Pericone da Visalgo—Marato

Pericone da Visalgo and Marato are brothers whose relationship becomes a story of betrayal and fratricide when Marato desires Alatiel, the woman living with Pericone. Marato’s decision to remove the obstacle of his brother turns kinship into a cover for violence: Pericone is killed while asleep, and Marato escapes with Alatiel and a large share of his most precious possessions.

Brothers Divided by Desire

Marato, twenty-five years old and described as handsome and fresh-faced, sees Alatiel and becomes intensely attracted to her. Reading her gestures as signs that she favors him, he concludes that Pericone’s close watch is the sole barrier between them. This is Marato’s interpretation of her behavior, not an assurance from Alatiel: she is then living with Pericone, and the episode does not establish that she has invited Marato’s attention.

The brothers’ relation is thus presented through a sharp imbalance. Pericone trusts Marato enough not to suspect him, while Marato converts that trust into an opportunity. Rather than confront his brother or abandon his desire, he forms what the narrative calls a barbarous plan, making the fraternal bond the condition that enables the betrayal.

The Murder and Abduction

Marato first makes an arrangement with two young Genoese shipmasters whose vessel is bound for Chiarenza. After dark, he goes to Pericone’s house with trusted companions and hides there until part of the night has passed. He then admits the others and leads them into the chamber where Pericone lies asleep beside Alatiel. They kill Pericone in his sleep and seize Alatiel, who has awakened and is weeping. The men threaten her with death if she cries out.

The attack serves several purposes at once: it removes Pericone, transfers Alatiel into Marato’s control, and brings Marato material gain. The conspirators take much of Pericone’s most valuable property before hurrying to the shore. Marato and Alatiel board the ship, while his companions return without being seen. The escape is therefore not a spontaneous flight but the planned outcome of a killing coordinated with a ready vessel.

Aftermath and the Meaning of the Betrayal

As the ship sails with a fair wind, Alatiel bitterly grieves both this new misfortune and what has happened before. Marato soon comforts her, and she becomes familiar with him and begins to take pleasure in their intimacy. That subsequent closeness does not undo the circumstances of the abduction: the narrative first shows her captured, threatened, and mourning, then describes her later accommodation to Marato.

The episode defines the brothers’ relationship through its irreversible breach. Pericone’s unsuspecting confidence is answered by Marato’s secrecy; the murder is followed by the seizure of both the woman and the valuables associated with Pericone’s household. In the larger sequence of Alatiel’s misfortunes, this fratricidal betrayal is another abrupt reversal: Marato’s desire changes her position, while the ship carries her away from the life she had with Pericone and into a new, imposed attachment.