Messina

Significance within the Decameron:

Stories:

Elissa: Fourth Day, Fourth Tale (Gerbino launches his pirate ships)
Filomena: Fourth Day, Fifth Tale (The pot of basil tale)
Dioneo: Eighth Day, Tenth Tale (The merchant who tricks the wily woman)
Pampinea: Tenth Day, Seventh Tale (King Peter comforts Lisa who is ill with love)

Pertinent data:

General Aspects: It lies on the lower slopes of the Peloritani Mountains, on the Strait of Messina opposite Reggio di Calabria. The city prospered under the Normans as a commercial and cultural centre in the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1266, Messina was passed to the house of Anjou of France and given to the Argonese with the rest of Sicily.

(J. K., J. Q. & N. F.)