Giacomo Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (/ˌkæsəˈnoʊvə, ˌkæzə-/,[1][2][3] Italian: [ˈdʒaːkomo dʒiˈrɔːlamo kazaˈnɔːva, kasa-]; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice.[4][5] His autobiography, Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life), is regarded as one of the most authentic and provocative sources of information about the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century.[6]
"Casanova" redirects here. For other uses, see Casanova (disambiguation).
Giacomo Casanova
2 April 1725
4 June 1798 (aged 73)
Casanova was known to use pseudonyms, such as baron or count of Farussi (the maiden name of his mother) or Chevalier de Seingalt (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ɡɑl]).[7] After he began writing in French, following his second exile from Venice, he often signed his works as "Jacques Casanova de Seingalt".[a] He claims to have mingled with European royalty, popes, and cardinals, along with the artistic figures Voltaire, Goethe, and Mozart.
He has become so famous for his often complicated and elaborate affairs with women, that his name "might be said to be synonymous with libertine".[8] His final years were spent in Dux Chateau (Bohemia) as a librarian in Count Waldstein's household, where he also wrote his autobiography.
Gambling[edit]
Gambling was a common recreation in the social and political circles in which Casanova moved. In his memoirs, Casanova discusses many forms of 18th-century gambling—including lotteries, faro, basset, piquet, biribi, primero, quinze, and whist—and the passion for it among the nobility and the high clergy.[123] Cheats (known as "correctors of fortune") were somewhat more tolerated than today in public casinos and in private games for invited players, and seldom caused affront. Most gamblers were on guard against cheaters and their tricks. Scams of all sorts were common, and Casanova was amused by them.[124]
Casanova gambled throughout his adult life, winning and losing large sums. He was tutored by professionals, and he was "instructed in those wise maxims without which games of chance ruin those who participate in them". He was not above occasionally cheating and at times even teamed with professional gamblers for his own profit. Casanova claims that he was "relaxed and smiling when I lost, and I won without covetousness". However, when outrageously duped himself, he could act violently, sometimes calling for a duel.[125] Casanova admits that he was not disciplined enough to be a professional gambler: "I had neither prudence enough to leave off when fortune was adverse, nor sufficient control over myself when I had won."[126] Nor did he like being considered as a professional gambler: "Nothing could ever be adduced by professional gamblers that I was of their infernal clique."[126] Although Casanova at times used gambling tactically and shrewdly—for making quick money, for flirting, making connections, acting gallantly, or proving himself a gentleman among his social superiors—his practice also could be compulsive and reckless, especially during the euphoria of a new sexual affair. "Why did I gamble when I felt the losses so keenly? What made me gamble was avarice. I loved to spend, and my heart bled when I could not do it with money won at cards."[127]
