H owever, his biography is not confined to just adventures involving love. The history of the Venetian Giacomo Casanova begins in 1725. He was born into the family of comedians Gaetano Casanova and Zanetta Farussi. His mother was often traveling, so as a boy he was brought up by his grandmother. Giacomo received a very good education having enrolled at the University of Padua at the age of 12. Five years later, the young man graduated as a lawyer. Later on, at the request of his mother, he continued his education in a seminary. In 1741 he became an abbot for his hometown church, San Samuel. Following a horrible drunken sermon, Giacomo almost lost his job. His friendship with Senator Malipiero avoided him getting severely punished for this misconduct. During the same period Casanova started to rack up victories in his first attempted love affairs. The position of church lawyer never appealed to the young man. Over different periods of his life he had been fond of mathematics and alchemy and in 1750 joined the Masonic lodge of Lyons. His ecclesiastical career seemed to be going well; even the Pope favoured the Venetian. However, Casanova, who according to his contemporaries was always « on the move », was bored and sought new adventures. He got involved in the abduction of a French teacher’ s daughter. Naturally, this crime forced him to abandon the priesthood. Since 1745, he had tried various professions: a violinist in the San Samuel Teatro, a financier, a librarian and others. After joining the Masonic Lodge, Giacomo headed to Paris. Casanova’ s debaucheries in the City of Light even extended to religious circles. In 1755, he was expelled from Paris for his sexually-charged parties involving the Abbot de Bernis, a member of the French Academy and a future cardinal. That same year, his interest in the occult practices and Masonry led Giacomo into the « lead prison » of Piombi. The Venetian ladies’ man writes in his memoirs that he escaped through a hole in the ceiling and descended from the roof on a linen rope. According to a more plausible version, he managed to get out thanks to the support of one of his patrons. During his travels Casanova got introduced to the great and mighty of this world. He was thus received by British King George III, Prussian King Frederick II and Russian Empress Catherine II. He also became a frequent guest of scientist and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. Some notes in Casanova’ s memoirs suggest that he could have been giving advice to da Ponte with respect to
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Giacomo Casanova by his brother Francesco( 1750)
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During his journey on the Côte d’ Azur Casanova meets the Prince of Monaco Honore III and his wife Marquise de Brignoles
his libretto of Mozart’ s « Don Giovanni ». In 1757, at the insistence of the French Foreign Minister, Giacomo went to Dunkerque as a spy. His trip to the Côte d’ Azur may be one of his most memorable since he traveled in the company of the charming Rosalie.
Piombi prison in Venice, Italy
Côte d’ Azur adventures
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Casanova tells the story of meeting his new passion in his memoirs. A lady from the Marseille Theater at the time does not resist spending a night with him. However, he prefers her 15-year-old maid Rosalie to the Marseille dancer. For Casanova it was love at first sight. Madly in love, he sets off travelling with this girl. « We are on our way to Toulon, I have long wanted to visit this beautiful port city,» writes Casanova. « We are met by the commandant who promptly offers Rosalie his hand and treats her with a great respect. Once we are back at the hotel, she throws herself at me. And I reward her with my love.»
Their romantic journey continues on the Côte d’ Azur. In Antibes, Casanova rents a sailing boat to go to Genoa. Bad weather, however, compels them to moor in Villefranche. The lovers then get to Nice which used to be part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. It must be said that Casanova did not give
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