Madonna Jancofiore appears in Dioneo’s eighth tale (VIII, 10). Like the Sicilian Woman (II, 5), she is a very beautiful conwoman living in Sicily who scams Salabaetto out of his money, demonstrating the power of female beauty and male lust. However, her greediness causes her to fall into Salabaetto’s trap, and she becomes the victim of a version of her own con.
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Jancofiore Character Timeline in The Decameron
The timeline below shows where the character Jancofiore appears in The Decameron. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Day 8: Tenth Tale
...see what the city has to offer. Before long, a Sicilian con-woman, who calls herself Madonna Jancofiore , learns about his goods and begins to cast glances at him. He thinks she...
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...the bathhouse, where he watches slave-girls prepare a fine bed and scrub the bath. When Madonna Jancofiore arrives, she washes him with fragrant soap, and the slave-girls anoint them both with fragrant...
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Salabaetto becomes more enamored as he regularly meets with Madonna Jancofiore during his stay in Palermo. When he has sold his merchandise, she finds out. The...
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...Salabaetto and protesting that she’d never have thought to ask for what he freely offered, Madonna Jancofiore throws herself into his arms. When he brings her the money, he takes her promise...
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...find a livelihood in Naples, but Pietro promises to help him recover his money from Madonna Jancofiore instead. They prepare a shipment of merchandise and barrels of oil, which Salabaetto takes to...
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Madonna Jancofiore repays Salabaetto’s five hundred florins. To pay her back in her own coin, he goes...
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The next morning, Madonna Jancofiore gives a friend one thousand florins of her own money to “lend” to Salabaetto. Salabaetto...
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