometown of Giovanni Boccaccio, launches the Racconti isolati - Un Decameron ai tempi del Covid literary contest, organized by the City of Certaldo and promoted nationwide in collaboration with Touring Club Italiano.

“Now that the time of imprisonment is coming to an end and the restart is approaching for everyone,” said Certaldo Mayor Giacomo Cucini, “we can take advantage of the much time we have had to read, to think, to dream about the return to our real life or a different life. We are sure that many people have already written, or will be able to write, a short story, real or imagined, born during this time. Just as Boccaccio, after the plague of 1348, wanted to write a hundred novellas as a manifesto of the rebirth of humanity, so we propose today to give voice to anyone who wants to tell, in a literary way, an anecdote, a story (true or fictional) related to the time of the pandemic and the isolation caused by the Covid-19 health emergency. With the aim of making memory, but also of restarting.”

Protagonists of Boccaccio’s Decameron are love and fortune, mockeries made or suffered, heroic deeds and defeats. Today’s storytellers, on the other hand, may recount the experiences they have lived in these weeks, or those they have dreamed of living. For example, of the “exploits” to do grocery shopping or motor activity, of the struggle with the computer for teleducation, of “escapes” to see friends or boyfriends, of falling in love (or betrayal) via chat, of the pranks done (or suffered) to colleagues in smartworking, etc.

To participate, one must write a short narrative story, between 3,000 and 15,000 characters, and send it, by June 30, 2020, to racconti.isolati@comune.certaldo.fi.it. All stories will be collected in a digital anthology published at www.comune.certaldo.fi.it and on a digital platform, to be voted on by readers. Copyrights on the texts will be transferred to the City of Certaldo, which reserves the right to make a selection and print publication as well.

The author of the most voted short story will be rewarded with a stay in Certaldo.

All participants will be invited to Boccaccio’s town for the official presentation of the anthology, scheduled for September at the Palazzo Pretorio venue, and will have the opportunity to take a free guided tour of Certaldo Alto and the museums of the medieval village and attend a performance based on the Decameron.

The initiative is organized by the City of Certaldo in collaboration with Touring Club Italiano and with the support of Ente Nazionale Giovanni Boccaccio, Associazione letteraria Giovanni Boccaccio, L’Oranona Teatro, Associazione Polis, Pro Loco Certaldo, Associazione Elitropia, and Associazione per gli scambi interculturali.

A Decameron in the time of Covid. Certaldo launches literary contest

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