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Who was Casanova?
Venice is arguably the most romantic city in the world
and one of its most famous residents was Casanova -
the great lover and libertine. Giacomo Girolamo Casanova
was born on 2 April 1725 in the Contrada di San Samuele,
Venice, or to be exact in the "Calle della Commedia"
- now Calle Malipiero.
Eighteenth century Venice became a byword for decadence as
aristocratic Venetians frittered away their inherited wealth
with lavish parties and gambling. Casanova's exploits are
symbolic of one of the city's most outrageous moments in history.
He lived and studied in Venice, seduced women, gambled, and
was one of the few prisoners to make an escape from the city's
prisons. According to Casanova's own accounts he had encounters
with over 200 women, all of whom he promised to belong to
until his death. Apparently no woman could resist his amorous
charms.
Take a Casanova tour of
Venice
Lucio Marco Zorzi is so passionate about Casanova that
he's created his own tour about his life. One of his ancestor's
was actually a friend of Casanova. Lucio will take you on
a romantic tour of the historic sites of Italy's greatest
lover.
The tour takes in San Samuele and Monumento Colleoni,
where Casanova had a romantic meeting with a nun from Santa
Maria degli Angeli, and Ponte di Tette - the name
translates quite literally as "Tits Bridge"
because this was the red light district of Venice. In the
early sixteenth century some 11,000 prostitutes were registered
in Venice. Apparently they were encouraged to hang out of
windows bare breasted to encourage business - no wonder Byron
called Venice 'the revel of the world'! The city fathers were
worried about Venetian men adopting eastern habits of sodomising
each other and overt prostitution was their solution.
The demise and legacy of
Casanova
Casanova died on 4 June 1798 as the Knight of Seingalt,
a self-appointed title, in the Bohemian castle of Dux,
where he had been able to retire in later life, thanks to
the hospitality of the Prince of Ligne. During his
forced retirement he wrote his autobiography that narrates
his adventurous and scandalous deeds and faithfully mirrors
eighteenth-century European society.
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