Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) is one of the most known venetian person all over the world, especially due to his romantic relationships, which are narrated in his autobiography. Giacomo Casanova was not only a charmer but he was also an adventurer: he was the only one able to escape from the Doge’s palace’s prisons of Venice. He was in jail since the night of July 25th 1755 and put in a cell situated under the roof of the palace. This area was called “Piombi”, because the rooms were covered by plates of lead.
The terrible council of X incarcerated him due to his libertine behaviour. They saw this as a threat to the social stability. Casanova was made out as a fraud too. With his fake magic skills, he was famous for robbing to rich elderly people.
He had to stay incarcerated for 5 years, but he studied from day one how to escape. He could break out from the prison on Nov 1st 1755, together with one anothe inmate, Padre Marino Balbi. They could escape the prison through a hole made in the roof and rappeling down in the courtyard of the Doge’s palace. From there, they were able to leave as common visitors.
When he was 58, Giacomo Casanova starts again to travel around Europe and he writes books as “Storie della mia vita”, published in french, “Storie della mia fuga” of 1788 and the romance “Icosameron” in the same year. He died on June 4th 1798 in the forgotten Dux castle, whispering his lasts and famous words: “Gran Dio e testimoni tutti della mia morte: son vissuto filosofo e muoio cristiano”. (I have lived as a philosofer and i die as a cristian.) He thought that death was just a “change of the shape”.
