Giacomo Casanova

At 73 years old, Giacomo Casanova has this physical status:

Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice.

His autobiography, Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century.As was not uncommon at the time, Casanova, depending on circumstances, used more or less fictitious names, such as baron or count of Farussi (the name of his mother) or Chevalier de Seingalt.

He often signed his works Jacques Casanova de Seingalt after he began writing in French following his second exile from Venice.He has become so famous for his often complicated and elaborate affairs with women that his name is now synonymous with "womanizer".

He associated with European royalty, popes, and cardinals, along with luminaries such as Voltaire, Goethe, and Mozart.

He spent his last years in Bohemia as a librarian in Count Waldstein's household, where he also wrote the story of his life.

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Early career in Italy and abroad

Casanova's brief religious career was marred by scandals. Casanova studied at a seminary for a short time after his grandmother's death, but he was arrested for the first time due to his indebtedness. Casanova's effort by his mother's to gain him a position with Bishop Bernardo de Bernardis was turned down by the bishop's Calabrian see after a very brief hearing of the locals. Rather, he found work as a writer for Rome's prestigious Cardinal Acquaviva. Casanova pleaded for a dispensation to read the "forbidden books" and refrain from eating fish (which he said inflamed his eyes). He also created love letters for another cardinal. Cardinal Acquaviva dismissed Casanova after he became the scapegoat for a controversy involving a local pair of star-crossed lovers, thanking him for his service but effectively ending his church life.

Casanova obtained a commission to serve as a military officer for the Republic of Venice in the quest for a new career.

His first step was to look the part:

He joined a Venetian regiment in Corfu, despite his absence being interrupted by a short trip to Constantinople ostensibly to give a letter from his former master, Cardinal Leopolski. He managed to miss the majority of his paycheck playing time because his advancement was too slow and his job was monotonous. Casanova resigned from active service and returned to Venice soon.

He set out to be a professional gambler at the age of 21, but after losing all the money from his commission, he turned to his old benefactor Alvise Grimani for a job. Casanova began his career as a violinist in San Francisco's "a menial journeyman of a sublime art in which the mediocrity is rightfully scorned." ...My occupation wasn't a noble one, but I didn't bother. "I quickly adopted all the habits of my degraded peers musicians," I said despite being biased." "We spent our nights wandering through different quarters of the city, making up the most unexpected practical jokes and putting them into action, but then we amused ourselves by untyinging the gondolas tied to private homes that then floated with the current." They also sent midwives and doctors on wrong calls.

Good fortune came to the rescue when Casanova, who was dissatisfied with his work as a musician, saved the life of a Venetian patrician of the Bragadin family, who died while riding with Casanova in a gondola after a wedding ball. The senator bled immediately, and they were able to have him bled. A physician bled the senator again and applied an ointment of mercury, an all-purpose but toxic treatment at the time, to the senator's chest. Bragadin looked to be coughing on his own swollen windpipe as a result of his increased temperature and triggered a massive fever. As death seemed to be approaching, a priest was summoned. Despite the attending physician's outrage, Casanova ordered the ointment's removal and the washing of the senator's chest with cool water. With rest and a nutritious diet, the senator recovered from his illness. The senator and his two bachelor companions were considered Casanova wise beyond his years, and they agreed that he must be in possession of occult knowledge due to his youth and his simple recitation of medical information. The senator welcomed Casanova into his household and became a lifelong patron.

Casanova stated in his memoirs:

Casanova, a senator who served as a legal advisor, lived his life as a nobleman, dressing magnificently and enjoying the majority of his time playing and engaging in amorous pursuits for the next three years. His patron was incredibly generous, but he told Casanova that one day he would pay the price; "I made a joke of his impure Prophecies and went my way." However, Casanova was forced to leave Venice, not long after, due to further scandals. Casanova had used a recently buried body to perform a practical joke on an enemy and exact revenge, but the perpetrator had gone into a paralysis and was unable to recover. In another controversy, a teenage girl who had assaulted him accused him of rape and went to the authorities. Casanova was later found not guilty of this crime for lack of evidence, but by this time, he had already left Venice.

Casanova escaped to Parma and began a three-month relationship with a French woman he named "Henriette," perhaps the deepest love he had ever felt, a woman who merged beauty, intelligence, and culture. "They who believe that a woman is incapable of making a man equal happiness all the twenty-four hours of the day have never heard an Henriette." The joy that flooded my soul when I talked with her during the day was much greater than when I held her in my arms at night. Henriette ruled rightly of everything after reading a great deal and having natural taste. Casanova was also ruled by her astutely as a judge. J. Rives Childs, a noted Casanovist, wrote: "J. Rives Childs was a student at the University of On Saturday, J. Rives Childs wrote: "Itanism has ruled the world"

Casanova, a crestfallen and despondent, returned to Venice, and after a brief gambling spree, he regained control and began a grand tour, making it to Paris in 1750. He went from one town to another, in escapades resembling operatic plots. He began in Lyon and became involved in Freemasonry, which appealed to his curiosity in obscure rites and that attracted men of intellect and clout who were active in his life, attracting valuable contacts and uncensored information. Casanova was also attracted to Rosicrucianism. Casanova became a companion and earned the highest degree of Scottish Rite Master Mason in Lyons.

The Memoirs wrote about his ascension to the Scottish Rite Freemasonry in Lyon: "Hays!"

Casanova lived in Paris for two years, learned the language, spent a considerable time at the theater, and introduced himself to famous celebrities. However, his numerous liaisons were soon discovered by the Paris police as they were in virtually every city he visited.

In 1752, his brother Francesco and he migrated from Paris to Dresden, where his mother and sister Maria Maddalena were living. La Moluccheide, his latest play that has now been out of place, was produced at the Royal Theatre, where his mother used to appear in lead roles. He then travelled to Prague and Vienna, where the crowded social atmosphere of the former capital was not to his liking. In 1753, he returned to Venice. Casanova resurrected his adventures in Venice, attracting numerous foes and gaining the Venetian inquisitors' attention. His police history grew to include an extensive list of suspected blasphemies, seduction, conflicts, and public outrage. Giovanni Manucci, a state spy, was sent to help Casanova's understanding of cabalism and Freemasonry as well as a search for forbidden books in his library. Senator Bragadin, who is a former inquiry officer, has urged his "son" to leave right away or face the harshest consequences.

"The Tribunal, having taken note of G. Casanova's grave errors primarily in public outrages against the Holy Faith, has ordered him to be arrested and jailed under the Leads" on July 26th, 1755. On the top floor of the Doge's palace's east wing, a prison of seven cells was reserved for prisoners of higher rank as well as certain types of criminals, such as political prisoners, defrocked or libertine priests, and usurers, who were mainly responsible for the palace roof, as well as certain types of criminals, namely political prisoners, defrocked or libertine priests or monks. He was sentenced to five years in prison following his arrest and conviction without a hearing and without being told of his arrest and sentence.

In "the worst of all the cells," he was placed in solitary confinement with clothing, a pallet bed, table, and armchair, where he suffered greatly from the heat, summer heat, and "millions of fleas." He was soon housed with a group of cellmates, and after five months and a personal appeal from Count Bragadin, he was given warm winter bedding, a monthly stipend for books, and better food. During workout walks, he discovered a piece of black marble and an iron bar, which he smuggled back to his cell; he concealed the bar inside his armchair. He spent two weeks sharpening the bar to a peak on the stone when he was temporarily without cell phones. He began to gouge through the wooden floor under his bed, aware that his cell was directly above the Inquisitor's chamber. Casanova was taken to a larger, lighter cell with a view just three days before his intended escape, during a festival when no one from the chamber below would be present, despite his protests that he was perfectly content where he was. "I sat in my armchair like a man in a stupor," he wrote, motionless as a statue, and I realized that all the efforts I had made were pointless, and I could not protest them." I felt that I had nothing to be excited about, and that the only relief left to me was not to worry about the future."

Casanova embarked on another escape strategy after losing his inertia. Father Balbi, a renegade priest, was he begged for the assistance of the prisoner in the adjacent cell. The spike, which was transferred to the priest's folio Bible, was delivered by the hoodwinked prisoner under a heaping plate of pasta. The priest holed a hole in his ceiling, climbed across and made a hole in Casanova's ceiling. Casanova played on his superstitions and coerced him into silence in order to neutralize his new cellmate, who was a spy. Casanova climbed up to Casanova's cell, leaving behind a note quoting the 117th Psalm (from the Latin Vulgate): "I will not die, but live, and declare the Lord's works."

The spy stayed behind, afraid of the repercussions if he were to escape with the others. Casanova and Balbi pried their way through the lead plates and onto the Doge's Palace's sloping roof, with heavy fog swirling. Casanova broke the glass to gain entry due to the drop to the nearby canal being too steep. They discovered a long ladder on the roof, and with the additional use of a bedsheet "rope" that Casanova had assembled, they lowered themselves into the room, which was 25 feet below. They lay down the stairs after a formal function and continued to sleep, changed clothes, and finally broke a small lock on an exit door and walked into a palace corridor, galleries and chambers. It was 6:00 a.m., and they had to flee by gondola. Casanova finally arrived in Paris, where he arrived on the same day (5 January 1757) that Robert-François Damiens made an attempt on Louis XV's life. (Casanova will be present and discuss his execution later today.)

Casanova wrote Story of My Flight, which was very popular and was reprinted in several languages, three decades later, and he retells the tale a little later in his memoirs. Casanova's assessment of the exploitation is characteristic: it is based on Casanova's findings:

He knew that his stay in Paris would be long, so he continued with the following: "I saw that to do what I had wanted to do," he wrote: "I knew that I would bring all my physical and moral faculties into play, exercise strict self-control, and play the chameleon." Casanova had grown, and this time in Paris, but he was still dependent on quick thinking and concrete action at times. His first challenge was to locate a new patron. He reunited with his old pal de Bernis, who now serves as France's Foreign Minister. Casanova was urged by his patron to find a way to get instant approval. Casanova was quickly appointed as one of the first state lottery trustees and one of the country's top ticket salesmen. He made a fortune quickly due to his work. He travelled in wealthy circles and undertook new seductions with money in hand. He debuffed many socialites with his occultism, particularly Marquise Jeanne d'Urfé, who had a superb memory that made him appear to have a sorcerer's powers of numerology. "Deceive a fool is an act that is deserving of an intelligent man," Casanova says.

Casanova claimed to be a Rosicrucian and an alchemist, giving him a following with some of the era's most notable figures, including Madame de Pompadour, Count of Saint-Germain, d'Alembert, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Alchemy among the nobles, particularly the look for the "philosopher's stone," was a hit among the nobles, and Casanova gained a lot of money after for his ostensible knowledge. "This remarkably singular man, who was supposed to be the most barefaced of all imposters, said with impunity that he had mastered the universal medicine and that he made whatever he liked from nature that he made diamonds," Count of Saint-Germain: "This very singular man, born to be the most barefaced of all imposters, said with impunity, who carried out the message that he created diamonds."

De Bernis sent Casanova to Dunkirk for his first spy mission. Casanova was praised for his quick work, but one of his few remarks against the ancien régime and the class on which he was dependent was made. "All the French ministers are the same," he said in hindsight. They lavished money into lavishing their animals, and they were all correct: the down-trodden people counted for nothing; the inevitable results, the indebtedness of the state and financial uncertainty, were both inevitable. A revolution was required."

Casanova was summoned once more as the state treasury was beginning. He was charged with the responsibility of selling state bonds in Amsterdam, Holland, which was Europe's financial capital at the time. He succeeded in selling the bonds at only an 8% discount, and the following year was a prosperous enough to build a silk manufactory with his earnings. If he would become a French citizen and work for the finance ministry, the French government even gave him a title and pension, but he turned down, perhaps because it would frustrate his Wanderlust. Casanova had hit his high point of success but was unable to sustain it. He mismanaged the company badly, borrowed heavily to save it, and spent a large share of his money on regular communications with his female employees who were his "harem."

Casanova was imprisoned again for his debts, this time in Fortl'Évêque, but it was released four days later on the Marquise d'Urfé's request. Sadly, although he was recalled, Bernis' patron de Bernis was dismissed by Louis XV at that time, and Casanova's foes retaliated against him. He sold the majority of his possessions and got another trip to Holland to escape his loneliness.

This time, however, his mission came to Cologne, then Stuttgart in the spring of 1760, where he lost the majority of his fortune. He was detained once more for his loans, but he was able to flee to Switzerland. Casanova, weary of his wanton life, explored a monk's simple, scholarly life. He returned to his hotel to reflect on the decision, only to find a new object of desire and reverting to his old instincts, but the monk's life was quickly forgotten. He went from one sexual romp to another in Marseille, Montrecht, Voltaire, Naples, Modena, and Turin.

Casanova began styling himself as Chevalier de Seingalt in 1760, a term he'd come to use more often for the remainder of his life. He would also design himself Count de Farussi (using his mother's maiden name) on occasion, and when Pope Clement XIII presented Casanova with the Papal Order of the Éperon d'or, he had an impressive cross and ribbon to hang on his chest.

He began in Paris with one of his most bizarre plans: a young dupe, Marquise d'Urfé, convinced that by occult means, he might have turned her into a young man. Casanova did not get the much-needed payoff he had aspired for, and the Marquise d'Urfé lost faith in him.

Casanova came to England in 1763, intending to sell his theory of a state lottery to English officials. "The people have a special appearance, universal to the whole nation, which makes them believe they are superior to everybody else," he said. All nations have it, with each one claiming that it is the best in the world. They are all correct," says the author. He travelled his way up to a performance with King George III by utilizing the bulk of the valuables he stole from the Marquise d'Urfé. He spent a considerable amount of time in the bedroom while working on the political front, as was his habit. He put an advertisement in the newspaper to welcome females for his pleasure, not being able to speak English. He consulted many young people, selecting one named "Mistress Pauline" who suited him well. He stepped in her apartment and seduced her straight away. However, these and other relationships left him young with venereal disease and left England impoverished and sick.

He went to the Austrian Netherlands, recovered, and then for the next three years, covering around 4,500 miles by coach over rough roads, including Moscow and Saint Petersburg (the average daily coach ride is about 30 miles (48 km). His main aim, once more, was to bring his lottery scheme to other governments and repeat the great success he had with the French government, but a meeting with Frederick the Great bore no result, and the same result was achieved in the surrounding German lands. Casanova traveled to Russia and spoke with Catherine the Great, but she reportedly denied the lottery theory, not knowing nor owing to either connections or confidence.

He was expelled from Warsaw in 1766 after a pistol duel with Colonel Franciszek Ksawery Branicki over an Italian actress, a lady friend of theirs. Both duelists were injured, with Casanova on the left hand. After Casanova turned down doctors' recommendation that the hand be amputated, it was recovered on its own. He moved from Warsaw to Breslau, Prussia's Kingdom of Prussia, and then to Dresden, where he contracted yet another venereal disease. He returned to Paris for several months in 1767 and struck the gaming salons, only to be banned from France by Louis XV himself, primarily for Casanova's ruse involving the Marquise d'Urfé. Casanova, who is now known all over Europe for his irresponsible behavior, would have a difficult time in overcoming his notoriety and gaining any success, so he headed for Spain, where he was not as popular. In this case, Charles III tried his usual tactic, leaning on well-placed contacts (often Freemasons), winning and dining with nobles of influence, and finally arranging an audience with the local monarch. He could only roam around Spain when no doors were opened for him, but there was no reason to show for it. He was arrested in Barcelona and sentenced to 6 weeks in prison. His Spanish adventure was a disappointment; he returned to France for a brief period and then to Italy.

Casanova had to plan a return to Venice in Rome because he had to return to Venice. Casanova began his modern Tuscan-Italian translation of the Iliad, his History of the Troubles in Poland, and a comedic play while waiting for supporters to grant him legal entry to Venice. Casanova did some espionage for Venetian authorities in order to ingratiate himself with them. He went back to the Inquisitors after months of silence, but he wrote a letter of appeal specifically to them. At last, he received his long-awaited permission and burst into tears upon reading "We, Inquisitors of State, for reasons that are not revealed to us, give Giacomo Casanova a free safe conduct, allowing him to come, go, stop, and return, or keep in touch wherever he pleases without hesitation or hindrance. "Our will" is as well. After 18 years of exile, Casanova was allowed to return to Venice in September 1774.

He returned to Venice first as a cordial one and as a celebrity. Also the Inquisitors wanted to know how he had escaped from prison. However, three of his three bachelor patrons were still alive, and Casanova was invited back to live with him. He received a modest stipend from Dandolo and wished to live from his writings, but it wasn't enough. He reluctantly became a spy for Venice, earning a commission on religion, ethics, and industry, the bulk of which was based on gossip and rumors generated from social networks. He was dissatisfied. No financial opportunities of interest were found, and few doors were opened for him in society as in the past.

The years of inexperience and the thousands of miles of miles of traveling had weighed on their bodies at age 49. The scars of Casanova's smallpox scars, sunken cheeks, and hook nose became more prominent. His upbeat demeanor was now more guarded. Prince Charles de Ligne, a friend (and uncle of his future employer), first described him about 1784:

Venice had changed for him. Casanova now had little money for gambling, few passionate females are interested in seeking, and no acquaintances to cheer him on. He heard of his mother's death and, in the worst case, he visited Bettina Gozzi's deathbed, who had first introduced him to sex and died in his arms. His Iliad was released in three volumes, but it was only available to a few customers and yielding little. He became involved in a public feud with Voltaire over faith. "Suppose that you succeed in destroying superstition," he said.

With what will you replace it?"

"I like that." Voltaire retaliated, "I like that." Can I ask what I should do in its place if I were to save humanity from a ferocious beast that devours it? From Casanova's point of view, if Voltaire had "been a good philosopher," he would not have gone silent on the subject, "the people must live in ignorance for the country's general stability."

Casanova discovered Francesca, an uneducated seamstress who became his live-in lover and housekeeper who loved him devotedly in 1779. Later this year, the Inquisitors brought him on the payroll and sent him to look into trade between the papal states and Venice. Other publishing and theater ventures failed due largely to a lack of funds. Casanova was expelled from Venice again in 1783 after writing a scathing satire mocking Venetian nobility. It was his only public assertion that Grimani was his legitimate father.

Casanova arrived in Paris, and Benjamin Franklin met him in November 1783 while attending a lecture on aeronautics and balloon transport. Casanova served as secretary and pamphleteer to Sebastian Foscarini, the Venetian ambassador in Vienna, for a while. "This singular man never liked to be in the wrong," Mozart's librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote about Casanova. Casanova's notes indicate that he may have made suggestions to Da Ponte about Mozart's Don Giovanni's libretto.

Casanova took to another role in 1785, after Foscarini died. He became the librarian to Count Joseph Karl von Waldstein, the emperor's chamberlain, in the Castle of Dux, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). The count, which included him as a Freemason, cabalist, and frequent traveler, had been to Casanova a year before at Foscarini's residence. Although Casanova's writing career provided safety and income, his last years were both tedious and frustrating, even though it was the most fruitful period for writing. His health had deteriorated dramatically, and he found life among peasants to be less uplifting. He was only able to fly to Vienna and Dresden for relief. Although Casanova did well with the count, his boss was a much younger man with his own eccentricities. The count often skipped him at meals and refused to welcome him to important visiting visitors. In addition, Casanova, the testy stranger, was greatly disliked by the majority of the Castle of Dux's other inhabitants. Casanova's only neighbors seemed to be his fox terriers. Casanova considered suicide, but instead decided that he'd keep his memoirs on file until he died.

On several occasions, he visited Prague, Bohemia's capital city and the main cultural center. He met Lorenzo da Ponte, the librettist of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, in Prague in October 1787 and most likely saw the composer and composer together at the time. There is reason to believe that he appeared in Prague in 1791 for the coronation of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II as king of Bohemia, which also included the first performance of Mozart's opera La clemenza di Tito. Casanova is said to have drafted dialogue suitable for a Don Juan tragedy during his visit to Prague in 1787, but no of his verses were ever included in Mozart's opera. His reaction to seeing licentious conduct like his own was suspective of moral scrutiny, as it is in Mozart's opera was not recorded.

Word came from 1797 that the Republic of Venice had defunct and that Napoleon Bonaparte had taken possession of Casanova's home city. Return home was too late. Casanova died on June 4th, 1798, at the age of 73. "I have lived as a scholar and I die as a Christian," his last words were reported. Casanova was buried in Dux (now a days Duchcov in the Czech Republic), but the exact location of his grave has been lost over the years, and it remains unknown today.

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