Discovered in the act of love by Lisabetta's brother, Lorenzo is taken outside the city, killed, and buried in an unmarked grave. in standard Italian. Lisabetta's brothers want to get rid of her lover without dishonor in the same way that the women of the brigata desire to leave Florence with honor - the same reason Filomena herself gives Pampinea in the Proem for inviting men to accompany them. She plants basil in the pot over Lorenzo's head, an act which calls to mind the Florentines attempts to lessen the fetor of the plague's victims: "portando nelle mani chi fiori, chi erbe odorifere e chi diverse maniere di spezierie... estimando essere ottima cosa il cerebro con cotali odori confortare, con ciò fosse cosa che l'aere tutto paresse dal puzzo de' morti corpi e delle infermità e delle medicine compreso e puzzolente." She plants basil in the pot over Lorenzo's head, an act which calls to mind the Florentines attempts to lessen the fetor of the plague's victims: "portando nelle mani chi fiori, chi erbe odorifere e chi diverse maniere di spezierie... estimando essere ottima cosa il cerebro con cotali odori confortare, con ciò fosse cosa che l'aere tutto paresse dal puzzo de' morti corpi e delle infermità e delle medicine … Albeit the account of the plague and Filomena's story differ in many ways, similar plague-referential conditions are found in both. She waters the plant with her tears and dies of sorrow after the pot is taken away from her. This scene gains deeper meaning when compared to the portrayal of events in the Proem: "non bastando la terra sacra alle sepolture... si facevano per gli cimiterii delle chiese, poi che ogni parte era piena, fosse grandissime nelle quali a centinaia si mettevano i sopravegnenti... con poca terra si ricoprieno." The symbolic meaning of the pot of basil in this story can be interpreted in multiple ways. Although no direct mention of the plague appears after the author's lengthy portrayal at the beginning of the work, echoes of the epidemic are present in the novella of Lisabetta and Lorenzo. On the fourth day, in which Filostrato decrees the narration of love stories with unhappy endings, Filomena recounts the story of Lisabetta and her lover Lorenzo, who is killed by the young girl's brothers after their love affair is discovered. vaso di terracotta Lisabetta finds Lorenzo's body, cuts off his head, wraps it in a beautiful cloth, and gives it a loving burial. would be the story of Lisabetta and her lover Lorenzo, The Representation of Collective Death in the. Another point of view is that the pot of basil symbolizes fertility. puts head in a pot, fills with soil, and plants basil she waters with her own tears "the basil grew very think and exceedingly fragrant" neighbours see her cry into the pot every day and tell the brothers We would like to shine a light upon the symbolism of this object and its various possible interpretations. Boccaccio explains that, in addition to the population losses from the pestilence inside the city of Florence, the surrounding countryside was affected as well by the plague's destruction. Lorenzo visits Lisabetta in a dream with torn and rotting clothes, alluding to his decomposition, and tells his lover where to locate his body. The similarity between these two words is undeniable and one could presume that Boccaccio chose these words deliberately. The basil that Lisabetta plants on top of Lorenzo’s head can also be viewed as a tool to ensure his safe passage to the afterlife. [Cf, p 751]. She waters the plant with her tears and dies of sorrow after the pot is taken away from her.