Giacomo Casanova and The Malipiero Family
Between 1656 and 1676, as a result of the construction of two popular theatres, the neighborhood of the San Samuele parish acquired a more seedy reputation. This was also true for the palace. For some years after 1740, Giacomo Casanova lived in Palazzo Malipiero. In spite of his young age (he was just 15 years old), he began his successful social life in these very rooms. Giacomo had been born nearby on Calle della Commedia (later renamed Calle Malipiero), and as a confidant of Senator Alvise Gasparo Malipiero (Alvise II "Gasparo" Malipiero in Italian), he began frequenting the palace.
Here he established relationships with some influential persons and with a great many ladies. But one day the Senator caught him with Teresa Imer, whom the Senator desired for himself, and Casanova was expelled from the Palace, and subsequently Venice. Casanova left a lively portrait of Alvise Gasparo in his Memoires. The latter work depicts the Venetian customs in the 18th century. Amid this age of the decadence, when Venice became a destination for gamblers, prostitutes, and patrons, the fortunes of the Malipiero also suffered and finally by the 1770 the family extinguished.
Read more about this topic: Palazzo Malipiero
Famous quotes containing the word family:
“Diamonds may have been a girl’s best friend in an era when a woman’s only hope of having a high family income was to marry a man who was well-off, but today, marketable skills that will enable a woman to command a good income over her lifetime are a better investment.”
—Grace Baruch (20th century)