Francesco Vergellesi

Francesco Vergellesi is a wealthy gentleman of Pistoia whose practical judgment is undercut by an exceptional covetousness. In the story of his bargain with Ricciardo il Zima, his desire for a handsome palfrey turns a calculated attempt to benefit from another man’s love into the condition that enables his wife’s secret affair.

Identity and Circumstances

Francesco belongs to the Vergellesi family and is described as a man of great wealth and understanding, generally well advised in other matters. His defining flaw is greed. When he becomes provost of Milan, he has made the preparations needed for his appointment but lacks a palfrey handsome enough for the journey. Unable to find one that pleases him, he remains troubled by the want.

His wife is presented as exceptionally beautiful and virtuous. Ricciardo il Zima, a rich young man known for his fine clothes and appearance, has long loved and courted her. Francesco knows of this attachment, and other people tell him that he might obtain Ricciardo’s beautiful palfrey through the young man’s devotion to his wife.

The Bargain for the Palfrey

Moved by covetousness, Francesco summons Ricciardo il Zima and asks to buy his palfrey, though his real aim is to have it offered as a gift. Ricciardo agrees to give it to him on one condition: before taking possession, he must be allowed to speak with Francesco’s wife at a distance from the others, so that no one else can hear them. Francesco accepts, expecting to outwit Ricciardo while securing the horse.

Francesco tells his wife that the arrangement will let him acquire the palfrey easily, then instructs her not to answer anything Ricciardo says. She strongly objects, but submits to her husband’s will and goes with him to the hall. Francesco remains close enough to oversee the encounter while the two speak apart from the rest of the company.

Ricciardo addresses the silent woman as though she were returning his love. He invents her replies as well as speaking his own part, staging an exchange in which she promises a future meeting. Francesco hears none of this private speech. When Ricciardo returns to him, Francesco asks whether he has kept his promise to let him speak with his wife. Ricciardo replies that he was made to speak with a marble statue. Francesco takes her silence as evidence of her virtue and is more satisfied with his opinion of her than before.

Departure and Consequences

Francesco claims the palfrey, and Ricciardo observes that he has received the horse without having sold it: had he known what little fruit the favor would bring him, he would have given it without making the bargain. Francesco laughs, now provided with the mount he wanted, and a few days later departs for Milan to take up the provostship.

While Francesco is away, his wife recalls Ricciardo’s words, his love for her, and the palfrey he gave because of that love. She reasons that her husband will be away for months, that she has an opportunity she may not have again, and that no one need know. She puts two napkins in the garden window, the signal Ricciardo had proposed during his imagined conversation with her. That night, Ricciardo enters through the garden gate and finds her waiting; their secret meetings continue during Francesco’s absence and even after his return.

Character and Narrative Function

Francesco’s error is not simply that he misjudges Ricciardo. His greed shapes the terms of the encounter: he seeks to turn his wife’s desirability into a means of acquiring a horse, and then mistakes her enforced silence for proof that the bargain has cost him nothing. Ricciardo’s verbal performance exploits the gap between what Francesco can see and what the private conversation contains.

The palfrey thus marks both Francesco’s immediate gain and the unforeseen consequence of his arrangement. He gets the horse he wanted and leaves for Milan, while his confidence in his wife’s virtue rests on a scene he did not hear and cannot interpret accurately. The tale does not say that Francesco discovers the affair or describe his response; it ends by reporting that the meetings continue, including after his return.