L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, Febru- ary, the month we celebrate romance via Valentine's Day, I thought I would share some excerpts from Casano- va: The Seduction of Europe Cata- logue of the Exhibition opening February 10 - May 28 2018 at the Legion of Honor Fine Arts Muse- um with you. *** I've always thought that Casanova's sole claim to fame was that he was a ladies man, but actu- ally he was a brilliant scholar and librarian.  Born in Venice in 1725, Casanova died circa 1798. Among other things he was a librarian, a musician, a playwright, a scholar, a diplomatic agent and a journalist. After his death, an autobiography, called "History of My Life" was published, and in it he mentions some 116 mistresses he had known over a 40 year period. Divide 40 into 116 and you get 2.9 women a year. Maybe he was con- sidered a busybody in Venice, but in a Playboy poll today he would- n't even get a honorable mention. By the way, Casanova was an excellent student in his youth, receiving a doctor of law's degree from the University of Padua, and his continued voracious reading made him one of the most erudite men of his time. The staggering scope of his interests extended to mathematics (the eminent French mathematician Charles Henry claimed that Casanova's wrk on the duplication of the cube came closer to a perfect solution than had even Newton's or Descartes). *** Venice Casanova's tale begins in his birthplace of Venice. This is where he grew up, within a theatrical family, and where he would per- petually return. A stunning group of cityscapes by Canaletto pro- vides views of the places of Casanova's birth and  early escapades.  Venices, then as now, centered on boats, and it was one fateful gondola ride that changed Casano- va's life. One morning, after play- ing violin at a wedding, he stepped outside and picked up a letter that had just been dropped by a sena- tor, Matteo Bragadin, who then offered the young man a ride home on his gondola. On board, the elder man suffered a stroke. After rushing to get him treatment, Casanova, at a critical moment, overruled the physician's orders and removed a mercury compress, saving Bragadin's life. The grate- ful senator invited Casanova to live with him at his palazzo, pro- viding him with a servant, a gon- dola, and an allowance, as well as making social introductions. Casanova was raised "from the base role of a fiddler to that of a nobleman." A grander Venice now unfold- ed for Casanova, who was admit- ted to the most elaborate palaces, filled with the finest art and fur- nishings. Yet Casanova's sudden rise in wealth and status raised sus- picions among the authorities of Venice, a police state where spies tracked those of questionable char- acter. In 1755, Casanova was sub- jected to a litany of charges, including gambling and libertin- ism, frequenting the homes of mar- ried women, "women of another sort," and heresy. He was placed under arrest. Casanova was taken to the Palazzo Ducale and locked in one of the cells. He immediately set his mind to finding a way to escape the labyrinthine prison. After sharpen- ing an iron spike and using the forge through walls and ceilings, he changed clothes to assume the guise of an aristocrat shut inside the palace by mistake and walked out the main portal of the palazzo.  Paris Casanova first arrived in Paris in August 1750 at the age of thirty- one and at the apex of his social life and career. Upon his arrival, Casanova was welcomed by the Italian actress Silvia Balletti and her nine year-old daughter- his future love, Manon. The Ballettis were celebrated actors at the Comédie Italienne and offered Casanova his first lodgings and social introductions in the city. When Silvia's company was asked to perform for Louis XV at the royal palace at Fontainebleau, they invited Casanova to accompa- ny them. There he met Madame de Pompadour, the king's mistress, whose friendship allowed him access to the most prestigious per- sonalities and the most exclusive rooms at Versailles. He exploited these personal connections for his own entrepreneurial efforts. Yet nothing brought Casanova more enjoyment than his relation- ship with Manon Balletti, which became romantic in nature after she turned seventeen. He cared for her deeply, yet their relationship was tumultuous, filled with petty jealousies and accusations, and ultimately came to an end. London During the brief time Casanova spent in London, from June 1763 to March 1764, the city was the most populous in Europe and at the center of a global empire. Casano- va's opportunities in London were limited by his deficient English, a handicap for someone who depended so much on his wit, and his befuddlement over English social customs. But letters of intro- duction he had brought from Paris, as well as his personal connections with the Venetian and French ambassadors, allowed Casanova to quickly expand his circle of acquaintances, and he was formally presented to George III and Queen Charlotte. However, it was also in London that he suffered at the hands of Marianne de Charpillon, a profes- sional courtesan who worked in league with her extended family of swindlers. Marianne herself warned that she would make him fall in love with her and then treat him so he "suffered the pains of hell." As she obtained larger and larger sums of money form Casanova, she continually spurned his advances, driving him to rage and even violence. Casanova later rued the day he met her, conclud- ing melodramatically, "it was on that fatal day at the beginning of September 1763 that I began to die and that I ceased to live." Casanova would enjoy another twenty years of adventure and trav- els that took him from Russia to Spain and many points between. In 1785 he accepted a position as librarian for the castle of Waldstein in the remote town of Duchcov, now in the Czech Republic, where he settled down and wrote his memoirs- an anticlimactic epilogue to a life filled with celebrity, intrigue and pleasure.

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