Calle Malipiero (Casanova Family House), Venice

Born in 1725, Giacomo Casanova arrived in the world already surrounded by intrigue. His mother was a celebrated actress, his official father a dancer—but Venice loved a good subplot, and many believed his real father was a Grimani aristocrat, the powerful owner of the San Samuele Theater. In other words, Casanova’s life began backstage, with a whisper of scandal built right in.

Finding the Casanova family house on Calle Malipiero is still something of a test, leading you away from postcard Venice and into quieter, twisting lanes. This was home to young Giacomo, his brother, and two sisters—a modest setting for a boy with outsized ambitions. He lived here until the age of nine, when he was packed off to a boarding house in Padua. From there, he shuttled between mainland and lagoon, studying law with impressive speed and finishing his degree by fourteen. Not bad for someone destined to become Europe’s most famous rule-breaker...

Family stability, however, was short-lived. After his grandmother’s death, and with his mother distracted by theatrical success and romantic adventures abroad, Giacomo’s footing in Venice weakened. When the Grimanis sold the family estate, he was effectively shown the door. Suddenly homeless at eighteen—but not helpless—Casanova pivoted.

His solution was unexpected, even by Venetian standards. Seeking discipline, distance, and perhaps divine protection from the distractions he knew all too well, he joined the priesthood on the island of Murano. It was meant to be a retreat from temptation, a pause button on desire. History, of course, suggests it didn’t quite work out that way—but then again, restraint was never Casanova’s strongest suit...