# Fra Alberto — The Decameron character guide

> Fra Alberto in The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.

**Role:** major

**First appearance:** 0034-the-seventh-story

## Snapshot

A handsome friar in Venice who exploits a vain woman's piety by dressing as the Angel Gabriel to enjoy her favors.

## Who they are

Fra Alberto cuts a striking figure in his habit, and he knows it; when a foolish Venetian lady brags of her beauty, he sees an opening and takes it. Posing as the Archangel Gabriel, he arranges moonlit trysts and lets her believe she is beloved of heaven itself. His scheme depends entirely on her vanity and the city's credulity, and both prove dangerously elastic, making his story one of the collection's sharpest satires on clerical hypocrisy.

## Relationships

### [Gabriel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/gabriel)

_psychological_

Fra Alberto adopts the persona of Gabriel to deceive Madam Beritola, representing his own manipulative and fraudulent nature.

### [Gabriel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/gabriel)

_psychological_

Fra Alberto adopts the persona of Gabriel to deceive Madam Beritola, representing his own manipulative and fraudulent nature.

## In the story

### [The Fourth Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/chapters/the-fourth-story)

Not present; using Dom Felice as a stand-in for a cunning monk. Actually, Dom Felice is the monk who deceives Fra Puccio.

### [The Second Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/chapters/the-second-story)

A corrupt friar who pretends to be the angel Gabriel to seduce Madam Lisetta.

### [The Tenth Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/chapters/the-tenth-story)

A cunning friar of the order of St. Anthony, known for his wit and eloquence, who uses a quick shift to turn a theft into a holy relic.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/fra_alberto
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters