The real Casanova
Why is the word „Casanova,“ which literally means „new home“ in Italian, associated with lust and physical love? It’s because a man who lived in the 1700s named Giacamo Casanova wrote a nearly 4,000-page memoir that’s famous worldwide for its descriptions of his many sexual encounters. In 2010, France’s national library bought the original manuscript – which was written in French – for around €5 million.
The highlight reel of Casanova’s life includes much more than seducing nuns and noblewomen, though. He planned the only successful escape from a Venetian prison, pitched an idea to the King of France that at one point accounted for 4% of the country’s income, befriended Benjamin Franklin and Voltaire, and more.
In this month’s Learning Nugget, learn the difference between a Casanova and the Casanova.
Born to actors, raised by a priest
Casanova was born to two stage performers in Venice, Italy, in 1725. His father died when he was young, and his mother left him with his grandmother to pursue her acting career.
By age nine he was sent out of Venice and ended up living with a priest. He entered university at age 12, was eventually pushed into theology, and was taking steps to become a priest himself. That path took him to Rome and Constantinople. During his travels, he engaged in numerous affairs with women and men.
A stroke of luck
Casanova returned to Venice at age 20 with almost no money and a reputation for immorality. This changed one night when he witnessed a Venetian senator named Don Matteo having a stroke. Casanova quickly got a doctor, but when the doctor’s treatment made Don Matteo worse, Casanova devised his own plan of care and saved the senator’s life.
The senator became Casanova’s patron. With Don Matteo’s funding and name supporting him, Casanova became a fixture in Venetian high society, where he enjoyed the best of everything, gambled, and had plenty more sexual liaisons.
Escape from Il Piombi
Eventually, Casanova’s deeds became too much for the Venetian Inquisition, which arrested him and put him in a prison called Il Piombi that was over the Doge’s (Venice’s ruler’s) palace.
No one had ever escaped from the prison until Casanova teamed up with an imprisoned priest. They both made holes in rotten wood in their cells and escaped together one night by climbing out onto the palace’s roof. They found and changed into fine clothes and in the early morning convinced a guard they’d been locked in after an event the night before.
After being set free, they left Venice as fast as they could.
Lotteries, duels, and a lonely end
Casanova wrote an account of escaping Il Piombi that became very popular and won him admirers throughout Europe.
As he traveled across the continent, his charm and fame helped him rub elbows with nobles. Perhaps his biggest triumph was suggesting a lottery system to France’s king that became a huge success and extremely profitable for the crown.
It also benefited Casanova, who earned a fortune from businesses related to the lottery. He used his money to travel more, spending almost everything on his vices while gaining a reputation for being unruly. He even dueled a count over a woman in Warsaw.
By age 60, though, Casanova’s funds, luck, and sex appeal were all spent. The only work he could find was being a librarian for a count at a remote castle in Bohemia (today in Czechia).
He grew so depressed there that a doctor recommended he write a memoir of his life to keep his mind on happier times. The doctor’s order turned into Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life) – the book full of sex and adventure that cemented Casanova’s name into the world’s collective memory.
Now that you know more about the real person, maybe you’ll think twice before calling someone a Casanova in the future.
Vocabulary
literally – buchstäblich, wörtlich
in Italian – auf italienisch
associated with – assioziiert mit
description of – Beschreibung von
encounters – Treffen, Begegnungen
seduce – verführen
nun – Nonne
noblewomen – Adlige
escape from – fliehen aus
Venetian – venezianisch (Adj. von Venedig)
pitch an idea to s.o. – jemandem eine Idee vorbringen
account for 4% – 4% ausmachen
raised by – erzogen von
pursue – verfolgen
eventually – schließlich
path – Weg
engage – einlassen
stroke of luck – Glücksfall
at age – im Alter von
immorality – Unmoral, Unsittlichkeit
witness – etw. bezeugen, miterleben
stroke – Herzinfarkt
devise – entwickeln, ausarbeiten
patron – Förderer, Schutzpatron
fixture – Inventar, fester Bestandteil
gamble – zocken, spielen
deed – Tat, Werk
arrest – verhaften
team up – sich zusammenschließen
rotten wood – morsches Holz
convince – überzeugen
guard – Aufseher
set free – frei kommen
account – Bericht, Darstellung
Rub elbows/shoulders with – mit einflussreichen Leuten in Kontakt kommen
nobles – Adelige
earned a fortune – ein Vermögen verdienen
spend on vices – für lasterhaftes Leben Geld ausgeben
unruly – aufsässig, widerspenstig
duel – sich duellieren
funds – Mittel, Gelder
be all spent – alles ausgegeben
order – Auftrag
liberian – Bibliothekar
memory – Gedächtnis
Excite Your Senses
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