Giacomo Casanova
Giacomo Casanova (1725-98), Italian adventurer and libertine. Having been expelled from a Venetian seminary, he became a violinist, a soldier, and a preacher. On returning to Venice in 1755 he was imprisoned for sorcery but made a daring escape. He subsequently travelled all over Europe, meeting such famous people as Voltaire and Frederick the Great. He served as a Venetian spy for a short time and spent his final years in Bohemia. His vivid and racy Memoirs, de-tailing his amorous exploits, were not published in an unexpurgated form until 1960.
