Calle Malipiero (Casanova Family House), Venice

Giacomo Casanova, born in 1725, had an intriguing family background. While his mother was an actress and his purported father a dancer, it is believed that his true father was the aristocratic Grimani, who owned the San Samuele Theatre.

Locating the Casanova family house on Calle Malipiero might prove to be a challenge, as it takes you off the typical tourist path and into the winding backstreets of Venice. In his early years, Casanova resided with his brother and two sisters on this tranquil street until his ninth birthday, when he was sent to a boarding house in Padua on the mainland. He would later commute between Venice and Padua to pursue his law studies at the university, completing them by the age of 14.

Following the passing of his grandmother and with his own mother preoccupied with her acting career and love affairs in Poland, Giacomo found himself eventually evicted from his childhood home when the Grimanis sold the family estate. With the proceeds from the sale, the now 18-year-old embarked on a different path and joined the priesthood on the island of Murano, seeking solace away from the captivating allure of women that had already begun to stir his passions.