The real story of Casanova. Story of my life

Sati Casanova has become popular since the beginning of the new millennium, when she joined the new group called "Factory". Her real name is Sataney. It was received in honor of one of the Muslim goddesses, who is considered the deity of wisdom and personifies motherhood. The name Sati was invented for the girl by the producer Matvienko, who considered that the fans would not remember the name Satanya.

The girl sang literally from the cradle. Excellent vocal abilities were passed on to her from her father, who pleases the whole family with songs at various holidays.

Now the girl is incredibly in demand. She is constantly touring. In addition, Sati participates in a variety of television shows, in which she has shown herself to be incredibly talented.

Height, weight, age. How old is Sati Kazanova

AT last years Sati Casanova develops her solo creative activity. She treats everything that connects her with creativity with humor. In public, she is modest, as a real oriental beauty is allowed to lead. Many people are interested in her parametric data, including height, weight, age. How old is Sati Casanova, it became known quite recently, when she announced that the anniversary concert tour would begin on the day of her 35th birthday in Nalchik.

Your beautiful physical form Sati Kazanova supports in the gym. In addition, she developed her own diet, which she follows every day.

Biography and personal life of Sati Kazanova

The birth of the future star took place in 1982 in a small rural settlement with the beautiful name Upper Kurkuzhin, which is located in the center of Kabardino-Balkaria. Sati's childhood passed here. When she was 12 years old, the family moved to Nalchik, where she began to study vocal singing at the Children's Art School. After graduating from 9 classes, the girl decided to continue her education in the vocal direction. At the age of 17, he won the Nalchik Dawns competition.

Soon the girl moved to the capital Russian Federation and entered the Gnessin School, where she began to study pop-jazz vocal singing. In 2002, Sati got to the casting of the show "Star Factory", after which, together with other vocalists, she organized a group that they called "Factory". Since then, the creative biography and personal life of Sati Kazanova have become interesting for all young people. The girl traveled all over Russia and neighboring countries as part of the "Factory" for 10 years. The group received several prestigious awards RF, including "Golden Gramophone", "Song of the Year". In 2006, Sati began to study at GITIS, receiving an artistic education.

Since 2010, Sati left the group and began to develop her own solo career. In addition to touring, the girl takes part in various TV shows, including Ice and Fire, Phantom of the Opera, One to One, where the actress clearly shows all her talents.

Sati Casanova is a very bright personality, so many different relationships are constantly attributed to her. But in fact, very little is known about the singer's personal life.

Family and children of Sati Kazanova

The Sati family is very friendly. Here, in addition to the popular performer, three more girls were brought up. They had names - Sataney, Svetlana, Maryana, Madina. All the daughters loved their parents and did not argue with them. In particular, they revered the father, who, according to Eastern tradition, is an authority for daughters.

When the eldest decided to go to Moscow to conquer the musical Olympus there, her father, after much deliberation, agreed not simply. After all, the family was not rich and did not have enough money to provide living in the capital. Even now, Sati is interested in what her father thinks about her creative activity. Girl, if she rolls a few free days, rushes to his home. And the whole family is happy about her arrival, and the children of Sati Kazanova, according to her, will spend a lot of time here, and they will be happy.

Now Sati's parents are waiting for their daughters to marry well and give birth to grandchildren.

Former husband of Sati Casanova - Dmitry

Soon after the girl became a soloist of the popular Fabrika group, she began dating a young and successful businessman Dmitry. Information appeared in the press that Sati would soon marry him. But the wedding never happened. It turned out that the terms of the contract stipulated that Sati could not get married for a 6-year period.

Scandals often arose between young people on this basis. Dmitry insisted that Sati leave the group, following the example of one of the soloists - Amelkina, and, like a typical oriental woman, took care of him and their future children. But the girl did not dare to such an act and left Dmitry.

Former husband of Sati Casanova - Alexander Shekman

Alexander Shekman was more than 20 years older than Sati, but this is not an obstacle, according to the artist, for real feelings. They met at a secular party. Alexander even left his family, leaving his wife and two children, as Sati refused to meet with married man. He surrounded his beloved with attention and care, helping her in all creative matters. He made an offer, but it was decided to play the wedding in the future, 2016. But soon information was circulated in the media that the young people decided to leave. What caused this was unknown at the time.

The ex-husband of Sati Kazanova, Alexander Shekman, even after breaking up with her ex-lover, helps her in her creative work, participating in various projects.

Husband of Sati Casanova - Artur Shachnev

The relationship between Sati and Artur was a secret for everyone, although the proposal was made at the beginning of 2016. In April, it was announced about the upcoming wedding celebrations, which were supposed to take place in a close family circle.

On the day of her birthday, Sati Kazanova arranged a chic bachelorette party for all her girlfriends, inviting even former colleagues for the factory group.

It is known that the wedding took place on one of the islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Another celebration took place in one of the Moscow restaurants, which was attended by friends of the singer and her husband.

It is known that the husband of Sati Casanova, Artur Shachnev, is a successful businessman who produces his wife's creative activities.

Instagram and Wikipedia Sati Casanova

On pages in in social networks Sati Casanova is registered. She is an active user, communicating with many connoisseurs of her singing and artistic talent. On the pages on Instagram and Wikipedia Sati Casanova you can find out the most full information about the singer. On the pages you can listen to songs performed by her not only in Russian, but also in her native Balkar.

Sati puts a photo on her page. Here you can see pictures in which the girl in various periods of her creative activity. She is sometimes presented with young men who are considered her husbands. But Sati Casanova prefers not to answer users' questions about her marriage.

Casanova

Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (1725-1798) - a famous adventurer of Venetian origin, famous for his love affairs, which he himself told about in his memoirs. He studied at the University of Padua, at the age of 17 he defended his dissertation in law, was an abbot, a soldier and, being an encyclopedically educated person, changed many occupations - he established himself as a lawyer, poet, playwright, chemist, translator, financier, musician, etc. He was not a nobleman, but, thanks to his talents and subtle knowledge of human psychology, he managed to succeed at the court of many monarchs of Europe.
During his lifetime, Casanova did not have a reputation as a legendary lover (his friend Prince de Ligne introduced the elderly Casanova to his friends only as the brother of a famous battle painter): it developed after his death, when his memoirs “The Story of My Life” were published, which he wrote in his later years (1789-1798). And although the “Don Juan list” of the adventurer presented there is relatively small (122 women over 39 years), nevertheless, the author’s name has become a household name thanks to the literary skill with which he talks about his victories, and the peculiar philosophy of the heartthrob set forth in his memoirs.
A common noun for a seeker of love victories and adventures (jokingly ironic). An analogue of the more archaic Lovelas and Don Juan.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .

See what "Casanova" is in other dictionaries:

Giovanni Jacopo (Giacomo) (Giovanni Jacopo (Giacomo) Casanova, 1725 1798) Italian adventurer, author of "Memoirs" of the most valuable document on the everyday history of pre-revolutionary Europe in the 18th century. and a fascinating autobiography. The son of a nobleman and daughter ... ... Literary Encyclopedia

- (Casanova) Giovanni Giacomo (1725-98), Italian writer. Historical writings; fantasy novel Iscameron (1788). A turbulent life full of numerous love and adventurous adventures in Memoirs (volumes 1 12, written in 1791 98 on ... ... Modern Encyclopedia

- [it., proper name. Casanova Giacomo (1725-1798)] Venetian writer of adventurous love stories. Peren. seducer, don Juan, adventurer. Dictionary of foreign words. Komlev N.G., 2006 ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Exist., number of synonyms: 20 womanizer (63) gynecologist (10) ladies man (12) ... Synonym dictionary

- (Giovanni Jacopo Casanova de Sengalt, a title of nobility that he appropriated to himself) an adventurer (1725-98), originally from Venice. Having studied law, he wanted to take the priesthood, but became entangled in love affairs and was expelled from the seminary. Having been in…… Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

- (Italian: Casanova new home) surname Men Casanova, Giacomo (1725 1798) famous Italian adventurer, traveler and writer, author of memoirs; his name has become a household name for a lover of love adventures ... Wikipedia

Portrait of Giacomo Casanova (Francesco Casanova, 1750) Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (Italian Giacomo Girolamo Casanova) Cavalier de Sengalt the title of nobility that he appropriated to himself (April 2, 1725, Venice June 4, 1798, Duchtsov, Czech Republic) famous ... ... Wikipedia

I Casanova Danielle (01/09/1909, Ajaccio, Corsica, 05/09/1943, Auschwitz), heroine of the French Resistance Movement. Daughter of a Corsican teacher. In 1927 she came to Paris to study medicine. She took an active part in the student ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

M. 1. Italian writer J.J. Casanova (1725-1798), who captured the morals of his contemporaries and numerous personal love and adventurous adventures. 2. Used as a symbol of a lover of amorous and adventurous adventures; adventurer, swindler... Modern dictionary Russian language Efremova

Books

• Casanova. The story of my life, Casanova. 1991 edition. The safety is good. Casanova's "Story of My Life" is a cultural monument of historical and artistic value. This wonderful literary creation is more exciting…

It is probably difficult to find a person who does not know the answer to the question: Casanova - who is this? This word has long been used and is familiar to everyone. The name of the famous adventurer and writer from Venice Casanova, Giacomo Girolamo, has become a household name today. This "citizen of the world" has become one of the most and a symbol of the long-gone XVIII century.

Who is Casanova? He is certainly an outstanding personality of his time. To begin with, it is worth noting that Casanova is an Italian writer, the author of a large list of historical essays, the fantastic novel Iscameron. And he also wrote a popular memoir called “The Story of My Life”, in which Casanova appears as a great and loving heartthrob. In his memoirs, Giacomo gave a clear description of the mores of the era.

The versatility of Casanova's personality

So who is Casanova? For his contemporaries, as well as readers and descendants, Giacomo was a versatile and erudite personality. Casanova was known in literature as a prose writer, poet, playwright, philologist, translator, historian, mathematician, lawyer, chemist, musician, financier and diplomat. But in the rest of the world, Casanova is a dissolute gambler, an alchemist who revealed the secret of the creation of the philosopher's stone and creates gold, a duellist, a Rosicrucian, a secret agent, a healer, a fortune teller, and so on. How much of this was true, now no one can say for sure.

The adventurer carefully maintained his versatile, but unambiguously majestic reputation with the diverse stories of his adventures and love affairs, which were invariably told at dinner parties and dinners among the public absorbing them like a sponge. From one table of stories passed to another - rumors multiplied.

Memoirs of Giacomo Casanova

The famous Italian could not get used to the idea that his descendants would not remember him. Therefore, he described his fascinating life on paper. At the same time, the writing of memoirs is timed to coincide with the era of the death of the old society: the fall of the French monarchy, the partition of Poland, the disappearance from world maps. All the social and moral norms of behavior of that time are transmitted in the manuscript.

The Venetian writer belonged to both Italian and French culture at the same time. Despite all the improbability of the events described in the memoirs, they are reliable. Many of the life episodes on the pages of the manuscript have been documented. Trying in the most favorable light, Giacomo Casanova in the process of writing reverses events, confuses the chronology. With all this, picaresque memoirs are presented in the form of a certain list of victories in the love field, a career novel, an adventurous psychological narrative.

All manifestations of love were interesting for the Italian, but none of the novels ended in a wedding, because freedom for Casanova was more precious than any fortune. He taught some young ladies in secular customs, and others in carnal pleasures. At the same time, in love affairs he entered into with absolutely everyone: prostitutes, aristocrats, poor, rich, nuns, even with his niece.

History of Casanova Giacomo: childhood

The famous Venetian was born on April 2, 1725, on Easter, not far from the Church of St. Samuel, in the family of the artist Casanova Gaetano Giuseppe and the actress Farussi Zanetta. After him, five more children were born in the family. During the growing up of Giacomo, Venice was a European center of pleasure, the rulers of which encouraged the arrival of tourists with vicious intentions. The Republic was an indispensable point in the famous aristocratic Grand Tour and was famous for its gambling houses and beautiful courtesans.

At the age of 11, Giacomo first experienced the caress of the opposite sex in the face of Gozzi's younger sister Bettina. The young Casanova showed an enviable thirst for knowledge, which instilled in his mentor, the abbot, faith in the future of the young man in the legal field. At 17, Giacomo already had a degree. In addition to jurisprudence, he was also interested in other sciences, especially medicine. During his studies, he also became addicted to gambling.

Entry into adulthood

Giacomo began to work as a lawyer at the church, and was accepted as a novice by the Patriarch of Venice himself. By that time, the young Casanova acquired a special charm and charm and acquired a powerful patron - Senator Malipiero. From him he received excellent instructions about behavior in the upper strata of society, and also learned to understand food and wine.

In January 1744, Giacomo got a job as a secretary for the influential Cardinal Acquaviva d'Argon. However, after the scandal that occurred in the love field, Casanova was fired from his post.

Trying on the role of a soldier

Without stopping at church work, Giacomo decided to acquire a patent for an officer of the Republic of Venice in August 1744. The new role for him seemed very boring, and promotion was very slow. Casanova was drawn to exploits and by no means to the military. Therefore, already in October, he interrupted his service and returned to his native republic.

Career as a violinist at the San Samuele Theater

Being a theater musician, Casanova did not fail to try on the skin of his fallen colleagues, participating in violent orgies and evenings with scandalous practical jokes. However, soon luck again smiled at his pet, who was already sick of the role of a musician. Senator Giovanni Bragadin himself, who was wounded in a gondola during a voyage, became obligated to live with him. At a time when everyone was ready to call the priest, so that he would forgive sins, and then pray over the dying, Casanova took the treatment into his own hands and saved the life of the senator. He subsequently adopted Giacomo and became his good patron for the rest of his days.

Throughout 1749, Casanova traveled around Italy. And after a significant win in the cards went to the Grand Tour. In Lyon, he joined the Masonic community, the Order of the Rose and Cross. Having learned French in Paris, the Italian translated the tragedy Zoroaster into his native language, which he himself staged at the Royal Theater of Dresden.

Piombi Prison

During his travels in Austria and Germany, Casanova wrote a lot of comedy plays. And returning to Venice and incurring the wrath of the Inquisition with his antics, Giacomo was arrested. The prison in which the dissolute Venetian was imprisoned was intended for well-known political criminals. He made a desperate attempt to escape. However, he was captured and sent back to prison. The second escape attempt was successful, and Giacomo left for Paris.

"Casanova": the meaning of the word in the modern world

Several centuries have passed, but the womanizer remained in people's memory. Today, everyone knows the common noun "Casanova". This word is very popular among the people. There is no such person who would not use it. There are many literary characters, movie heroes, who were involuntarily called nothing more than Casanova. Synonyms today are diverse: a womanizer, a seducer, a womanizer, a ladies' man, a playboy and many others. This is due to the fact that Giacomo Casanova gained the greatest popularity precisely because of his love affairs, which were described in autobiographical memoirs. Even today romantic books are written about them and feature films are made.

The 18th century was rich and brilliant - the fashion for dazzling luxury and all kinds of pleasures reigned supreme in society, easily sweeping away any prohibitions that interfere with pleasure and fun. Of course, in addition to balls and receptions, there was poverty, plague and the Inquisition in the world, threatening the carefree and frivolous course of life. However, in the boudoirs they preferred not to waste time thinking about the bad. It was a time of triumph for the fine arts, free morals and dangerous connections. Later, this century will be called "gallant" - it gave the world a whole galaxy of great composers, artists and thinkers. And it is to the 18th century that we owe the most famous adventurers, swindlers and lovers. Their exciting life stories have been rewritten in dozens of novels, and their names have long become household names. Giacomo Casanova is a prime example of this.

The incredibly motley fate of this eternally in love adventurer has been haunting the minds of historians and writers for almost three centuries. Many contemporaries predicted oblivion for him, but history decreed otherwise, giving immortality to this tireless cavalier.

The most famous lover: a biography of Giacomo Casanova

Giovanni Giacomo Casanova was born in Venice on April 2, 1725 in a family of actors. His beautiful mother was body and soul devoted to the theater, had an enviable success and engagement, and for this reason she did not have time to raise children. The fact that all her children subsequently found a worthy place in life can be considered a miracle.

The first-born Giacomo was raised by his grandmother for the first years of his life. The child was sickly and always hungry. When Casanova was nine years old, doctors advised climate change, and the boy from Venice was sent to a cheap boarding school in the city of Padua.

Giacomo was saved from a hopeless life in poverty by the abbot Gozzi, his first teacher, who took him to his house. Here Casanova quite successfully received elementary education and, according to his recollections, fell in love for the first time. He was eleven. became a muse younger sister his teacher, who was not much older than Giacomo. Again, if you believe the memoirs, a year later Casanova entered the University of Padua in order to obtain a law degree in five years.

By the way, he hated jurisprudence and dreamed of becoming a doctor, but adults insisted that he become a church lawyer. So Casanova put on the abbot's cassock. But he was not destined to become a clergyman, he was too attracted to cards, women and secular life. Thanks to the talent of the storyteller and natural wit, he easily secured a place in society, and his humble origin did not seem to interfere with him at all. From the very beginning, he knew how to get along with the powers that be, to receive privileges and positions, to achieve his own. But despite this, his church career failed. And then Casanova decided to try himself in the military field. He bought an officer's patent, tried on a uniform, but got bored very quickly, which is why he lost a lot of money and quickly retired. In life, a novice adventurer did not tolerate two things - boredom and restriction of freedom. And he again returned to high society, women and cards.

Came. Saw. seduced

For my long life- and he lived for 73 years - Giacomo Casanova tried many professions. He was a professional gambler, not indifferent to cheating tricks. He worked as a violinist in the theater. He tried himself in dramaturgy, satire and philosophy, studied medicine and alchemy, and even was a royal adviser on finances. But in no case did he achieve particular success. And only on the path of love he had no equal. Casanova adored women and gave himself up to this passion selflessly. But he was not a hunter or a collector. Each new novel was a theatrical premiere for him, where he and his beloved played the main roles. Acting talent was his main family jewel and the main means of victory.

He convincingly proved to every woman that only she was his strongest and only love, and at the same time he himself ardently believed his words. Maybe that's why women believed him every time and threw out a white flag from the thinnest cambric. scenery to his romance novels boudoirs, monastic cells, inns and squalid huts became, and no estate limits and prohibitions existed for the great lover. The one who owned his heart was always the most beautiful and desirable, even if only for one hour...

Casanova liked to repeat that the most important thing for him was to make a woman happy, and that it was in this that he found pleasure for himself. Perhaps this was the main Casanova's secret. He made women happy, and they were ready to forgive him everything. Several of his passionate and mutual romances almost ended in a wedding. But at the last moment, Casanova always found a good enough reason why he could not tie the knot in any way.

Yes, this man had many to choose from, but he remained a bachelor until the end of his life. He loved women too much to choose one of them. Later, at the end of his life, alone, he reverently and in detail described his love adventures. Fastidious readers counted “only” 122 women in Casanova’s memoirs and immediately delivered a verdict that this was not so much for the great seducer. But if you believe Casanova himself, then for him the number did not matter at all. Every time he fell in love, he was sure that this was the first and last time ...

Sleight of hand and no witchcraft

During the gallant age, everything forbidden and unusual was in vogue. So, for example, pharmacists and kings were equally interested in alchemy. They searched for the philosopher's stone and the elixir of youth, encouraged mediums and astrologers, highly valued perfumers and poisoners. Here there was expanse for skillful conjurers and shameless swindlers. The world-famous Count Cagliostro and Count Saint-Germain made their careers and fortunes by talking about their immortality and performing "miracles" for anyone who could pay for it. Casanova also distinguished himself in this field - he practiced numerology and was interested in alchemy and, thanks to his personal charm and dexterity, became a recognized master of the occult. By the way, he loved to read and had an excellent memory, and this helped him to successfully fool others. Casanova liked to repeat that "deceiving a fool is a deed worthy of an intelligent person." But sometimes the secrets of Kabbalah and magical rituals were just a pretext to make acquaintance with another secular beauty and win her over.

It can be said that Casanova was led to occultism by chance: once he saved the life of a patrician named Bragadino (medical knowledge came in handy), who, in gratitude, will endow a young and intelligent person not only with patronage, but also with “secret” knowledge. And like everyone else famous people of that time, the great seducer was a member of the Masonic lodge.

Casanova knew how and loved to make adventures and play dangerous games. And, of course, one day the all-powerful Inquisition should have become interested in him. The cup of patience of the holy fathers overflowed on July 24, 1755 - on this day, according to the surviving protocol, the order was given for the arrest of Casanova. For "publicly committed crimes against the holy faith" he was thrown into one of the cells of the "Lead" prison, located on the top floor of the Venetian Doge's Palace.

By the way, only noble criminals and conspirators were placed here, so we can say that Casanova ended up in high society here too.

Escape amazing and incredible

Let's say right away: Casanova escaped from prison. Although they say that it was impossible to escape from there. He took pride in this feat for the rest of his life and even published the story of his escape as a standalone literary work. Later, skeptics and evil tongues assured that all this was fiction, that Casanova and his high patrons simply bribed the head of the prison. However, the archives of the Doge's Palace still contain documents that fully confirm everything written by the great adventurer.

The conditions in the prison were, as expected, appalling. In the summer it was stuffy and hot in the cell, and in the winter it was wildly cold: among other things, Casanova was placed in the worst cell, where the ceiling was very low. According to the verdict, which no one announced to the prisoner, he had to spend a long five years in this prison. Casanova loved life too much to ruin it in this way, besides, he was sure that he received a life sentence. Therefore, after spending several months under a lead roof, he began to look for an opportunity to escape. To begin with, during a walk, he found a piece of marble and a piece of an iron rod, which became the main tool for achieving the goal.

His first attempt to make a hole in the floor ended in a very disappointing failure when the secret work of the prisoner was almost completed, he was suddenly transferred to another cell. Such a stroke of fate could kill anyone. But Casanova was incredibly stubborn and used to getting his way at any cost. The second escape plan was much more difficult and required an assistant. But this one turned out to be successful. This time it was decided to punch a hole in the roof and climb up. What Casanova and his comrade in misfortune did with success and great difficulty. The fact that they managed to get down from the roof and escape from the city can be considered a miracle. Or supernatural luck.

So Casanova gained freedom, but was separated from his homeland. Venice, which he loved more than anything in the world.

Casanova's Odyssey in Love

Perhaps Giacomo Casanova could have gained fame as a great traveler. He managed to travel around many cities and countries, and this despite the fact that in the 18th century the movement on the roads was long, not very convenient and quite dangerous for life. Who knows what the fate of the greatest lover would have been if not for the scandalous reputation, threats from the authorities and the thirst for new experiences did not force him to move from place to place? However, it is impossible to imagine him as a settled down and respectable citizen of the Venetian Republic.

Alas, over the years, luck - a capricious woman - increasingly began to turn away from Casanova. He traveled almost all of Europe, even reached Russia, and everywhere he was looking for easy money, loud fame and recognition of his genius. Again and again he was a gambler, a magician, a doctor and a writer, a clever swindler, an actor and a witty mocker. And he still loved women just as passionately. By the way, meeting his former lovers, he never appealed to the feelings left in the past. He always preferred new acquaintances and new stories. Perhaps the necessary novelty of impressions reconciled him to constant wanderings. Life forced him to master another profession - a spy. This brought money and provided the patronage of the powers that be, but Casanova could not stay anywhere for a long time, because scandals and duels invariably pursued him. By the way, it is surprising that he lived such a long life - in addition to worldly hardships, he regularly experienced health problems. And not the last role here was played by numerous promiscuous relationships, after which they had to be treated for venereal diseases. At that time, mercury was considered a panacea for "love diseases", which successfully killed not only the infection, but also patients. It is known that Casanova had many times during his life to "sacrifice to Mercury" (the planet corresponding in alchemy to the element "mercury"). However, he outlived many of his lovers, friends and enemies. At the end of his life, his wanderings brought him to Bohemia, to Duque Castle, where he got a job as a librarian. Here Giacomo Casanova wrote the memoirs that brought him worldwide fame - twelve volumes of memoirs, under the simple title "The Story of My Life".

court of history

Casanova had four younger brothers and a sister. All of them became well-known and respected people during their lifetime. The famous seducer could well have sunk into oblivion as "the black sheep in the herd", and all his relatives were convinced that he would. However, fate had other plans. Thanks to the written memoirs, the older brother Giacomo went down in history as the most famous lover, surrounding the name with an attractive halo of romantic obscenity.

Casanova's last book miraculously saw the light of day, was edited and revised several times, printed in abridged translations and suffered from censorship ... In the end, it was still published in its entirety and was a dizzying success. Casanova came out of oblivion after death, as he had come out of a debtor's prison during his lifetime. “I don’t regret anything,” the author warns and invites you to immerse yourself in his memoirs, recorded carefully and in detail. Later, many tried to challenge the authenticity of the memoirs of Giacomo Casanova, doubted the authorship and the veracity of the facts presented. And there were even those who claimed that he invented all the love affairs from beginning to end ... However, others immediately proved that this work is quite reliable and, most likely, really belongs to the pen of the legendary Casanova, unless the author allowed himself some liberties in handling facts and dates. Yes, this favorite of Venus always allowed himself liberties, because he did not tolerate boring rules and did not look for easy ways, and he also adored being the hero of a scandal. And thanks to this, the life story of Casanova and his biography continue to excite hearts and inspire feats, disputes and philosophical reasoning.

Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (Italian: Giacomo Girolamo Casanova), Chevalier de Sengalt. Born April 2, 1725 in Venice - died June 4, 1798 in Dux Castle, Bohemia. Famous Italian adventurer, traveler and writer, author of a detailed autobiography "The Story of My Life" (fr. Histoire de ma vie). Thanks to this book, he became so famous for his many love affairs that his very name became a household name and is now used in the meaning of "female seducer." According to his memoirs, Casanova met with European monarchs, popes, cardinals and such prominent figures of the Enlightenment as Voltaire, Mozart and Goethe. He spent his last years in Bohemia, being the caretaker of the library in the castle of Count Waldstein; it was there that he wrote the story of his life.

Giacomo Girolamo Casanova was born in Venice on Easter, April 2, 1725, in a house in Via della Commedia (now Via Malipiero), not far from the Church of St. Samuel, where he was baptized.

He was the first child of actor and dancer Gaetano Giuseppe Casanova and actress Zanetta Farussi. He had five siblings: Francesco Giuseppe (1727-1803), Giovanni Battista (1730-1795), Faustina Maddalena (1731-1736), Maria Maddalena Antonia Stella (1732-1800) and Gaetano Alviso (1734-1783). At that time, the Venetian Republic was considered the European "capital of pleasures", since its rulers, being political and religious conservatives, were still tolerant of social vices and encouraged tourism.

Venice was considered a must-see on the Grand Tour by young aristocrats, especially the English. The famous Carnival, gambling houses and beautiful courtesans had a great attraction. This environment nurtured Casanova and made him one of the most famous Venetians of the 18th century.

As a child, Casanova was raised by his grandmother, Marcia Baldissera, while his mother toured Europe with the theater. His father died when Giacomo was eight years old. As a child, Casanova suffered from nosebleeds, and Marcia turned to the witch for help: “Leaving the gondola, we entered the barn, where we found an old woman sitting on a straw mattress with a black cat in her arms, there were five or six cats around her” . Although the ointment she applied was ineffective, the boy was delighted with the mystery of witchcraft. Possibly in order to cure hemorrhages, which the doctors believed were caused by the increased density of the air in Venice, on his ninth birthday, Giacomo was sent to a boarding house located in Padua, at a greater distance from the coast. This event became a bitter memory for Casanova, who perceived it as a neglect on the part of his parents. "So they got rid of me" he complains.

Gozzi's house became the place where Casanova, at the age of eleven, had his first contact with the opposite sex, when Bettina, Gozzi's younger sister, made out with him: Bettina was “beautiful, cheerful, passionate about reading novels ... I immediately liked the girl, although I did not quite understand why. It was she who gradually kindled in my heart the first sparks of that feeling, which later became my main passion.. Bettina later married, but Casanova remained attached to her and the Gozzi family for the rest of his life.

Casanova early showed a sharp and inquisitive mind, a gigantic craving for knowledge. In November 1737, when he was only twelve years old, he entered the University of Padua and graduated at the age of seventeen, in June 1742, having received degree lawyer, "to whom ... felt an irresistible disgust". His trustee hoped that he would become a church lawyer. Casanova also studied ethics, chemistry, mathematics, and, in addition, showed a genuine interest in medicine: “It would be better if I were allowed to do what I wanted and become a doctor, for whom professional quackery is even more suitable than in the practice of law”. He often prescribed his own medicines for himself and his friends. During his studies, Casanova began to gamble and quickly found himself in debt, as a result of which he was summoned to Venice, where he had an unpleasant conversation with his grandmother; but the habit of playing was firmly rooted in him.

Upon his return to Venice, Casanova began a career as an ecclesiastical lawyer, working for the lawyer Manzoni, and after taking the tonsure, he was ordained a novice by the Patriarch of Venice (January 1741). While continuing his university studies, he made trips to Padua and back. By that time he had already become a real dandy: he was black-eyed, swarthy and tall, with powdered, perfumed and carefully curled long black hair. He quickly acquired a patron (as he did throughout his life), the 76-year-old Venetian senator Alviso Gasparo Malipiero, owner of the Palazzo Malipiero (next to Casanova's house in Venice). The senator, who moved in high circles, taught Casanova how to behave in society and understand good food and wine. But when Casanova was caught flirting with actress Teresa Ymer, whom Malipiero himself wanted to seduce, the latter kicked both out of his house.

Casanova's growing curiosity about women led him to have his first sexual experience with two sisters, Nanetta and Maria Savorian, aged fourteen and sixteen, who were distant relatives the Grimani family. Casanova stated that his life calling was finally determined after that first experience.

Scandals marred Casanova's short career in the church. After the death of his grandmother (March 18, 1743), Casanova briefly entered the seminary of St. Cyprian in Murano, but already in April 1743, debts for the first time brought him to prison - Fort St. Andrew. His mother tried to secure a place for him under Bishop Bernardo de Bernardis, but Casanova rejected this offer almost immediately after visiting the Diocese of Calabria. Instead, he took a job in Rome as secretary to the influential Cardinal Troiano Acquaviva d'Aragon (January 1744).

At a meeting with the pope, Giacomo boldly asked the high priest for permission to read "forbidden books" and be exempted from the requirement to eat fish in fasting, stating that such food causes inflammation of his eyes. Casanova also helped another cardinal by writing love letters for him. But when Casanova became the scapegoat in a scandal involving a pair of unfortunate lovers, Cardinal Acquaviva dismissed Casanova, thanking him for his beneficence, but thereby forever interrupting his church career.

In search of a new field of activity, Casanova bought a patent for an officer of the Venetian Republic.

In August 1744, he joined the officers of the Venetian regiment of the island of Corfu, from where he made a short trip to Constantinople, ostensibly with the aim of delivering a letter from his former master, the cardinal. He found his promotion too slow, his duties boring, and managed to spend most of his salary playing pharaoh. In October 1745, Casanova interrupted his military career and returned to Venice.

At the age of twenty-one, he decided to become a professional gambler, but, having lost all the money left from the sale of an officer position, he turned to his old benefactor Alviso Grimani for help in finding work. Casanova begins her "third career" at the San Samuel Theater as a violinist, "servant of the highest art, admired by those who have succeeded, and despised by mediocrities."

He recalled: “My occupation was not noble, but I did not care. Calling everything prejudice, I soon acquired all the habits of my degraded fellow musicians.. He and some of his colleagues “often spent ... nights, rowdy in different quarters of the city, inventing the most scandalous pranks and performing them ... had fun, untying the gondolas moored at private houses, which were then carried away by the current”. They also sent false calls to midwives and doctors.

Fortune again smiled at Casanova, dissatisfied with his fate as a musician, after he saved the life of the Venetian senator Giovanni di Matteo Bragadin, who had a stroke when he returned from a wedding ball in the same gondola with Casanova. They immediately stopped to bleed the senator. Then, already in the senator's palace, the doctor repeated bloodletting and applied mercury ointment to the patient's chest (at that time, mercury, despite its toxic properties, was considered a universal medicine). This led to a severe fever, and Bragadin began to suffocate due to a swollen trachea. A priest had already been called, as death seemed inevitable. However, Casanova took the initiative in his own hands, changing the course of treatment, and ordered, despite the protests of the doctor present, to remove the mercury ointment from the senator's chest and wash it. cold water. The senator recovered from his illness through rest and healthy food. Because in young age Giacomo possessed medical knowledge, the senator and two of his friends decided that such a wise beyond his years young man should receive occult knowledge (all three were Kabbalists). The senator adopted Casanova and became his lifelong patron.

The next three years (from December 1745) Casanova spent under the auspices of the senator, formally listed as his referent. He lived like a nobleman, dressed splendidly and, as was natural to him, spent most of his time gambling and immoral acts. His patron was overly tolerant, but warned Giacomo that retribution would eventually come for such promiscuity; but that one only "poked fun at his terrible prophecies without changing his way of life". However adopted son the senator still had to leave Venice because of even greater scandals.

Casanova decided to take revenge on his enemy by playing him, and for this he dug up the corpse of a recently buried person - but the victim of the prank was incurably paralyzed. In another case, a girl tricked him into accusing him of rape and went to the authorities. Casanova was later acquitted due to lack of evidence of his guilt, but by that time he had already fled Venice: he was charged with theft, blasphemy and witchcraft (January 1749).

Retiring to Parma, Casanova struck up a three-month romance with a French woman whom he called "Henrietta". Apparently, this was the strongest love he had ever experienced: this lady combined beauty, intelligence, good education. According to him “Those who believe that a woman cannot make a man happy twenty-four hours a day have never known Henrietta. The joy that filled my soul was much greater during the day when I talked to her than at night when she was in my arms. Being very well-read and possessing an innate taste, Henrietta correctly judged everything..

Casanova spent the whole year of 1749 wandering around Italy (Milan, Mantua, Cesena, Parma). In despondency and despair, he returned to the Venetian Republic, but, having won a big jackpot at cards, he revived in spirit and set off on the Grand Tour, reaching Paris in 1750. Along the way, following from one city to another, he got involved in amorous adventures, reminiscent of opera plots. In Lyon, he became a member of the Masonic society, which attracted him with its secret rituals. Society attracted people with intelligence and influence, which later turned out to be very useful for Casanova: he received valuable contacts and access to hidden knowledge. He also joined the Order of the Rose and Cross.

Casanova stayed in Paris for two years, spending most of his time in the theater and learning French. He made acquaintances with representatives of the Parisian aristocracy. But soon his many love affairs were noticed by the police (just as it was in almost every city he visited).

Casanova translated Kayuzak's tragedy "Zoroaster" from French into Italian, and in February 1752 it was staged at the Royal Theater of Dresden (Italian troupe). In Dresden he met his mother, brother and sister. From the autumn of 1752 to May 1753, Giacomo traveled through Germany and Austria. At this time, he composed his own comedies Thessaly, or Harlequin at the Sabbath and Moluccaida (in three acts, now lost). The latter was played at the Royal Theater in Dresden on 22 February 1753 and was well received by the public. The stricter moral atmosphere of Vienna and Prague was not to his liking.

In 1753 he returned to Venice, where he resumed his antics, which made him many enemies and attracted the attention of the Inquisition. His police file turned into a growing list of blasphemy, seduction, fights and quarrels in in public places. State spy Giovanni Manucci was brought in to find out about Casanova's attitude to Kabbalism, his involvement in Freemasonry and the presence of banned books in his library. Senator Bragadin, himself a former inquisitor, urged his adopted son to leave immediately to avoid the most serious consequences.

The next day, July 26, 1755 (at the age of thirty), Casanova was arrested: “The Tribunal, having learned about the serious crimes committed by G. Casanova publicly against the holy faith, decided to arrest him and place him in Piombi (“Lead Prison”).” This prison consisted of seven cells on the top floor of the east wing of the Doge's Palace and was intended for prisoners of high status and political criminals. It got its name from the lead slabs that covered the roof of the palace. Casanova was sentenced without trial to five years in this prison, from which there had never been a single escape. According to Casanova's memoirs, significant evidence of his guilt was the fact that he was found to have the book Zohar ("Zekor-ben") and other books on magic.

He was in solitary confinement, with clothes, a mattress, a table and an armchair, in "the worst of all cells", where he suffered terribly from darkness, summer heat and "millions of fleas." Soon he was placed with other prisoners, and after five months and a personal request from Count Bragadin, he was given a warm winter bed and a monthly allowance for the purchase of books and good food. While walking around the prison yard, he found a piece of black marble and an iron rod, which he was able to carry into his cell. He hid the rod inside the chair. Temporarily without cellmates, Casanova sharpened this rod on a stone for two weeks and turned it into a pike (esponton). He then proceeded to chisel the wooden floor under his bed, knowing that his cell was directly above the Inquisitor's office. Casanova conceived the escape during the carnival, when none of the employees were supposed to be in the office below him. But just three days before the scheduled date, despite his protests and assurances that he was perfectly happy where he was all this time, Casanova was transferred to a larger, bright cell with a window. Here is what he later wrote about how he felt about it: “I sat in armchairs, as if struck by thunder, and motionless as a statue, realizing that all my labors had gone to dust, but I had nothing to repent of. Hope was taken away from me, and I could not give myself any other relief than not to think about what would happen to me next..

Overcoming his despair, Casanova developed a new escape plan. He secretly contacted the prisoner from the neighboring cell, Father Balbi (apostate priest) and agreed with him for help. Casanova managed to give Balbi a pike hidden in the Bible, on which the duped jailer had placed a dish of pasta. Father Balbi made a hole in the ceiling of his cell, climbed up and made a hole in the ceiling of Casanova's cell. To neutralize his new spy cellmate, Casanova took advantage of his superstitions and thereby forced him into silence. When Balbi made a hole in the ceiling of his cell, Casanova climbed out through it, leaving a note with a quote from Psalm 117 (according to the Vulgate): “I will not die, but I will live and proclaim the works of the Lord”.

The spy remained inside, too frightened of the consequences if he was caught along with the others. Casanova and Balbi climbed over the lead slabs to the roof of the Doge's Palace, shrouded in thick fog. Since the roof was located too high above the nearest canal, the fugitives entered the building through the dormer window, breaking the grate above it and smashing it. On the roof, they found a long ladder, and with the help of a rope that Casanova had previously twisted from a sheet, they descended into a room, the floor of which was seven and a half meters below them. Here they rested until the next morning, and then changed their clothes, broke the lock on the exit door, walked past the galleries and rooms along the corridor of the palace and went down the steps. Downstairs, they convinced the guard that they had been locked in the palace by mistake after the end of the working day, and left through the last door. It was six o'clock in the morning on November 1, 1756, when they took a gondola and sailed to the mainland. Eventually Casanova arrived in Paris. It happened on January 5, 1757, on the very day that Robert-Francois Damien made an unsuccessful attempt on. Casanova later saw and described the brutal execution of the intruder.

Skeptics argue that Casanova's escape was improbable, and that he obtained his freedom through bribery with the help of his patron. However, some confirmations of the adventurer's story have been preserved in the state archives, including information about the repair of the ceiling of the cells. Thirty years later, Casanova wrote The Story of My Escape, which gained great popularity and was translated into many languages. He repeated the description of this event in his memoirs. Casanova's judgment about this feat is characteristic: “So the Lord prepared for me everything I needed to escape, which should have been, if not a miracle, then an event worthy of surprise. I confess that I am proud that I fled; but my pride does not come from the fact that I managed to do this - there is a lot of luck , but from the fact that I found it feasible and had the courage to put my plan into execution ".

He knew that his stay in Paris might be prolonged, and therefore he began to act according to the circumstances: “I saw: in order to succeed, I must put all my gifts, physical and spiritual, at stake, make acquaintance with people of dignitary and influence, always control myself, adopt the opinions of those who, as I see, will need to please”. Casanova became mature man, and this time in Paris he was already more prudent and cautious, although at times he still relied on his decisive actions and quick thinking. His first task was to find a new patron. Such was his old friend de Berni, now the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France. De Berni advised Casanova to find ways to raise money for the state in order to succeed quickly.

Very soon, Giacomo became one of the managers of the first state lottery and the best seller of its tickets (the first draw of the lottery took place on April 18, 1758). This venture immediately brought him significant benefits. Having money, he became an entry into high society and started new novels. With his occultism, he fooled many noblemen, especially the Marquise Jeanne d'Urfe: an excellent memory allowed him to present himself as an expert in numerology. From Casanova's point of view "deceiving a fool is a deed worthy of an intelligent person".

Casanova declared himself a Rosicrucian and an alchemist, which earned him popularity among the most prominent figures of the day, including the Marquise de Pompadour, the Comte de Saint-Germain, d'Alembert, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Alchemy, and in particular the search for the philosopher's stone, was so popular among the aristocracy that the demand for Casanova with his notorious knowledge was great, and he made good money on it. However, he met a competitor in the Count of Saint-Germain: “This unusual person, a born deceiver, without any hesitation, as a matter of course, said that he was three hundred years old, and he had a panacea for all diseases, that nature had no secrets from him, and he knew how to melt diamonds and out of ten to twelve small ones, make one large one, of the same weight and, moreover, of the purest water ".

De Berni decided to send Casanova to Dunkirk on a spy mission (August-September 1757). Giacomo was well paid for his short work, which led him later to make one of the few remarks against the old regime and the class on which his own well-being depended. Looking back, he remarked: “All French ministers are the same. They squandered money taken from other people's pockets to enrich themselves, and their power was unlimited: people from the lower classes were considered as nothing, and the inevitable results of this were the debts of the state and the disorder of finances. A revolution was needed".

With the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, Giacomo was again asked for help in replenishing the treasury. He was entrusted with the mission of selling government bonds in Amsterdam, as Holland was at that time the financial center of Europe. He managed to sell bonds at a discount of only eight percent (October - December 1758), and his earnings allowed him to establish a silk manufactory the next year. The French government even promised him a title and a pension if he took French citizenship and worked for the Treasury, but Casanova turned down the flattering offer, perhaps because it would interfere with his wanderlust. Casanova reached the apogee of his destiny, but could not stay on it. He mismanaged his business, went into debt trying to save it, and spent most of his fortune in uninterrupted association with the workers of his manufacture, whom he called his "harem."

For debts, Casanova was again arrested and this time imprisoned in Forlevec, but was released from it four days later thanks to the intercession of the Marquise d'Urfe. Unfortunately for Giacomo, his patron de Berni had by that time been dismissed by Louis XV, and Casanova's enemies began to pursue him. In an effort to move away from these troubles, the adventurer sold the rest of his property and achieved his second dispatch with espionage purposes to Holland, where he departed on December 1, 1759.

However, this time his mission failed, and he fled to Cologne, and then (in the spring of 1760) to Stuttgart, where luck finally turned against him. He was re-arrested for debt, but was able to escape to Switzerland. Tired of his dissolute life, Casanova visited a monastery in Einsiedeln, where he thought about the possibility of changing his lot and becoming a modest, highly educated monk. He returned to the hotel to reflect on his intentions, but there he met a new object of desire, and all his good thoughts about the monastic life immediately disappeared, giving way to habitual instincts. Continuing his wanderings, he visited Albrecht von Haller and (the latter twice), then visited Marseille, Genoa, Florence, Rome, Naples, Modena and Turin, embarking on amorous adventures along the way.

In 1760, Casanova began calling himself "Chevalier de Sengalt"- a name that he would increasingly use for the rest of his life. He sometimes presented himself as Comte de Faroussi (after his mother's maiden name), and since Pope Clement XIII awarded him the Order of the Golden Spur and the title of papal protonotary, an impressive cross on a ribbon flaunted on his chest.

In 1762, returning to Paris, he started his most outrageous scam - to convince his old victim, the Marquis d'Urfe, that he could turn her into a youth with the help of occult powers. However, this plan did not bring Casanova the expected profit, and the Marquise d'Urfe finally lost faith in him.

In June 1763, Casanova traveled to England, hoping to sell the idea of ​​a state lottery to the authorities. Of the English he writes: “These people have a special property, inherent in the whole nation, which makes them consider themselves above all others. This faith is common to all nations, each of which considers itself the best. And they are all right.". Relying on his connections and spending most of the jewels he stole from the Marquise d'Urfe, he secured an audience with King George III. "Processing" politicians, Casanova, as usual, did not forget about amorous adventures. Not speaking proper English, but wanting to find women for his pleasure, he placed an advertisement in the newspaper that a "decent person" would rent an apartment. He interviewed many young women until he settled on "Mistress Pauline", who arranged for him. Soon, Casanova settled in her apartment and seduced the hostess. Numerous intimate relationships rewarded him with a venereal disease, and in March 1764, being accused of fraud, Giacomo, ruined and sick, left England.

Casanova went to Belgium, where he recovered from his illness and came to his senses. In the next three years, he traveled around Europe, driving about 4,500 miles in a carriage on bad roads and reaching Moscow and St. Petersburg (on average, the carriage could travel up to 30 miles per day). Once again, his main goal was to sell his lottery scheme to other governments, repeating the great success that this venture had in France. But the meeting with Frederick the Great (August 1764) did not bring him anything, just like visiting other German lands. In 1765, useful contacts and confidence in the success of the plan led Casanova to Russia, to, but the empress categorically rejected the idea of ​​​​the lottery.

In 1766 he was expelled from Warsaw after a pistol duel (March 5, 1766) with Colonel Count Branicki because of an Italian actress who was a friend of both. Both duelists were wounded, Casanova - in the left hand. The arm healed on its own after Casanova rejected doctors' recommendations to amputate it. Wherever he went, he never managed to find a buyer for his lottery.

In 1767 he was forced to leave Vienna (for cheating). In the same year, returning to Paris for a few months, he fell into gambling, but this trip also ended in failure: in November he was expelled from France by the personal order of Louis XV (mainly because of his scam with the Marquise d'Urfe ). Now that the notoriety of his reckless behavior had spread throughout Europe, it was already difficult for him to overcome it and succeed. So he went to Spain, where he was hardly known. He tried his usual approach, relying on his contacts (mainly among Freemasons), drinking and dining with dignitaries, and eventually trying to get an audience with a monarch, in this case, King Charles III. But having achieved nothing, he was forced to unsuccessfully travel around Spain (1768). In Barcelona, ​​he was almost killed and ended up in prison for six weeks. There he wrote A Refutation of Amelo de la Usse's History of the Venetian State. Having failed in his Spanish tour, he returns to France and then to Italy (1769).

Casanova lived in several cities in Italy. He recalled: "In early April 1770, I decided to try my luck and go to Livorno to offer my services to Count Alexei Orlov, who commanded a squadron that was heading to Constantinople." But Count Orlov refused his help, and Giacomo left for Rome.

In Rome, Casanova had to prepare his return to Venice. While waiting for his supporters to obtain an entry permit for him, Casanova began to translate the Iliad into Italian, write the book The History of Troubles in Poland, and a comedy. He is accepted at literary academies - Arcadian and Accademia degli Infecondi (1771). In December 1771 he was sent to Florence, from where he moved to Trieste. To ingratiate himself with the Venetian authorities, Casanova engaged in commercial espionage in their favor. However, after waiting several months and still not getting permission to enter, he wrote directly to the inquisitors. Finally, the long-awaited permission was sent, and, bursting into tears with excitement, Giacomo read: “We, the state inquisitors, for reasons known to us, give Giacomo Casanova freedom ... giving him the right to come, leave, stop and return, have connections wherever he pleases without permission and interference. This is our will." Casanova was allowed to return to Venice in September 1774, after eighteen years of exile.

At first, he was warmly received and became a celebrity. Even the inquisitors wanted to know how he managed to escape from their prison. Of his three patrons, only Dandolo was still alive, and Casanova was invited to live with him. He received a small allowance from Dandolo and hoped to live by selling his writings, but this was not enough. And he reluctantly continued to engage in espionage in favor of the government of Venice. His reports were paid by the piece and dealt with questions of religion, morality and commerce; for the most part they were based on rumors and gossip received from acquaintances. He was disappointed because he did not see any attractive financial prospects for himself, and few doors were open for him - just as in the past.

When Giacomo turned forty-nine, features appeared in his appearance that spoke of years of reckless life and thousands of miles he had traveled. The pockmarks, sunken cheeks and hooked nose became more and more noticeable. His swaggering manner became more restrained.

Venice has changed for Casanova. Now he had little money to gamble, few worthy women who wanted him, few acquaintances to liven up his dull days. News of his mother's death reached him (in Dresden in November 1776). He experienced even more bitter feelings when he visited the dying Bettina Gozzi: the woman who once introduced him to intimate caresses now died in his arms. His Iliad was published in three volumes(1775-1778), but to a limited number of subscribers, and brought in little money. Casanova started a public debate with Voltaire about religion, publishing "Reflections on the Letters of Commendation to M. Voltaire". When he asked, “Suppose you succeed in destroying the superstition. What will you replace him with? - Voltaire replied: “How I like it! When I free humanity from the ferocious monster that devours it, will they really ask me what I will replace it with? From Casanova's point of view, if Voltaire “he was a true philosopher, he should have remained silent on this subject ... the people must remain in ignorance in order to maintain general peace in the country”.

In 1779, Casanova met Francesca Buschini, an uneducated seamstress who became his housewife and loved him unconditionally. In the same year, the inquisitors gave him a fixed salary, giving him the task of investigating the trade between the Papal States and Venice. His other ventures, related to the publication of his works and theatrical productions, failed - mainly due to lack of funds. Worse, in January 1783, Casanova had to leave Venice again, having been warned that he was in danger of being formally expelled or imprisoned because of a bilious satire he had written that made fun of the Venetian patricians (mainly Carlo Grimani, who acted dishonestly on towards Giacomo). This work contains the author's only public admission that his real father may have been the Venetian patrician Michele Grimani (thought to be the father of his abuser Carlo).

Forced to resume his wanderings, Casanova arrived in Paris, and in November 1783, during a report on aeronautics, he met with. From February 1784 to April 1785, Casanova served as secretary to Sebastian Foscarini, the Venetian ambassador in Vienna. He also met Lorenzo da Ponte, a librettist, who wrote of Casanova: "this extraordinary man never liked to be embarrassed". Casanova's notes indicate that he may have advised Da Ponte on the libretto of Mozart's Don Giovanni.

In 1785, after the death of Foscarini, Casanova began looking for another job. A few months later, he became caretaker of the library of Count Josef Karl von Waldstein, chamberlain of the emperor, at Dux Castle in Bohemia (Dukhtsovsky Castle, Czech Republic). The Count, himself a Freemason, a cabalist and an avid traveler, became attached to Casanova when they met a year earlier at the residence of Ambassador Foscarini. Although serving under Count Waldstein provided Casanova with security and a good income, he describes his last years as bored and disappointed, although they turned out to be the most productive for his work. His health deteriorated greatly, and he found life among the peasants devoid of inspiration. He could only travel occasionally to Vienna and Dresden for recreation. Although Casanova was in good relations with the employer, he was much younger than him and had his own whims. The count often ignored him at the table and did not introduce him to important guests. Moreover, Casanova, a hot-tempered stranger, aroused strong hostility from the other inhabitants of the castle. It seemed that Giacomo's only friends were his own fox terriers. In desperation, Casanova thought about suicide, but then decided to live in order to write down his memoirs, which he did until his death.

In 1797, information reached Casanova that the Republic of Venice had ceased to exist and was captured by Napoleon Bonaparte. But it was too late to go home. Casanova died on June 4, 1798, at the age of seventy three years. His last words are said to have been: "I lived as a philosopher and I die as a Christian".

Casanova family:

Casanova's mother, Zanetta Maria Casanova, nee Farussi (1708-1776), was an actress.

The brothers Giacomo Casanova - Francesco (1727-1802 (1803?)) and Giovanni Battista (1732-1795) became famous artists. Francesco was a landscape painter, while Giovanni Battista was a portraitist and archaeologist; his book on ancient art was translated into German.

The younger brother, Gaetano Alviso Casanova (1734-1783), was a priest in Genoa.

The dancer of the Dresden Theater Maria Magdalena Casanova (1732-1800), the wife of the court musician Peter August, was Casanova's sister.

Casanova and women:

For Casanova and his contemporary sybarites from high society, love and intimate relationships were most often casual, not burdened with the seriousness that was characteristic of nineteenth-century romanticism. Flirting, amorous pleasures, short-term relationships were common among members of the noble class, who married more for the sake of useful connections than out of love.

Being multifaceted and complex, Casanova's personality was dominated by sensual passions, as he himself narrates: “Indulgence in everything that gave pleasure to my senses has always been the main business of my life; I have never found a more important occupation. Feeling that I was born for the opposite sex, I always loved him and did everything I could to be loved by him. He mentions that he sometimes used "safety caps" to check their integrity by inflating them to prevent his mistresses from getting pregnant.

The ideal connection for Casanova included not only intimate relationships, but also complex intrigues, heroes and villains, and a gallant parting. In a pattern he often repeated, he found an attractive woman suffering from a rude or jealous lover (Act One); Casanova relieves her of her embarrassment (Act Two); she shows her gratitude; he seduces her; a short-lived stormy romance begins (Act Three); feeling the coming cooling of love ardor or boredom, he confesses his insolvency and arranges the marriage of his mistress or brings her to a rich man, leaving the stage behind this (Act Four). As William Bolitho notes in Twelve Against God, the secret of Casanova's success with women "contained nothing more esoteric than [offering] what every self-respecting woman demands: everything he had, everything he was, with a dazzling a gift of a large sum of money (to make up for the lack of legality) instead of a lifetime allowance.”

Casanova teaches: “There is no such an honest woman with an uncorrupted heart that a man would not win for sure, using her gratitude. This is one of the surest and fastest ways.”. Alcohol and violence were not proper means of seduction for him. On the contrary, attentiveness, small courtesies and services should be used to soften a woman's heart, but "A man who speaks of his love in words is a fool". Verbal communication is essential - "without words, the pleasure of love is reduced by at least two-thirds"- but words of love should be implied, not pompously announced.

Mutual agreement is important, according to Casanova, but he avoided easy wins or too difficult situations, considering them unsuitable for his goals. He aspired to be the perfect companion - witty, charming, dependable, amiable - in Act One before moving into the bedroom in Act Three. Casanova states that he did not behave like a predator: “It was never my policy to direct my attacks against the unsophisticated or those whose prejudices were likely to be an obstacle.”. However, the women he conquered were mostly insecure or emotionally vulnerable.

Casanova appreciated the mind of a woman: “After all, a beautiful but stupid woman leaves her lover without entertainment after he has physically enjoyed her attraction.”. However, his attitude towards educated women was typical of the time: “For a woman, education is inappropriate; it jeopardizes the basic qualities of her sex... none scientific discovery was not done by women… (it) requires vigor that the female sex does not have. But in simple reasoning and in subtlety of feelings, we must give women their due. ”.

In an introductory article to the Russian edition of Casanova's memoirs, A.F. Stroev writes: "... Casanova's "Don Juan list" can only strike the imagination of a very exemplary family man: 122 women in thirty-nine years. Of course, such lists by Stendhal and Pushkin are shorter, and in famous novels of those years, which were labeled "erotic" (as, for example, in the fascinating "Foblas" by Louvet de Couvre, 1787-1790), there are fewer heroines, but is it really so many - three love affairs a year?

Casanova and gambling:

Gambling was a common leisure activity in the social and political circles in which Casanova moved. In his memoirs, he talks about many gambling games of the 18th century, including the lottery, pharaoh, basset, picket, prima, fifteen, whist, biribi, and about the passion for them on the part of the aristocracy and the clergy. Card sharpers were treated with more tolerance than at present, and they were seldom subjected to public censure. Most players were wary of cheaters and their tricks. All sorts of frauds were in use, and Casanova amused himself with them.

Casanova played throughout his adult life, winning and losing large sums of money. He was trained by professionals and was "taught those wise maxims without which gambling crushes those who play it." He could not always refuse to cheat and at times even teamed up with professional players to earn money. Casanova claims that he was "calm and smiling when he lost, and was not greedy when he won". However, sometimes he strangely deceived himself, and then his behavior was frantic, up to challenges to a duel. Casanova admits that he lacked the stamina to become a professional player: "I was devoid of enough prudence to stop when fate was against me, and out of control when I was winning." He also didn't like being seen as a professional: « Professional Players nothing can testify that I was from their infernal clique".

Although Casanova sometimes used the game prudently for his own purposes - to quickly get hold of money, to flirt, to make connections, acting like a gallant gentleman, or to present himself as an aristocrat in front of high society - he could also play with manic passion and without calculation, especially when in the euphoria of a new love adventure. “Why did I play when I so keenly foresaw the loss? Greed made me play. I enjoyed spending money and my heart bled when that money wasn't won at cards.".

Casanova reputation:

Contemporaries considered Giacomo an outstanding personality, highly intelligent and inquisitive person. Casanova was one of the foremost chroniclers of his era. He was a true adventurer who crossed Europe from end to end in search of fortune, an adventurer who, in order to realize his intentions, met with the most prominent people XVIII century. A servant of those in power, and at the same time a bearer of new aesthetics and morals for his age, he was a member of secret societies and sought the truth beyond traditional notions. Being a religious man, a devout Catholic, he believed in prayer: “Despair kills; prayer dispels it; after prayer, a person believes and acts”. But just like in prayer, he believed in free will and reason, and clearly did not agree with the statement that the craving for pleasure would not let him go to heaven.

Born into a family of actors, Giacomo had a passion for the theater and a theatrical, improvisational life. But with all his talents, he often set out in pursuit of entertainment and bodily pleasures, often shirking stable jobs and making trouble for himself where he could succeed if he was careful. His true calling was to live, relying on his resourcefulness, nerves of steel, luck, charm and money received in gratitude or through deceit.

Prince Charles-Joseph de Ligne, who understood Casanova well and knew most of the prominent people of his era, considered him the most interesting person he had ever met: "there was nothing in the world that he was not capable of." Completing the portrait of the adventurer, de Ligne testified: “The only things he knew nothing about were those in which he considered himself an expert: the rules of dance, the French language, good taste, the arrangement of the world, the rules of etiquette. Only his comedies are not funny ; only his philosophical writings lack philosophy - all the rest are filled with it; there is always something weighty, new, piquant, deep. He is a storehouse of knowledge, but he quotes Homer and Horace ad nauseam. His mind and his sharpness are like Attic salt. He is sensual and generous, but upset him with anything - and he becomes unpleasant, vindictive and vile ... He does not believe in anything, but only in the incredible, being superstitious in everything. Fortunately, he has honor and tact ... He loves He wants everything... He is proud because he is nothing... Never tell him that you know the story he is about to tell you - pretend that you are hearing it for the first time... Never forget to pay your respects to him. not, otherwise, because of this trifle, you risk making an enemy for yourself" (Charles Joseph de Ligne. Mémoires et melanges historiques et littéraires, t. 4. - Paris, 1828).

It is difficult to imagine a person more versatile than Giacomo Casanova: a lawyer and a cleric, a military man and a violinist, a swindler and pimp, a gourmet and business man, diplomat and spy, politician and doctor, mathematician, philosopher and kabbalist, playwright and writer. His creative heritage includes more than twenty works, including plays and essays, as well as many letters.