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:
“Views of women, on one side, as inwardly directed toward home and family and notions of men, on the other, as outwardly striving toward fame and fortune have resounded throughout literature and in the texts of history, biology, and psychology until they seem uncontestable. Such dichotomous views defy the complexities of individuals and stifle the potential for people to reveal different dimensions of themselves in various settings.”
—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)