Seductive Venice: In Casanova’s Footsteps

by Kathleen Ann González

http://amazon.com/dp/098509723X

Come along on seven walking tours of Venice to find the real houses of Giacomo Casanova: his birthplace; the street where he beat up a thief; the canal where Casanova saved Senator Bragadin from a fatal stroke; the scene of a courtesan’s party where the two traded clothes; the inn where Casanova and seven friends pleasured a wife. Then there are the churches—where Casanova met the woman who would lead him to his new lover, a cloistered nun; or the church steps where he was dumped after being kicked out of the seminary. Visit the theaters—where Casanova brought his 14-year-old lover, masked; or where he was accused of clipping coins. Of course, the walks include Casanova’s best-known haunts as well: the ridotto where he gambled away fortunes and the prison where he schemed for a year before his daring escape. Statues, alleys, bridges, canals—so many Venetian sites hold the spirit of the famous lover.