Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you've been impressed by the Doge's Apartments, prepare yourself for the
glorious works of art decorating the official spaces upstairs; here the city's artis-
tic masters—including Veronese, Tintoretto, and Titian —must have worked
feverishly. Start in the official waiting room—or Anticollegio—where foreign
emissaries would gaze on Paolo Veronese's Rape of Europa while waiting to meet
with their hosts. Next, enter the Chamber of the Full Council, where Veronese
glorified Venice in various allegorical paintings. In the adjoining Sala del Senato
(Senate Chamber), where 300 members met to listen to reports and debate major
issues, you'll notice many renditions of Christ by Tintoretto. Here, the role of the
Lord appears to be to protect the Doge, and—by inference—Venice itself.
Venice's Great Lover
The most famous convict ever to cross the Bridge of Sighs into Venice's
state prisons was Giacomo Girolamo Casanova, he of bodice-ripping world
renown. Casanova, who earned universal recognition as an erotic hero who
made love to incomparable numbers of women (122 of these adventures
are recounted in his feisty, and undoubtedly exaggerated, autobiography),
was actually busy with a great many activities other than satisfying his
libidinal desires. Born in 1725 to theatrical parents, he was a sickly child
who demonstrated considerable intellectual prowess. Between womanizing
and boozing, he managed to earn a doctorate from the University of Padua
and quickly rejected any plans he once had to join the priesthood.
Frequently afflicted with all manner of sexually transmitted diseases,
he managed to build a prominent public image, traveling extensively
through Europe and consorting with nobles, royals, and noteworthies,
despite attempts by the Inquisition to challenge his moral virtue. After
the love of his life, a Frenchwoman named Henriette, abandoned him, the
heartbroken stud took up a career as a writer, which was cut short when
he was convicted as a magician and placed in the prisons of the Palazzo
Ducale. Apparently, Casanova managed to escape the supposedly impene-
trable prisons, and later claimed to have slept with the chief of police's
wife on the very same night that her husband was out searching for him!
After fleeing to Paris, Casanova's celebrity was much increased; he
introduced the lottery to the French capital and made himself a million-
aire through gambling and cheating. Always pursued by creditors,
Casanova turned to spying in his later years, and eventually ended up as
a librarian in Bohemia, where he set about putting his memoirs on paper.
Venice practically ignored one of its most famous sons for years until
finally, in the 1990s, the city hosted a Casanova exhibition, with only the
smallest attention given to his most celebrated talent—as the world's
original Casanova, the ultimate “Italian stallion.”
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