Giacomo Casanova, born 300 years ago in Venice on April 2, 1725, is remembered as a legendary lover whose name became synonymous with womanizing. But the 6ft 3in philanderer with long, powdered hair was also a scam artist, soldier, spy, prison escapee, and even a science fiction writer.
Early Life and Education
Born to impoverished actors, Casanova was raised by his grandmother. A priest recognized his intelligence and sent him to study at the University of Padua at age 12. He graduated at 17 with a law degree. His knowledge of medicine helped him save a Venetian man from a stroke, who became his patron and helped Casanova pose as an aristocrat.
Romantic Conquests
Casanova lost his virginity at 17 to two posh teenage sisters after a boozy dinner. He went on to count noblewomen and milkmaids among his 120 conquests. He secretly spirited a nun known as "MM" out of her convent for a night of passion via gondola, and their affair later became a foursome involving another nun and the French ambassador. He boosted his libido with roquefort cheese, hid in a confessional to seduce a mayor's wife, romanced a newlywed in a carriage, and was wounded in a duel over an actress. He also bedded a woman who had been pretending to be a man. His greatest love was Henriette, a Frenchwoman who made him happy "24 hours a day"; he was heartbroken when she left. Casanova never married but had illegitimate children and has been accused of incest and rape. He said: "I was born for the sex opposite to mine. I have always loved it and done all that I could to make myself loved by it."
Prison Break and Espionage
In 1755, Casanova was imprisoned in a rat-infested cell at the Doge's Palace in Venice for affronting "common decency." Sentenced to five years, in October 1756 he had a sharpened iron bar smuggled to fellow prisoner Father Balbi inside a Bible under a plate of pasta. Balbi gouged a hole in his cell roof, climbed across, and dug through to Casanova. They climbed through the roof, lowered themselves on a 25ft rope of bed sheets, and talked their way past guards, claiming they were accidentally locked in. Casanova fled to Paris. He was later recruited as a spy by the Venetian and French governments.
Scams and Writing
Casanova was a conman, changing his name to Chevalier de Seingalt and posing as a magician and alchemist. He convinced a rich widow he could reincarnate her for a fee, saying: "Deceiving a fool is an exploit worthy of an intelligent man." He wrote plays, studied for holy orders, became a soldier and violinist, translated Greek works, helped France set up a state lottery, ran a silk factory, and penned a sci-fi novel, Icosameron, about a land at Earth's center where people are both male and female.
Later Life and Legacy
Casanova traveled Europe, meeting Catherine the Great, King George III, Mozart, and Benjamin Franklin. But his antics led to exile from Venice and France. As his sexual prowess waned, he considered suicide on London's Westminster Bridge. He ended up virtually penniless, riddled with venereal disease, working as a librarian in a Bohemian castle. There he wrote his scandalous 3,700-page memoir, Story of My Life, detailing his sex life. It was published in 1821, 23 years after his death at age 73. The Vatican immediately banned it, but the manuscript is now in the National Library of France, purchased for £5.75 million.
