"I have always loved truth so passionately that I have often resorted to lying as a way of introducing it into the minds which were ignorant of its charms".
- CasanovaGiacomo Casanova was born in Venice in 1725, the son of an actor and actress who often neglected him. He was a sickly child but intelligent and a quick study; at one point in his early life he studied to become a priest. His lifelong fascination with the occult began at the age of eight when a witch cured him of his debilitating nosebleeds. He lived by his wits and was obsessed by gambling at an early age. He pursued women, even those with husbands, and in between seductions wrote verses for church music, played violin and worked as a homeopath. His main source of income was from well-heeled patrons.
No one knows how many lovers the tall and handsome Casanova had but it is thought to be hundreds. At sixteen he made love to two sisters in the same bed and quickly progressed through a string of lovers including nuns, duchesses, prostitutes, peasants and rich elderly ladies. He is believed to have fathered half a dozen children throughout Europe, and possibly fathered a child with his own daughter (although, to be fair, he was unaware she was his daughter at the time of the affair. Indeed, he nearly married the girl and it was only when he was seeking his fiancée's mother's signature to the marriage contract that the familial relationship was discovered.) Engaged to be married on a number of occasions, he always escaped at the last minute; afterwards, he would slyly take to his bed for a spell, pleading despair over the lost romance. (Modern men take note.)
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Casanova was hated by the ruling class and was accused of being a spy. He was arrested in 1755 and escaped from Piombi prison 15 months later and would spend the rest of his life avoiding the clutches of the Venetian Inquisitors. He made his way to Paris where he helped found the Paris lottery. There he met the Marquise d'Urfé, a woman of high rank whom Casanova impressed with his knowledge of the Cabala, leading her to believe he could make her into a man, her great dream. She would support him for the next seven years as Casanova attempted to transmigrate her soul into the body of a male baby, making love to a virgin who would then, ostensibly, be the reincarnation of the Marquise.
He later ran a business printing patterns on silk. His decline began in England. He fell hard for a prostitute who conned him out of 2,000 guineas and convinced him that he had contracted an incurable disease from her. To avoid debts he returned to Venice and became a secret agent for the Inquisitors, living a respectable life with a seamstress. After a threatened duel he left Venice for the last time. In 1784 he met Count Joseph de Waldstein and became his librarian, staying there for 13 years, spending much of his time writing his memoirs.
Histoire de ma vie (1822) was a well-received and thoroughly entertaining biography of his extraordinary life. Throughout the years Casanova also wrote some poetry and criticism, translated the Illiad, and wrote a science fiction novel entitled Icosameron (1788).
Piombi Prison
Also called “Leads” because of the lead (piombo) covering on the roof immediately above the prison, these six or seven cells were formed of wooden partitions nailed with sheets of iron and were located beneath the Doge’s Palace. These cells were used exclusively for the prisoners of the Council of Ten – those accused of political crimes or those awaiting sentence. Although unpleasant, conditions in Piombi were better than those in the pozzi (the wells) on the ground floor of the Doge’s Palace.
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click here to view fullscreenCasanova was imprisoned at Piombi following his arrest in 1755, when he was accused of being a Freemason, spreading antireligious propaganda and dabbling in magic, all of which appear to have been true. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment, but fifteen months later Casanova made a daring escape and remains the only known prisoner to have done so.
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click here to view fullscreenCasanova persuaded a monk, located in a cell directly above his, to help him with his escape plans. They clever concealed their communications from the jailors by hiding them in the spines of books they were allowed to exchange with each other. The monk diligently worked on the floor of his cell for weeks until he had broken through to Casanova’s cell. The escape was planned for midnight on Halloween 1756, after the moon had set. Once Casanova hoisted himself through the opening in his cell roof, he went to work on the monk’s roof, creating a passage to the prison’s roof, which connected to the adjoining Ducal Palace. The pair made their way onto the roof of the Ducal Palace, entered through a window and laboriously made their way down to the floor 50 ft. below, likely with sheets. Shortly thereafter they found themselves locked inside the ducal chancellery, where they waited until the door was unlocked by a porter, who was very surprised to find two men quickly flitting past him. The pair ran for the canal, jumped in a gondola and made their way to Mestre.
For an excellent account of Casanova’s escape, read “Casanova’s Escape from The Piombi”
Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale)
The Doge’s Palace was the Doge’s residence and the seat of many different political and social institutions. Minor institutions occupied the first floor where law cases were examined. The largest room of the palace, the Grand Council chamber, and the Ballot chamber and the Doge’s apartments were located on the second floor. The third floor contained rooms for the Council of Ten.
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click here to view fullscreenBridge of Sighs
The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) connects the Ducal Palace with the grim Palazzo delle Prigioni prisons. The bridge took its current name only in the 19th century, when visiting northern European poets romantically envisioned the prisoners' final breath of resignation upon viewing the outside world one last time before being locked in their fetid cells awaiting the quick justice of the Terrible Ten.
click here to view fullscreenCasanova, the movie, directed by Lasse Halstrom (director of 'Chocolate') and starring Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller and Jeremy Irons is a comedy about Casanova and the one woman in Venice who doesn't fall for his charms. Opens December 25, 2005 in North America.
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