In the complex persona of a man whose name has become synonymous with the archetype of the lover-hero, the “sensual role” was a primary, though not the only, facet of his multifaceted identity. Hailing from an artistic family, he lived with the passions of an actor and the intellect of an improviser. Just as in a theatrical repertoire, the professional dossier of this vibrant figure from the 18th century alternated between roles of a lawyer and a soldier, a cleric and a cabalist, a doctor and a musician, a con artist and a pimp, a traveler and a spy, a freemason and a diplomat, a mathematician and a philosopher, a playwright and a writer. Benefiting from his ingenuity and luck, perseverance and charm, manipulation and deceit, this erotic adventurer lived by his own moral code and adhered to his own rules. Entertainment and pleasure were worthy pursuits for his nature, justifying the risks and stimulating his creative abilities. His taste for play defined the priorities in the life of this extraordinary Venetian, often causing trouble where caution might have led to success.
Giacomo Casanova in the company of women at one of the bohemian salons in Paris (engraving from a book about his life)
Childhood Impressions
The story of Giacomo Casanova began on April 2, 1725, in Venice. The boy was born on Easter in the European “capital of pleasures” – a city filled with carnivals, gambling houses, and courtesans that attracted tourists to a republic known for its tolerance of societal vices. Such freedom was unparalleled elsewhere: thanks to tourists, Casanova’s hometown transformed before their eyes into a pearl of the Grand Tour – a must-visit destination for the aristocrats of Europe at the time. The atmosphere of temptation undoubtedly influenced the formation of the young personality with theatrical genes.
The eldest of six children in the family of actor and dancer Gaetano Giuseppe Casanova and actress Zanetta Maria Farussi, Giacomo loved theater and music from an early age. In his adult life, he would play the violin and write plays (his literary output includes over 20 works), while one of his sisters would follow in their father’s footsteps and become a dancer. His father passed away when Giacomo was just eight years old.
While his mother was on tour, the children were raised by their grandmother, who instilled in Casanova an interest in the occult and secret knowledge. He fondly remembered visiting a witch with her to cure his nosebleeds. Although the “enchanted” ointment did not bring relief, the mystery of witchcraft left a lasting impression on the boy. He would later adopt mysticism as a means of influencing others in his own practice.
Venice. The Church of Saint Samuel, where Casanova was baptized
Lessons and Discoveries
In reality, the cause of Casanova’s childhood ailments was the dense air of Venice, and the solution lay in his departure from the coast. At the age of nine, Giacomo was sent to a boarding school in Padua, where he came under the care of Abbot Gozzi (who taught Casanova the sciences and musical skills). In his guardian’s home, the 11-year-old student first felt an interest in the opposite sex. His teenage infatuation was with Gozzi’s younger sister, Bettina. A cheerful beauty captivated by reading novels, she later married, but this did not prevent Giacomo from cherishing his affection for her and the Gozzi family for life.
The naturally curious 12-year-old student demonstrated his inquisitiveness at the University of Padua, from which Casanova graduated at 17. During his studies, he began gambling for money. Upon learning of her grandson’s debts, his grandmother summoned Giacomo back to Venice for a stern talk, but the thrill of gambling had already ensnared the thrill-seeker, and after his grandmother’s death in 1743, his debts led him to prison for the first time. By that time, he had earned a degree in law and enrolled in the seminary in Murano.
His guardian hoped that a respectable education would allow his ward to excel as a church lawyer. However, Casanova, who studied chemistry, mathematics, and ethics, felt an overwhelming aversion to his chosen profession. He was more fascinated by healing, as from a young age, Giacomo had been concocting remedies for himself and his friends. “I would have been better off as a doctor,” Giacomo Casanova reflected in his memoirs, “for in medicine, professional charlatanism is even more suitable than in legal practice.”
Portrait of young Giacomo Casanova (1750, engraver unknown)
Scandals vs. Career
By the time he took his vows in 1741, Casanova was a striking dandy with curly, pitch-black hair. A tall, dark-eyed youth, he attracted the attention of women, and after his first sexual experiences with the sisters Nanetta and Maria Savorian (one was 16, the other 14), he found his calling. Alongside his primary pursuit in life – physical pleasure – Casanova sought influential patrons: a strategy he would practice throughout his life. However, his first attempt at such acquaintance ended poorly. Due to his flirtation with an actress who piqued his patron’s interest, the doors of the palazzo belonging to the 76-year-old Venetian senator Alvizo Gasparo Malipiero quickly closed to him.
Similarly, scandals hindered Casanova’s brief ecclesiastical career. A position in the Calabrian diocese, which his mother had secured for him, was promptly rejected by the frivolous son as soon as he glimpsed the conditions of the future job. Giacomo Casanova explains his decision with a quote from his memoirs: “There will be a place for me, but can an 18-year-old boy improve himself without a good library, literary communication, an exclusive circle, and competition?”
He was also dismissed from his position as secretary to an influential cardinal in Rome. Casanova’s free-spirited nature was evident during a meeting with the pope, where the pontiff heard the audacious young man request permission to abstain from eating fish during Lent and to read books banned by the Catholic Church (later, alongside Goethe and Defoe, Casanova himself would find his works under Vatican censorship). After the secretary Troiano Acquaviva d’Aragona began composing amorous letters at the request of another cardinal, his assistance to secret lovers backfired. Cardinal Acquaviva dismissed Casanova’s services, effectively ending his ecclesiastical career forever.
“Determined to Impress”
Realizing he needed to choose a different path in life, the enterprising Casanova decided to don a military uniform of his own design. Purchasing a commission as an officer in the Venetian Republic, Giacomo commissioned a tailor to create an eye-catching white uniform “with a blue front and silver and gold epaulettes.” He completed his new look with a long saber bought from a weapons dealer, a hand-carved cane, and a stylish hat adorned with a black cockade, sideburns, and a “queue.” In this guise, Casanova intended to make a splash.
Joining the officers of the Venetian regiment on the island of Corfu in 1744, the adventure-seeker seized the first opportunity to escape to Constantinople (allegedly to deliver a letter on behalf of a cardinal), and in 1745, he returned to Venice. His year in uniform felt like a waste of time. The duties seemed boring to the energetic Giacomo, and his advancement was slow. He entertained himself with gambling, spending nearly all his salary. During this time, he did not embark on a single romance, but his debts grew. At 21, Casanova concluded that he should become a professional gambler, but he had no money left from selling his officer’s commission to pursue that career.
Casanova’s next venture was “serving the highest art, which does not interest mediocrity and captivates those who achieve success.” Through acquaintances, Giacomo secured a position as a violinist at the San Samuele theater. According to him, the new occupation “lacked nobility, but it was never dull in the artistic milieu.” Musicians entertained themselves with pranks, unmooring gondolas tied to the shore at night and sending false calls for doctors and midwives.
The Grimace of Fortune
Life improved after Casanova saved Venetian senator Giovanni Bragadin. During a gondola ride, the nobleman was struck by a stroke after returning from a wedding banquet. The doctor performed two bloodlettings and applied a mercurial ointment to the senator’s chest, but this led to a rise in temperature and suffocation due to tracheal swelling. Casanova decisively removed the doctor and washed off the toxic ointment at his own risk. The initiative proved timely: the patient regained consciousness, and the rescuer gained a lifelong patron. The senator adopted Giacomo and helped him acquire occult knowledge. Like his new patron, Casanova became a cabalist. Giacomo himself was astonished at how his debauchery could coexist with the strict morals of his adoptive father.
Casanova considered his new lifestyle “the most commendable, noble, and only natural,” as it meant he would not have to go without life’s necessities. In the senator’s palace, Casanova lived like a count: in the same conditions as his patron and his cabalist friends. During this time, Giacomo joined a Masonic lodge, traveled all over Europe, and wrote a play for the Royal Theater in Dresden. Casanova continued to gamble extensively and engage in new romances. Love scandals and his influence over the senator led high society to rise against Casanova. He was accused of freemasonry, atheism, magic, possessing forbidden books, and corrupting the youth.
Arrested, Giacomo Casanova is led to trial (engraving from one of the books about his life).
“Moreover, I was accused of visiting foreign ambassadors,” Casanova recalled, discussing the charges of treason against his homeland. “As if, living with three patricians, I learned state secrets from them, which I then revealed to foreigners for large sums during my travels.” These baseless accusations aimed to isolate the “important conspirator” and “enemy of the homeland.” Casanova was warned about the tribunal’s serious intentions and advised to leave the city. Many such incidents would occur in Casanova’s life, and he would learn to escape without waiting for the resolution. But initially, Giacomo squandered the moment, feeling no guilt, and paid for his carelessness: in 1755, forty guards came to arrest him on behalf of the Inquisition.
Risk and Pride
Casanova was imprisoned for five years in the “lead” prison of Piombi in the Doge’s Palace. The small cells were infested with rats, the ceilings were so low that one could not stand, and the metal roof heated up in the summer sun, making the prisoners feel as if they were in hell. For Casanova, hell became solitary confinement. He claimed he would have preferred to be next to a contagious patient or a wild beast rather than go mad in isolation, where there was nothing to occupy his mind. Here’s how Giacomo Casanova described his suffering (quotes from his memoirs): “In the dark, I could only move on bent legs, and I saw a person once a day when they brought me food,” “Knowledge of the law could not protect me, for the tribunal was guided not by law but by tyranny.”
Casanova’s escape from prison
Realizing the futility of fighting the church’s authority through legal means, Casanova decided to escape. A detailed account of his cunning could serve as a guide for prisoners. On All Saints’ Day, Casanova and an accomplice managed to escape from the prison tier (the prisoners were located on the upper floor of the palace), disguising themselves as accidentally locked-in servants. November 1, 1756, became a historic day: it was the only successful escape from the “lead” prison. “I take pride in my deed,” Casanova confessed. “Not because it worked out (there’s a certain element of luck in that), but because I took the risk and dared to execute my plan.” It wouldn’t be long before the Inquisition would assign Casanova a monetary allowance.
Continuing to engage in swindling at various levels, Casanova became useful in raising funds for the state. In Paris, under the patronage of an old friend who had become France’s foreign minister, Casanova proved to be a successful ticket seller for the first state lottery. He collected money for government bonds from wealthy individuals and even rulers. Declaring himself an alchemist and a Rosicrucian (a member of a secret mystical society, allegedly founded in late medieval Germany), Casanova amazed European nobility with tales of the “philosopher’s stone,” a substance that turns everything into gold. He deceived some with numerology and others with secret knowledge. “To deceive a fool is a worthy task for a wise man,” believed the lively man, who contemporaries said was easier to anger than to amuse, and who loved to make others laugh but rarely laughed himself.
The Last Hero
His earnings from bonds allowed Casanova to establish a silk factory in 1759. The government promised him a title and a pension: he only needed to accept French citizenship and work with the Ministry of Finance. But at the peak of his opportunities, Casanova… rejected the attractive offer, as service could hinder his travels and his romantic odyssey. More debts, imprisonment, duels, and persecution would follow. To escape his problems, Casanova moved from place to place. Financial machinations and a bad reputation led the “great schemer of the 18th century” to be exiled from nearly all major European cities. He became the last hero of the age of adventurers.
His final refuge was a position as the librarian at Count von Waldstein’s castle in Bohemia. It was there, out of boredom and loneliness, that Casanova began writing a comprehensive autobiography in 1789, depicting his life from ages 8 to 50. The Story of Giacomo Casanova (Histoire de ma vie) spans 3,500 pages of text, which remains unfinished. The womanizer candidly recounted his sins against the backdrop of a historical era. His memoirs immortalized not only his beloved women but also notable figures he encountered throughout his life: monarchs, popes, cardinals, and prominent Enlightenment figures (Mozart, Goethe, and Voltaire).
Duchcov Castle in Bohemia, where Casanova lived from 1785
This work made the author a legend of world culture. An educated, intelligent, and observant storyteller, he had a mastery of language: in addition to theatrical plays, Casanova wrote a fantastic novel, “Icosameron,” and a three-volume historical work, “History of the Disturbance in Poland.” A connoisseur of Italian poetry, he even translated Homer’s “Iliad” into his native language. He decided to write the final book in French so that more people could read it.
Not Too Much, Not Too Little
Giacomo Casanova did not manage to complete his story by the age of 73, nor to return to his homeland after the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, which was seized by Napoleon Bonaparte. The following year, Casanova passed away. Leaving this world on June 4, 1798, Giacomo uttered his last words: “I lived as a philosopher and die as a Christian.”
Those who question what caused Giacomo Casanova’s death expect to hear about a threatening venereal disease, but researchers conclude that throughout his life, the heartthrob used “protective caps” in his sexual encounters, thus preventing or overcoming any incidental illnesses. The problem lay elsewhere: in his later years, he struggled with depression. Before he began writing his memoirs, Giacomo even contemplated suicide. Creativity and the analysis of his memories brought Casanova back to a resourceful state. To distract himself from sorrow, he passionately described his former happy days, working on the book for 12 hours a day. At 73, researchers believe that Casanova’s health may have been affected by the sheer exhaustion of his body.
Casanova at the age of 62. Medallion featured on the title page of the “Icosameron” edition, engraver – Johann Berka
As for the excesses of the connoisseur of music, food, and women (hints at same-sex relationships can also be found in the memoirs of this sybarite), analysts do not consider Casanova’s experiences overly extreme, as 122 partners over 39 years translates to three erotic adventures a year. Not so much for a man with the reputation of a notorious heartthrob, experts suggest. The gourmet preferred quality over quantity, delivering pleasure to women through the fine art of seduction and a beautiful ritual of parting with a precious gift instead of lifelong support. Reflecting on his journey, Giacomo Casanova had no regrets and felt no remorse. He was one of the few who could say of himself: “I lived.”