For everyone and about everything. The most famous lover - Giacomo Casanova Who is Casanova

Crazy Casanova Vyacheslav Shalevich: “I try not to be hypocritical, to tell the truth, but tactfully” As a child, he played with Arbat children in the ruins of the bombed-out Vakhtangov Theater, and then all his life on its stage. He played many roles in films. Loved beautiful women, selflessly

Giacomo Casanova Oysters in the neckline and hair for dessert The main purpose of my whole life has been the cultivation of sensuality: in my opinion, there is nothing more important. I felt born for women, I always loved women and tried as often as possible to indulge in this great

Dzhakomo Puccini December 22, 1858 - November 29, 1924 Astrological sign: Capricornationality: Italian -Musary style: from romanticism of the late period to realism of the work: “Madame Butterfly” where you could hear this music: in an erotic thriller fate

Casanova To a Venetian woman whom I never forgot. Let's try to compare his biography in terms of what he experienced (and not the spiritual essence or depth of knowledge), for example, with the biographies of Goethe, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and his other contemporaries. How narrow-minded

• Giovanni Giacomo Casanova, Chevalier de Sengalt was born on April 2, 1725 in Venice.
• Casanova's parents were actors, both allegedly belonging to the noble family of Palafoks.
• Giacomo receives his primary education at a school in Padua.
• 1734 - 1739 - Casanova studies law at the University of Padua.
• In his youth, Casanova had a close friendship with Abbé Burney, Count of Lyon, French Ambassador to the Venetian Republic.
• 1742 - Giacomo Casanova receives a doctorate in jurisprudence.
• The same year - Casanova enters the Theological Seminary of St. Cyprian. He is preparing to take holy orders, but he is expelled from the seminary for numerous love affairs and intrigues.
• The end of March - the end of July 1743 - due to his own intrigues, Casanova was imprisoned in Fort San Andrea.
• Casanova spends several years traveling. He visits Naples, Rome, Paris, Constantinople.
• 1746 - upon returning to Venice, Giacomo becomes the court violinist of Senator Bragadino.
• 1753 - the traveler visits Dresden, Prague and Vienna, after which he returns to Venice.
• 1756 - after one of the love affairs, Casanova is imprisoned for deceit and blasphemy.
• 1756 - escape from prison; Casanova leaves Venice.
• 1757 - Bernie receives the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of France and invites Giacomo to Paris. Here, Bernie warmly welcomes an old friend, and Casanova agrees to perform a series of "secret assignments" for him.
• Gradually, thanks to Bernie, Casanova is involved in the secret diplomatic activities of France. He becomes a secular lion, in addition to espionage, he is also engaged in speculation and magic. He is appointed director of the French lottery.
• 1758 - Casanova, on behalf of the French government, is sent on a secret mission to Holland.
• The same year - Giacomo curtails his espionage activities, as the Duke de Choiseul comes to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. He leaves Paris and wanders around Europe again.
• 1759 - return to Paris, where, a few months after his return, Casanova was imprisoned for debts in Fort l'Eveque. Under arrest, the adventurer spends two days, after which he immediately again goes to Holland on a secret mission.
• 1760 - Germany. Casanova visits Cologne, Stuttgart. In Germany, the traveler is constantly harassed by creditors, and even arrested once. Through Switzerland he fled to Paris.
• 1761 - Giacomo Casanova represents Portugal at the Congress of Augsburg.
• 1763 - visit to London, where he had to flee because of debts.
• 1764 - again Germany. In Berlin, Casanova receives an audience from King Frederick the Great. The traveler has the opportunity to stay in Germany for military service (become the head of the cadet corps), but rejects this offer, preferring to wander and experience many different adventures and love affairs.
• 1765 - Russia. Casanova visits St. Petersburg, Moscow; he is presented to Catherine II. After spending about a year in Russia, he leaves for Warsaw.
• 1766 - an adventurer flees from Warsaw to Germany because of a conflict with Count Barnitsky, which led to a duel.
• Giacomo again wanders around Europe: Austria, Germany, France, Spain, Italy ... Everywhere he is engaged in petty espionage activities and experiences a huge number of love affairs.
• 1768 - in Spain, Casanova manages to go to prison twice. For the first time, the adventurer was imprisoned in the Buen Retiro prison in Madrid for illegal possession of weapons, the second time in Barcelona, ​​for an intrigue with the mistress of the governor. In Madrid, his detention lasted two days, in Barcelona - just over a month.
• 1769 - Casanova writes "Refutation".
• 1770 - Italy. Again friendship with Bernie, who by that time had become a cardinal.
• 1775 - Casanova receives permission to return to Venice, which he immediately uses. At home, the famous adventurer becomes a secret agent of the Inquisition Tribunal, and at the same time holds the position of director of the theater.
• 1782 - Casanova has to leave the service and again flee from Venice. This comes after the publication of his pamphlet "No Love, No Women". In addition, with his next novel, he insults the nobleman Grimaldi. Giacomo goes to Austria, then to the Czech Republic.
• 1783 - Casanova visits Venice for the last time and spends several weeks at home.
• 1784 - in Vienna, Casanova serves as secretary to the ambassador of the Venetian Republic. Acquaintance and friendship with Count Waldstein.
• 1785 - Count Waldstein offers Casanova the position of librarian in his estate Gut-Dux, located in Bohemia. Casanova agrees. In Gut-Duks, he not only serves as a librarian, but also, together with the owner of the castle, is engaged in magic and alchemy.
• Approximately 1790 - Casanova is taken to write his Memoirs.
• July 4, 1798 - Giovanni Giacomo Casanova dies in Bohemia.

For some reason, it so happened that we think of Casanova and Don Giovanni as two boots of the same pair, two legendary seducers. And only a slightly more knowledgeable reader will remember that the Spaniard is a literary character who gave rise to myths about himself. And Casanova is a real historical figure, a Venetian adventurer of the 18th century, the author of multi-volume memoirs. But can memories be trusted? And why to this day they are such a success with readers, leaving no one indifferent? It is not easy to explain this. Although it seems very easy

"The Story of My Life": events and dates
April 2, 1725 In a family of Venetian actors, the son of Giacomo Girolamo Casanova is born. Since his mother is constantly traveling, his grandmother is engaged in his upbringing.
17341739 After the death of his father, the boy is sent to Padua: study at a boarding school, then at the University of Padua
17391744 Returning to Venice, the abbot Casanova reads his first sermons and receives a doctorate in law, which does not prevent him, having become friends with Senator Malipiero, to have fun and win his first victories at love front
17441745 Casanova goes to the island of Corfu with the rank of lieutenant of the Venetian fleet
1745 Returning to Venice, he is experiencing financial difficulties and is ready to work as a violinist at the Theater of San Samuel for a beggarly salary.
1746 Accidentally colliding with Senator Bragadin and having him during an attack medical care, Casanova becomes his "adopted son". He is rich and can lead a cheerful and carefree life.
17471749 Accused of blasphemy and violence, Casanova leaves Venice and wanders around Italy. Then he meets Henrietta one of his most mysterious lovers
1750 After entering the Masonic lodge in Lyon, he ends up in Paris
1752 Traveling in Germany
17531754 Return to Venice. Love Adventures with K.K. and M.M. from the monastery of Murano
17551756 Arrest and imprisonment of Piombi
17561759 Escape from Pyombi. Casanova again in Paris, then in Holland
17601762 Journey through Germany and Switzerland (meeting with Voltaire), travel through Italy and Europe
17631764 England. An unsuccessful episode with Charpillon, which inspired Pierre Louis for the novella "The Woman and the Clown", filmed by Luis Buñuel (the film "This vague object of desire")
17641765 Travel to Russia
17661768 Journey through Poland (duel with Count Branicki) and flight, wanderings through Germany, trip through Spain
17691774 Wandering through Italy, waiting for a pardon and the opportunity to return to Venice

At this point, The Story of My Life ends; the rest is known to us "from biographers"

17741775 Return to Venice: Casanova becomes a paid informer for the Inquisition, but already in 1783, because of a pamphlet he wrote, he again falls into disgrace
1784 At the invitation of Count Waldstein, he becomes a librarian at Dux Castle, Bohemia (the current territory of the Czech Republic). There follows a series of monotonous days spent in quarrels with servants. The only consolation is the writing of memoirs, which he begins in the late 1780s.
1798 In Dux Castle, with the words "I lived as a philosopher and I die as a Christian," J. Casanova ends his earthly life. The memoirs go to his nephew Carlo Angiolini (son of his brother Francesco, the famous battle painter)
1820s The heirs sell memoirs to the Brockhaus publishing house. This is how Casanova's new life begins

In 1820, a French manuscript landed on the table of the Leipzig publisher Friedrich-Arnold Brockhaus. It belonged to the pen of an Italian named Giacomo Casanova, who died in 1798, a librarian in the castle of Dux (Bohemia), and was detailed description his life.

Once in Dresden on business, Brockhaus showed the manuscript to his friends, the Romantic writers. Ludwig Tieck and Friedrich Schelling liked the biography very much. An adventurer traveling around Europe, falling in love at every step, changing professions In the 19th century, this beautiful-terrible image already seemed unattainable and therefore an even more attractive ideal. Hearing rave reviews, the publisher immediately ordered a translation into German.

The success exceeded all expectations. The memoirs were talked about all over Europe. And soon Brockhaus published the book in the original language. When Casanova's work became public, a long-running controversy began. Some readers and, of course, critics were indignant because “undoubtedly, in the history of literature there were works just as immoral, but none of them is more shameful for the author than this: for here the narrator and the hero are one person who cannot to declare, like Martial: “Let the poems be obscene, my life is impeccable” (Professor Alessandro d'Ancona). Other, more sensitive literary connoisseurs—and there were many of them—admired him uncontrollably. To Alfred de Musset, “the best of adventurers” seemed like a rebel who did not want to submit to any conventions and chose a style of behavior only in accordance with his own ideas, not to mention desires.

A little more than twenty years have passed since the death of the real Casanova, and few people remembered him, even in his hometown. So, the poet Ugo Foscolo considered the published notes to be apocryphal, and Casanova - a fictional person, despite the fact that he knew Venice, lived in it and was familiar with its history. In the middle of the 19th century, in France, a version was quite seriously spread that the author of the book was Stendhal, whose style seemed to be felt in every phrase.

However, at the same time, professional historians and philologists became interested in the "incident". The question of authorship, fortunately, was closed fairly quickly and without endless discussions, which Mark Twain later quipped about (“Shakespeare’s works were not actually written by him, but by an unknown namesake”). The existence of the historical Casanova ceased to doubt. However, the question of the reliability of his memoirs hung in the air. It was the so-called Kazanovists who had to resolve it, admirers of the adventurer, who by the beginning of the 20th century had grouped around special magazine. After reading the memoirs of their idol as a cipher text, they behaved like real detectives: for months they sat in the archives, trying to identify the next Unknown (Casanova often gallantly changed or abbreviated the names of his beloved to initials) or to find out the true address of each of the countless dates. At the same time, they did not realize that they were trying to prove the sincerity of a person who, in his memoirs, presented himself as a professional charlatan, and sometimes even a cheater. And a chain reaction began: following Casanova's fans, their opponents plunged into the archives, but with the opposite goal - to prove that the great libertine was also an insignificant deceiver.

It quickly became clear: many, and the most incredible stories described in the memoirs, are undoubtedly real (minor inaccuracies or discrepancies only strengthened the overall impression of reliability).

The temptation to follow in the footsteps of the famous adventurer, to look into his rendezvous houses, has not disappeared to this day.

In northern Venice
Whoever was not brought to Russia by the wind of adventures in the 18th century. Casanova got here already at the end of his adventurous career. The Italian arrived in St. Petersburg on the frosty morning of December 21, 1764, on the shortest day of the Russian winter. Subsequently, he assured his reader that the night in this climate could last "18 hours and 45 minutes."

The first thing that struck him in St. Petersburg was the extraordinary cheapness (30 years later, the author of his memoirs sighed that those days had long passed, and the northern capital had become more expensive than London). Second which of foreign languages in use mostly German. Before Casanova had time to enter his rooms on Millionnaya, he received an invitation to a three-day masquerade ball at the court, from where he returned in a great mood. If not everyone spoke French, then the ladies danced the quadrille in the French manner “impeccably”. In addition, he met old Parisian acquaintances there. And it soon became clear that the first impression was erroneous: other courtiers spoke the language of Ronsard perfectly, and the visiting womanizer quickly got along with them. Among his acquaintances, he mentions Naryshkin, Elagin, Panin and Ekaterina Dashkova.

In the St. Petersburg elite, he notes the general Voltairianism. “Everyone reads it, everyone carries a volume of Voltaire in their pocket, and they quote no one but him. And God forbid that someone allowed himself to laugh at him ... ”This attitude annoyed Casanova. “They believe that by reading Voltaire they will become as wise as their idol. But if they read those books from which Voltaire himself once learned knowledge, it would bring them much more benefit, he remarks grumblingly. As a gambler and adventurer, Casanova liked to put everything on the line. At the same time, he knew how to lose and appreciated this quality in other people. Seeing how a certain prince, having lost 1,000 rubles for a word, remained calm, the Venetian expressed his admiration. They answered him, laughing: "Yes, your noble prince does not even think of paying." "But won't he dishonor himself by doing so?" the guest was amazed. “Here it is not considered shameful. There is an unspoken rule that whoever loses on a word pays only at will. But he is free not to pay. On the contrary, it is considered bad manners to demand payment of winnings.” Moreover, the interlocutor continued, there are quite a few nobles who boast that they have perfectly learned to cheat, and even go to Europe to work. Such frankness confused even Casanova. In Russia, he practically did not play. However, at that moment he was just with the money. Like all Europeans, abandoned by the will of fate in our country, Casanova thought about what was happening in the state. However, unlike the old grumpy Custine, he preferred not to criticize, but to colorfully describe. For example, once, while crossing a dilapidated wooden bridge and expressing dissatisfaction, he heard from a Russian satellite that on the occasion of the celebration, when the empress would pass over the bridge, it would be built of stone. With less than three weeks left until the celebration, Casanova had his doubts. The interlocutor said sternly that there could be no doubts, since a corresponding decree had already been issued. The most interesting thing, Casanova writes, is that although the bridge, of course, was not built, the Empress really turned out to be “always right”: a few days before the holiday, she issued a second decree, transferring them construction to next year. Finally, the baths struck him. And not even that men and women washed in them together. And the fact that no one at the same time did not pay the slightest attention to each other.

Of course, Casanova would not be Casanova if his stay in Russia was reduced to a list of "the mind of cold observations." Not without love adventures: in Russia, he acquired a pretty peasant woman. The very fact of acquiring a serf (barbarian law already obsolete in Europe!) Was exotic for him: and it was no coincidence that he gave her the exotic name of Zaire (that was the name of the beautiful slave of the Sultan in Voltaire's tragedy). At first, very pleased with his beauty, the Italian regretted one thing: they could not talk, and in women, as in men, the author of “The Story of My Life” valued, above all, the interlocutor. (“Having allowed her lover to enjoy her charms, the narrow-minded beauty has nothing more to offer him. On the contrary, an ugly woman endowed with a subtle mind can fall in love with a man so much that he will reach the limit of all his dreams with her.”) But Zaira soon learned the Venetian dialect. “If it weren’t for her damned jealousy and her mania for guessing on cards (for Zaira it was a way to find out about infidelity and make a scene), I would never have left her,” our hero subsequently assured. Having fallen in love with a French actress before leaving, he entrusted Zaire to the aged architect Rinaldi (the builder of the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg).

Probably, communication with Zaira, who loved fortune telling on cards, contributed to his conclusion that "of all Christians, the Russian people are the most superstitious." He also made a special opinion about Nicholas the Saint, through whom the Russians “communicate with God”: “in the corner of every room there is certainly an icon, and when you enter, you first bow to him, and only then to the owner. If suddenly there is no icon, then the Russian, having run around the whole room with his eyes, stops in bewilderment and is completely lost. In the middle of the summer of 1764, on the advice of Kazanov's friends, on whom the white nights "broke melancholy", he went to Moscow. “You cannot say that you were in Russia if you were not in Moscow, or that you know Russians if you only communicated with Petersburgers: at court they behave completely differently than in ordinary life. In general, Petersburgers differ little from foreigners. And Moscow residents, especially the wealthy, sympathize with all those who, by their position, for the sake of profit or ambition, go "to a foreign land", for their homeland is Moscow, and Petersburg cannot but spoil them.

Casanova has traditional impressions of Moscow from popular prints. The deafening ringing of bells, the abundance of churches, the traditional Moscow hospitality. In addition, he finds that women are more beautiful and less cold, and for all of them the only unforgivable sin is avarice. Returning to St. Petersburg again, he begins to think about leaving. However, acquaintances assure him that it is impossible to go without meeting with the Empress. On Panin's advice, early in the morning, Casanova goes for a walk in the Summer Garden. Walking between "bad statues of unimportant stone", among which were Sappho in the guise of a bearded old man, and Avicenna in the form of a ridiculous old woman, the Venetian really met Catherine. "I hope that not everything you see here seemed to you as ridiculous as these statues." Casanova diplomatically replied that all Russian absurdities are nothing compared to what is admirable in this country, and "without difficulty" talked about this for an hour, and then proposed to the Empress a draft calendar reform.

Despite all the efforts, Casanova never managed to find his place in northern Venice. However, he admitted that he himself did not really know what he wanted when he came here, and what role he could apply for. He tried to get a job at the service of the empress, submitted a number of projects, but all to no avail. “In Russia, only those who were invited are honored. Those who come here of their own free will are not respected.”

"Appearances" of the Venetian

Memoirs begin with the birth of Casanova we will begin with this. In the Venetian district of San Samuele, at house number 3082 along the narrow street Ca Malipiero (formerly Commedia street), you can read: here "on April 4, 1725, Giacomo Casanova was born." Three hundred years ago, as now, San Samuele was a modest, unremarkable place, where, however, one of the three main city theaters was located (now in its place a school). Carlo Goldoni, who lived next door, wrote for his troupe, and Giacomo's parents Gaetano and Zanetta Casanova performed on stage (“beautiful and very talented,” the famous author of “The Innkeeper” and “Servant of Two Masters” will call her in his memoirs). Since the "very talented" actress was often on the road, the boy was raised by his grandmother, Marcia Faroussi.

Close-up 1
A commemorative plaque was installed on the 3082nd house relatively recently. True, it has since become clear that Casanova was not born there at all, but in the nearby grandmother's house, where he lived until 1728. It was decided not to change the address of the attraction so as not to confuse tourists.

At first, Casanova's life somehow came into contact with the Church of St. Samuel. There he was baptized and there, having studied in Padua and received the rank of abbot, he read his first sermon (after it, according to him, many love notes were found among the donations of parishioners). The palazzo, where the venerable senator Malipiero lived, also overlooks the square in front of the gloomy facade of the long-closed temple. The future memoirist quickly got along with the latter and soon quarreled over courting his pupil.

Casanova's mother wanted him to continue studying ecclesiastical law. The son felt an irresistible disgust for him. At that time, he was more attracted to medicine, natural sciences and philosophy. Later, he became seriously interested in mathematics and even hoped to make important discoveries in this discipline. But I didn't find the time. Impermanence is the main property of his nature. Our hero is always on the move constantly changing places of stay, occupations, lovers. He strives to remain completely open to unfulfilled desires. Indefatigable curiosity is its strength and vulnerability.

Close-up 2
Before commentators began to argue about Casanova, friends and enemies alike were gossiping about him during his lifetime. So, Pietro Chiari brought him out in one of his many comedies: “he has only Paris and London on his lips”, “always polished like Narcissus, pompous and puffed up like a peacock, and constantly on the move, like windmill, he constantly invaded everywhere, being nice to everyone With a miser, he behaves like an alchemist, with beauties like a poet, with strong of the world this as a politician but from the point of view of a sane person, he is simply ridiculous.”

Returning from his first trips (Italy, Corfu, Istanbul), changing his cassock for a military uniform, but soon parting with him, Casanova returns to his old district. His father died long ago, his mother performs at the Saxon court in Dresden, and the fate of the young man, it seemed, would also be connected with the stage: now he himself works as a violinist at the San Samuel Theater.

However, in April 1746, near the Palazzo Soranzo (on Piazza San Polo), he accidentally meets Senator Bragadin, helps him get home after a sudden heart attack, and having thus got into this very house, makes an indelible impression on the noble signor with knowledge of Kabbalistics. Grateful Bragadin settles the savior in his luxurious palazzo (near Rialto), assigns rent, surrounds him with almost paternal care. And again begins a strip of careless festivities and short novels

Close-up 3
In the twentieth century, letters from women to a Venetian were found and published (“Casanova was considered a liar and he hardly told the whole truth!” exclaimed Kazanovist Armand Bachet after reading them). Despite the fact that among the writers there are only a few names mentioned in the memoirs, their general mood confirms a picture of friendly-love relations presented by the addressee.

For example, with the young nun M.M With her, right from the monument to the condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni (which you will probably see today while walking around Venice), Casanova often went to a small apartment near St. "casinos" were then in vogue among aristocrats who considered the spacious palace halls too uncomfortable for intimate tete-a-tete). And if you stop by on the island of Murano, find that monastery gate, from which M.M. secretly slipped out, going on these dates. At the beginning of the 20th century, one could always meet here a researcher frozen with tenderness the monastery served as a classic place of “pilgrimage” for Kazanovists.

Close-up 4
Decently dressed gentlemen, sentimentally reminiscing, aroused bewilderment among the local population: “When I returned from the war in 1919, one person came and looked at this gate for a long time. I don't know what he saw in her: you can't call her beautiful. This gentleman claimed that she was connected with a certain Casanova. Maybe he lived at the monastery? a local gardener told the historian Pierre Gruet in the 1950s.

As now, the spacious St. Mark's Square served as the center of Venetian life in the 18th century. From morning to evening, without any special purpose, they flied along it back and forth, from the eponymous basilica to the church on the opposite side (a continuous arcade was erected in its place under Napoleon). And after walking up, they settled in countless cafes (one of them "The Triumph of Venice" has survived to this day under the name "Florian"). The central episode of the memoirs is also connected with the main square of the city - the famous escape of Casanova from Piombi, a prison located directly under the lead roof of the Doge's Palace, which made it unbearably cold in winter and unbearable stuffiness in summer. Here, according to the verdict of the college of inquisitors, a tireless lover was brought in the summer of 1746.

Close-up 5
It is still unclear why he was there. Casanova himself connects his arrest with the denunciations of an informant, a certain Manuzzi, needless to say, that the Casanovas discovered these denunciations as well. It mentioned the communication of our hero with foreigners (although according to the laws of the Venetian Republic, only patricians were forbidden to communicate with them, this certainly did not add confidence to the accused), blasphemy, practicing magic, debauchery, reading banned publications, as well as the complaints of a certain aristocrat to the fact that the young man corrupts her sons by letting them read godless books (namely, the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau). The scammer did not forget to mention that Casanova belonged to the Masonic lodge.

The court case itself could not be found, perhaps there was no formal investigation. In those days, if big names "loomed" in the case, they naturally tried to hush it up as soon as possible. But the verdict “surfaced”, according to which the adventurer was sentenced to 5 years. By the way, this verdict remained unknown to Giacomo himself until the end of his days. If he had known about him in prison, he probably would not have risked his life by escaping after a year and a half of imprisonment.

The description of the escape is perhaps the most striking episode of the memoirs, in which the author manages to keep the reader in suspense from beginning to end: without skimping on colorful details, Casanova tells how, on the eve of the finished escape, he was unexpectedly transferred to another cell, how he began to plan a new escape with a monk imprisoned next door, how he handed him homemade tools in a thick volume of the Bible, how he chose the right night for escape, guessing on the volume of his beloved Ariosto, then almost fell, crawling his way along the steep slope of the roof of the Palace, and descending into one of rooms, fell down from emotional overexcitation, fell asleep, but woke up in time, changed clothes and, finally, was released into the wild by the gatekeeper, who mistook him for an accidentally locked visitor.

Now, by the way, any tourist can book a special tour at the Doge's Palace from Casanova's chamber along the route by which on November 1, 1756, he first got to the roof (though they themselves are not allowed on it), and then to freedom.

Close-up 6
There is a legend that on this roof in late XIX for centuries, the same Professor Ancona crawled, risking his life, he really wanted to check the authenticity of the story of the old man Giacomo. Until now, the details of the escape (so colorful in the author's description) are still in doubt and controversy. One of the most interesting pieces of evidence for its authenticity is an invoice from a carpenter and locksmith dated November 2, 1756. Indicated volume repair work and materials are strikingly accurate to the damage that (according to his own description) the fugitive caused.

And let skeptics believe that the case was not without bribery of jailers even a tenth of what is told in the memoirs is enough to recognize the Venetian as a hero. “I confess that I am proud that I ran. But my pride comes not from the fact that I managed to do this there is a lot of luck here, but from the fact that I considered it feasible and had the courage to put my plan into execution.

The miraculous deliverance from Piombi is the last Venetian episode in the memoirs. It is followed by a long series of travels and meetings: Paris Geneva Berlin Petersburg; Voltaire Frederick II Catherine II And the older our adventurer becomes (he himself defines the age limit as 38 years the time of his first serious defeat on the love front), the more his travels resemble wanderings, the more often he has to pay for love. “If I married a woman who could guide and subdue me so that I myself would not notice my subordination, then I would take care of my condition, have children and would not be so lonely and poor now”

If Giacomo began his biography in accordance with the maxim, which absorbed the inclinations and precepts of the 18th century (“time spent in pleasure cannot be considered lost”), then now, when this century is coming to an end, he “is forced to realize that he has wasted everything his time in other words, he lived his life in vain.

Second life in Russia
Since the publication of his memoirs, Casanova has been lucky with readers, including those in Russia. And even though there was no open admiration for the adventurer, as among European romantics (Delacroix or George Sand), these “original”, in his words, “notes” were read in the French edition by Alexander Sergeevich himself. In the 1830s, it was customary in his circle to discuss the works of famous memoirists, and it can be assumed that Casanova's memoirs were a success with Petersburgers.

In 1861, in the journal Vremya, a fragment of his biography with introductory remarks publisher F.M. Dostoevsky. The times were harsh, and therefore the preface is exculpatory in nature: it is emphasized in every possible way that the memoirs are not just light reading, but an encyclopedia of the 18th century. Then follows the story of Casanova's escape from Piombi, the only episode in the whole book that is devoid of those "eccentricities" that could "offend the morality" of the then reader.

Even more disappointing for this reader could be the 1884 edition, where, after a promising preface that stigmatized Casanova as an unthinkable lecher, followed by a selection of his country studies sketches in which women were not mentioned at all. It seems that the publisher simply mocked in the preface, when, briefly outlining the biography of the adventurer, every now and then he mentioned some “most impossible adventure, told in great detail in the Memoirs, but which, alas, he was forced to “out of modesty keep silent” . As you know, strict censorship increases the demand for samizdat, and if erotic descriptions were emasculated in official publications, then in unofficial ones, on the contrary, the emphasis was on them. By the beginning of the 20th century, a strange apocrypha was circulating in Russian, which was a freely transcribed memoir. In order not to cut them off in mid-sentence, the unknown editor of this version came up with a spectacular ending: Casanova dies in a shipwreck, but an iron (!) box with his memoirs sticks to the shore to the delight of future admirers and admirers.

And only by the 1910s, on the wave of enthusiasm for Venice and the 18th century, Casanova’s hour finally struck (at the same time, Pavel Muratov’s book “Images of Italy” was published, where a whole chapter is devoted to the Venetian). His book is becoming so popular that it is even published in thin monthly pamphlets. The culmination of the then glory of the memoirist coincided with the appearance of the dramatic works of Marina Tsvetaeva (Phoenix, Casanova's Adventures, 19181919), dedicated to the last years of the hero's life. A little later, in the diary of 1923, Tsvetaeva admits: “The plan of my life was: to be loved by 17-year-old Casanova (a stranger!) abandoned and raise a beautiful son from him ...” To the fact that then many young girls were fond of the seducer, there is another piece of evidence. In her memoirs, Lilya Brik mentions a young lady, in those years "in love with Casanova and dreaming of going to hell in order to meet him there."

In Europe, the peak of Casanova's popularity falls on the 1920s, while in post-revolutionary Russia, on the contrary, interest in the idle freethinker drops sharply. Perhaps the only mention of him in Stalin’s time is an article in the TSB (1931), in which the author, quoting Capital, declares the adventurer a “by-product of bourgeois society”, and explains numerous love affairs with “social benefit” and “greed for profit” . However, "sexual psychology continues to be interested in Casanova as a kind of biological type", the author of the article concludes.

In 1991, in the wake of the book "lawlessness" of the post-perestroika era, several editions of memoirs appeared at once (among them the best edited by A.F. Stroev). And in 2005, a volume dedicated to Casanova was published in the ZhZL series. Recognition as an adventurer outstanding personality took place.

Between literature and life

Casanova's life story ends abruptly at a stay in Trieste (1774), from where he is going to return to his native city after eighteen years of wandering. There is a version that the continuation existed (on the manuscript it was written: “The history of my life until 1797”), but it was not possible to find it anywhere. Probably, the author simply did not have time to complete his plan: he sat down to write his memoirs in 1791 seven years before his death, and despite the fact that he sometimes wrote twelve hours a day, he did not have enough time. It is also possible that he did not want to compose further at all: it is pleasant to recall the follies of youth, and the later years (we know about them from Casanova's active mail correspondence) were such that I wanted to forget as soon as possible.

The return to Venice, which he so longed for, did not bring him happiness. He again changed his occupation: he tried to translate Homer, published a literary monthly, acted as a theater impresario all without much success. On the other hand, another “new” case “went” well - work as an informant for the Inquisition.

Close-up 7
Casanova's denunciations have survived and are now published. As usual, commentators are divided in their connection into his defenders and opponents. The former point to the lack of content and harmlessness of these messages (the closure of one theater is their most serious consequence). The latter, not without gloating, point out that it was precisely through the fault of his “colleague”, Manuzzi, that Casanova once ended up in Piombi, and willingly sniped in his memoirs at his expense, silent about his similar sins. And the complaints of the newly minted informant about citizens who read Voltaire's "impious books" or his indignation at the fact that students of the Academy of Arts draw nude models look completely pharisaical! ..

However, soon, due to a pamphlet written in a moment of irritation, insulting the honor of one elderly patrician from the ancient Grimani family with a hint that the patrician is the father of Casanova (such rumors really circulated), the “illegitimate son” again leaves the fatherland, now already forever and ever. “Either I am not made for Venice, or she is for me, or we are both for each other”, he will comment on this event. The last years, as already mentioned, he will have to spend in a modest position as a librarian with Count Waldstein, in the castle of Duks (the current Duchtsov in the Czech Republic).

In those years, it seems to the “retired adventurer” that life is completely over, but it is here, in an unusual wilderness for him, that he begins to work on his, as it turned out, immortal memoirs. “If Count Waldstein had taken the good Giacomo with him to Paris or Vienna, fed him well and let him smell the female flesh,” Stefan Zweig later assured, “these funny stories would have been presented over chocolate and sherbet and would never have been imprinted on the paper".

This, fortunately, did not happen. Notes roam the library shelves (they can be found either in the section of Italian literature, or French), scientists dedicate more and more sophisticated works to Casanova "by specialization": magic, medicine, finance, and even cooking. Fans still continue to track their idol's route (German Pablo Günther recently traveled 36,000 km in his footsteps) and hunt for archival material. And in the journal Interme’ diaire des Casanovistes, you can read, for example, that a medal with the image of the author of the History was cast somewhere, or that the mayor of Montpellier assigned the name of Casanova to one of the city streets.

Recently, more and more often they recall that Casanova was primarily a writer. His writing activity remained outside the scope of memoirs: the law of the adventurous genre, which allowed boasting of love adventures, did not allow referring to one's own artistic opuses (just as, allowing stories about cheating, this law forced one to remain silent about serious ties with Freemasonry). Meanwhile, even before the appearance of memoirs, from the pen of a prolific author came out whole line satires and comedies, translations and historical works, stage reviews and scholarly treatises, as well as the long and phenomenally boring utopian novel Icosameron.

In this regard, the question of the reliability of the famous memoirs, in essence, loses relevance. If Casanova is a writer and not a chronicler, is the truth so important? And is it any wonder that between his notes and the writings of his contemporaries (from Prevost to Richardson) there is a lot in common? This is especially true of the three most “novel” chapters of the memoirs about the mysterious Frenchwoman Henrietta, whom Casanova met traveling incognito under the guise of a man, about the same nun M.M., a Venetian aristocrat, mistress of Cardinal de Berni and the narrator himself, as well as about a certain , a London coquette who almost drove him to suicide.

In addition, even if a certain event described is reliable, this does not mean that the author was in fact a participant in it, or even a witness. He could have known about many of the events described by hearsay. And if archival research confirms that Casanova, as well as the third parties he mentions, were at the indicated place at the indicated time, then the conversations and scenes themselves could easily be embellished in their favor (in communication with the great people of the era, the Venetian always looks more interesting than these people!) .

Is it possible to speak with confidence about the participation of the French envoy de Berni in the bed carousel with Murano nuns only because evidence of his licentiousness has been preserved? Hardly. It is even more difficult to investigate the “Don Juan” list of the Venetian himself. “He is so truthful that he does not hesitate to slander himself,” Musset wrote. On the other hand, one should not forget about vanity and pride (all contemporaries attribute these traits to our hero). It is most reasonable to take the memoirist-writer at his word. “There is no doubt that Casanova the adventurer was a skillful liar, but whether the elderly librarian lied at his desk, on the contrary, it does not matter” (French writer Felicien Marceau).

Publishing adventure
"The Story of My Life" was written by an Italian in French. However, the Germans were its first readers. Only a few years later (in 1826) the owner of the manuscript, F.-A. Brockhaus decided on a French edition, giving the manuscript for processing to Dresden professor Jean Laforgue. The same not only corrected the language, freely adapting it to the tastes and needs of the era, but also completely changed a number of important passages. For example, in the scene of the dialogue with Voltaire, he put into the mouth of the Venetian praise for the eloquence of the French. In addition, being a supporter of the revolution and an anti-clerical, the professor rewrote with surprising spontaneity everything that betrayed in Casanova a person of the former way of life. It still remains a mystery why, despite the efforts of fans and researchers, for as long as 140 years the French original of the manuscript remained locked in the safe of the Leipzig publishing house, miraculously surviving two world wars. The famous Italian literary critic Benedetto Croce recalled that when, on the eve of the new year, 1945, he walked around Naples in the evening with the philosopher Salvatore di Giacomo, he dreamily remarked: “It would be good if one of the points of the peace treaty with Germany was the extradition of the manuscript”

However, the decision to publish it was taken only twenty years later: in the early 1960s, a thick three-volume edition came out, provided with detailed comments and exactly down to random Italianisms reproducing the original text.

Hero for all time

How did it happen that of all the famous Italians, no one, including Dante, Machiavelli, Leonardo or Galileo, did not receive equal admiration and attention from readers, scientists and ordinary people to Casanova?

His memoirs are a proteus book. Each era found in it something of its own, dreamy or intimately intimate. In the 1820s, Casanova was loved for being an outstanding adventurer, ready to turn everyday life into a holiday. Toward the end of the century, with the tightening of censorship, he began to be perceived primarily as a frequenter of the "forbidden" boudoirs. Further, at the turn of the century, adherents of Nietzsche considered him “their own”: unlike the anemic characters that inhabited decadent writings, this adventurer taught a full-blooded, rich life and the maximum realization of the potential inherent in a person.

Differences in interpretation, rise or fall in Casanova's popularity are often explained by the values ​​of a particular historical moment. Moreover, the most ardent opponents of the author of the "History" were usually met among his fellow countrymen. He was especially actively disowned as a representative of the old, fragmented Italy, in the era of national upsurge (Risorgimento): an adventurer - the fruit of a thoroughly rotten, decadent Republic of Venice, but by no means the son of a newly formed heroic nation. With the advent of fascism, these sentiments prevailed again: despite the fact that it was then that an incredible demand arose for all sorts of biographies, from Caesar to the Duce, the success of the Venetian's memoirs turned out to be inversely proportional to the success of the genre. In 1935, by an act of the Ministry of Culture, "The Story of My Life" was banned in the country.

Such is the inconstancy even after death, the inconstancy of the book and the reader's attitude towards it. It is not surprising sometimes it is generally difficult to believe that the stories about Casanova are about one person. Even the most strict moralists cannot refuse him the gift of a storyteller, and the director Federico Fellini found the memoirs boring, "like a telephone directory." The Belgian psychoanalyst L. Flem writes the book Casanova, or Embodied Happiness, and the Italian professor G. Ficara publishes a work called Casanova and Melancholia. This list goes on.

Of course, it may be recalled here that the adventurer himself willingly contradicted himself. And besides, unlike the established character of Don Juan, his image on the pages of his memoirs is in constant development: the young hero is presented in the first chapters as a gentle, ardent, capable of sincere feelings and full of bright hopes. Gradually, he loses these properties and by the end he is already ready to buy love where it can no longer be won. However, this does not explain the intensity of emotions with which some attack the seducer, while others are ready to defend him.

And here's another paradox: it was this unique and unsteady personality (be it a historical person or character) that began to personify the "type" and disappeared into the empty nickname of an ordinary seducer

The myth of the "good" seducer

“Today, Casanova has become something like spaghetti, mandolin and Santa Lucia that is associated with Italians outside of Italy, without causing much respect or sympathy,” said Marcello Mastroianni, as snapped. For foreigners, Casanova is a moderately handsome Italian, enjoying some success with women.

Yes, he has long become a myth: few have read his memoirs, but everyone has heard of their author-hero. But if among the people this name has merged with Don Zhuanov, then anyone who thinks about these two will definitely oppose them.

Andalusian "cold seducer", for whom a woman is a "victim", the next number in the list of victories (such is the first stereotype). And the Venetian is a generous lover, for him every woman is unique (also a stereotype, but more attractive). The romantic from Seville does not love anyone, the hedonist Casanova is ready to love everyone. “Spanish Don Giovanni, German doctor Faust, Englishman Byron and Frenchman Baudelaire all of them, first of all, eternally unsatisfied Casanova, at the very first kiss of Faustian Margarita, would feel himself in seventh heaven and wished to stop the moment” this is how Mussolini’s former girlfriend Margherita Zarfatti summed up this idea , author of the book "Casanova against Don Juan".

Close-up 8
Casanova, the author, undoubtedly recalled his Spanish "forerunner" when he composed the story own life. In 1787 Mozart's opera Don Giovanni was premiered in Prague. An aging memoirist who lived nearby traveled to the city more than once and, perhaps, even helped his friend, the Venetian Da Ponte, work on the libretto (among the papers in Dux, two scenes were found that were intended for the opera, but were not included in it). And soon after that, Casanova sits down for memoirs. Working on own way, he deliberately contrasts it with the traditional image of a seducer: in his memoirs, a “negative” type of seducer appears more than once (he acts according to the Don Juan principle deceive and disappear), which successfully emphasizes the dignity of the protagonist, who repeatedly seduces the “victim”, but in his own way gently, friendly, causing her not anger, but tears of joy.

And here is the result: in modern open society, with his frightening freedom of morals, Don Juan is rapidly losing power over the imagination. And Casanova, who did not want to stop there, continues to arouse interest.