# Giannotto — The Decameron character guide

> Giannotto in The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Quoth Giannotto

**First appearance:** 0077-the-second-story

## Snapshot

A spirited young man of obscure birth who rises through service and charm, only to find his fortunes tangled with the very family that once sheltered him.

## Who they are

Giannotto grows up in servitude under a false name, quick-witted and restless, unwilling to accept the menial lot assigned to him. He leaves Genoa to seek his fortune, takes service with Currado Malespina, and finds himself near a woman whose past is bound up with his own in ways neither yet suspects. His story is one of the Decameron's great long arcs of recognition and reversal, where patience, disguise, and a good eye for opportunity slowly turn the wheel of fortune.

## In the story

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

Madam Beritola's elder son, renamed Giannotto, serves Currado, falls in love with Spina, imprisoned, later revealed as Giusfredi Capece.

## Links

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