This article originates from the scientific contributions<\/b> of our historians, reworked by the museum editorial staff<\/b> for digital access<\/b>.<\/p>\nAbstract<\/h2>\n
Between 1772 and 1798, Giacomo Casanova<\/b> and Venetian patrician Pietro Zaguri<\/b> maintained a friendship documented by around 120 letters<\/b> in Italian. Initiated by decisive support for Casanova\u2019s rehabilitation<\/b>, their correspondence offers an intimate testimony of Venetian society<\/b> at the end of the 18th century, and reveals both the human and historical value of a bond that stayed strong even after Casanova\u2019s final farewell to Venice.<\/p>\nSummary<\/h2>\n
A friendship built over time<\/b><\/p>\n
120 letters between Venice and Europe<\/b><\/p>\n
From rehabilitation to a personal bond<\/b><\/p>\n
What the letters reveal: politics, society, private life<\/b><\/p>\n
A historical source for late 18th-century Venice<\/b><\/p>\nA friendship built over time<\/h2>\n
After Casanova\u2019s final departure<\/b> from Venice (1783), his relationship with Pietro Zaguri<\/b> continued for over twenty years<\/b> through frequent correspondence. Their bond began earlier: Zaguri was already crucial in the summer of 1772, committing to Casanova\u2019s rehabilitation<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Without knowing Casanova personally, Zaguri managed to have his exile revoked<\/b> together with Marco Dandolo<\/b> and Francesco Grimani<\/b>, Venetian friends of Casanova. Their first direct contact happened in autumn 1772 in Trieste<\/b>.<\/p>\n120 letters between Venice and Europe<\/h2>\n
The correspondence comprises around 120 letters<\/b> in Italian, dated between 1772 and 1798. The exact number remains uncertain<\/b>, as some pages from the Casanovan inheritance<\/b> are undated.<\/p>\n
An important aspect concerns the transmission of the text<\/b>: the entire correspondence was published in 1918 by Pompeo Molmenti<\/b> in the Carteggi Casanoviani<\/b>, but some parts were heavily abbreviated, altering the original.<\/p>\nFrom rehabilitation to a personal bond<\/h2>\n
The friendship deepened when Casanova, after returning to Venice in November 1774, stayed for a while in the Zaguri palace<\/b> in Campo San Maurizio<\/b>. That stay cemented a familiarity that endured even after Casanova\u2019s final departure<\/b> (1782\/1783, according to the chronology cited in the text).<\/p>\n
In Zaguri\u2019s house, Casanova likely also met Lorenzo da Ponte<\/b>, who was for a time secretary and \u201cstudy companion\u201d<\/b> to Zaguri, as he recounts in his memoirs.<\/p>\nWhat the letters reveal: politics, society, private life<\/h2>\n
A \u201cnewsletter\u201d from Venice<\/h3>\n
Zaguri regularly updated Casanova on Venetian news<\/b>: elections and patrician appointments, internal disputes<\/b>, social gossip. They shared acquaintances and common references: Zaguri also knew Casanova\u2019s brother, Francesco<\/b>, a battle painter.<\/p>\nCritique and sarcasm<\/h3>\n
Zaguri\u2019s letters are not short on sharp opinions<\/b>: patricians, cicisbei, women of easy virtue, and even Lorenzo da Ponte<\/b> (whom Zaguri eventually expelled from his home). This candor makes the correspondence a vivid<\/b> and \u201cinside\u201d source on Venetian society<\/b>.<\/p>\nPersonal confidences<\/h3>\n
Beyond public life, intimate details<\/b> emerge: relationships with women and health issues. Zaguri talks about gout<\/b> and problems with his teeth, gums, ears; he responds with indignation to Casanova\u2019s difficulties with the staff at Dux castle<\/b>.<\/p>\nThe caution of writing<\/h3>\n
Zaguri himself recognizes the danger<\/b> of certain confidences: he warns Casanova not to circulate the letters, as they may contain passages \u201cescaped the pen\u201d<\/b> that could return to Venice<\/b>.<\/p>\nA historical source for late 18th-century Venice<\/h2>\n
The correspondence between Casanova<\/b> and Zaguri<\/b> is more than a personal document: it is a direct testimony<\/b> of Venice at the end of the 18th century, seen from within and told in an intimate, sometimes biting tone.<\/p>\n
In this sense, the letters do not merely describe individuals, but convey the atmosphere<\/b> of a world heading towards irreversible change<\/b>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This article originates from the scientific contributions of our historians, reworked by the museum editorial staff for digital access. Abstract Between 1772 and 1798, Giacomo Casanova and Venetian patrician Pietro Zaguri maintained a friendship documented by around 120 letters in Italian. Initiated by decisive support for Casanova\u2019s rehabilitation, their correspondence offers an intimate testimony of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[223],"tags":[312,266,239],"class_list":["post-4089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories-from-the-18th-century","tag-pietro-zaguri","tag-the-18th-century","tag-casanova"],"acf":{"riassunto":"Between 1772 and 1798, Giacomo Casanova and patrician Pietro Zaguri exchanged about 120 letters. Begun as support for Casanova\u2019s rehabilitation, they chronicle twenty years of friendship and serve as a \u201cnewsletter\u201d about Venice: positions, internal tensions, social affairs and personal confessions. The reader gets an insider\u2019s view of Venetian society at the end of the eighteenth century and the limits of private writing.","takeaway":"