In Italian culture during the Renaissance, potted basil on a balcony or in a window was a sign that a young woman was available for courtship (Renaissance Reader). This practice is still common in Southern Regions of Italy today. Thinking about this in terms of the Decameron’s use of potted basil turns that practice upside down. Lisabetta is clearly not available, despite what the basil plant may indicate to onlookers. By planting the head inside the basil, Lisabetta makes sure that she is not separated from her dead lover. In both instances, the basil relates to love, but Lisabetta’s basil plant is a perversion of the normal romantic use of basil. However, Lisabetta remains single, and available for marriage physically; although the basil takes an extreme emotional and physical toll.

Basil was often associated with love in Italian and other Mediterranean cultures. The romantic associations have been long established. Ancient Romans believed that basil was an herb of love, although they also believed that cursing and shouting at basil helped it to grow (Blachman). It is not surprising that the romantic notion of basil from the classical period resurfaced in the early Renaissance and worked its way into Italian dating-culture.

Saint John the Baptist is the Patron Saint of Florence.

As seen is the Religion section, there are various stories where Saint John the Baptist’s head winds up in a pot of basil after Salome has him beheaded. The similarities between his head in basil and the similar occurrence in the Decameron are not the only way that Saint John the Baptist is connected to Italian culture. Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of Florence, the initial setting of the Decameron. John the Baptist is revered and still celebrated in modern-day Florence. Saint John the Baptist replaced the Roman god Mars as patron of Florence after Florence converted to Christianity in between the sixth and seventh centuries CE (That’s Florence). It is believed that the likeness of the fighting spirit in both Saint John the Baptist and Mars made the transition easier, and Saint John the Baptist was quickly accepted by the Florentines (That’s Florence). The most significant display of Florentine pride for John the Baptist is the baptistry attached to il Duomo, the Battistero di San Giovanni. The Battistero di San Giovanni also is home to the Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti. Il Duomo and the baptistery are the center of Florentine Christianity and are one of the most recognizable symbols of Florence.

Every year, Florentines celebrate the feast of St. John the Baptist on June 24 every year. The celebration includes a parade, a renaissance sporting event and fireworks in the evening.

As a Florentine writer, Boccaccio almost certainly would have been aware that in some version, St. John the Baptists’ head wound up in a basil plant. The connection to St. John the Baptist through the beheading and basil plant would have allowed Boccaccio to argue that there were still Christian themes in his Decameron, which dealt with many less-than Christian themes . This also would have been a way for Boccaccio to honor Saint John the Baptist by using his death as inspiration in one of his works.

Invoking the theme of Saint John the Baptist could also be a covert way to ask for his protection and intercession in escaping the plague. Certainly, the brigatta would have been praying to Florence’s patron for protection for their city from the plague. This highlights that this was not an original idea that Boccaccio had when he wrote the Decameron, rather capitalizing on an already established tradition. Basil had a reputation as being a good place to hide a head because the fragrant aroma would mask the smell of decomposing flesh.

Beyond being potted in a basil plant, Saint John the Baptist relates to basil symbolism in another way. Basil plants frequently produce red blooms and red is the color of Saint John the Baptist (Faithful). Presumably, such a well nourished basil plant would have produced red blooms. This is another tie to Florence's patron saint that would have strengthened Boccaccio's Christian claims in the Decameron.