Madam Francesca—Alessandro Chiarmontesi

The relation between Francesca de' Lazzari and Alessandro Chiarmontesi is defined by an imbalance: he passionately pursues her, while she does not wish to grant him her love. When his persistence becomes one of two unwanted suits, she devises a perilous service that appears to offer him a chance at her favor but is intended to give her a reason to refuse him. His courage carries him into a tomb; it does not change her decision.

An Unwanted Suitor

Francesca de' Lazzari is a beautiful widow in Pistoia. Alessandro Chiarmontesi, a Florentine living there in banishment, falls in love with her without knowing that Rinuccio Palermini, another banished Florentine, is pursuing her as well. Both men privately try to win her through messages and entreaties. Francesca has sometimes listened to them unwisely, but now wants to withdraw from their advances and rid herself of their importunity.

Rather than grant either suitor her love, Francesca plans to ask for a service she believes neither will perform. The request is framed as the condition for obtaining her favor, giving her a plausible reason to refuse further messages if the man declines. Her design turns their declarations of devotion into a test whose terms she controls.

The Test at Scannadio’s Tomb

A notorious man named Scannadio has died that day and been buried in a tomb at the burial place of the Order of Friars Minor. Francesca has her maid deliver different instructions to the two men. Alessandro must go to the tomb at the time of first sleep, put on Scannadio’s clothes, and remain still as though he were the dead man until he is carried to Francesca’s house. Rinuccio must instead enter the tomb, take out Scannadio’s body, and bring it to the house without speaking, whatever he hears or feels.

Both accept. Each says he would go even into hell if that would please Francesca, and the maid carries their answers back to her. Alessandro sets out first, stripped to his doublet. On the way, he imagines that Francesca’s relatives may be luring him into a trap, that enemies may mean to kill or mutilate him, or that the task may involve some other harm. Love finally overcomes his misgivings: he reaches the tomb, opens it, removes Scannadio’s clothes, puts them on, and shuts himself inside in the dead man’s place.

Interruption and Refusal

Rinuccio also comes to carry out his part, but the watch intervenes before he can bring Alessandro to Francesca’s house. By the light of a lantern put out by the watch, Francesca recognizes Rinuccio with Alessandro on his shoulders; Alessandro is still dressed in Scannadio’s clothes. She marvels at the men’s boldness, yet laughs at the sight of Alessandro thrown to the ground and then fleeing. The interruption prevents the carefully specified delivery from being completed.

Afterward, each man tells Francesca what he did and what happened, excuses his failure to finish the service, and claims her favor. She pretends not to believe either account and answers curtly that she will do nothing for them because they did not do what she required. The relation ends in rejection: Alessandro’s willingness to enter a grave proves the intensity of his pursuit, but the test has served Francesca’s purpose of freeing herself from his advances, not bringing the two together.

Narrative Significance

The episode makes the distance between a lover’s ardor and the beloved’s consent central to the relation. Alessandro faces the danger of the tomb because he expects the service to lead to Francesca’s love; Francesca has devised it precisely as a condition she can use to dismiss him. Even when both suitors attempt the dangerous tasks, the watch’s interruption gives her the opening she needs to deny that either has fulfilled her terms. The episode presents his devotion as real while leaving her refusal decisive.