Casanova: The Lover…of Cheese!

Hello Cheese Enthusiast!

Image courtesy of The Smithsonian Institute

Well, I certainly did not plan for the last three posts for the Cheese Traveler to be about historical figures, but sometimes you go where the research leads you…

In honor of Valentine’s Day this week, I bring you the following story…

About a month ago, I was doing some research on Roquefort Cheese and I read that this classic blue cheese from France was mentioned in “The Memoirs of Casanova”…. Wait!...What??...Casanova kept memoirs??...and they mentioned cheese??...I was intrigued and had to know more.

Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from Venice, Italy. These “Memoirs” are better known as his autobiography, Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life). It is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century. [1] This series of books covers 12 volumes and approximately 3,500 pages (1.2 million words) covering Casanova's life from his birth to 1774…and these were all written in French, which was the dominant language of the upper class in the late 1700’s 

Sure, I have heard of him and his reputation, but there was so much that I didn’t know… Born in Italy, died in the Czech Republic, and spent his life in between Paris, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Amsterdam, Cologne, Switzerland, London, and Saint Petersburg.

He had a degree in Law, studied philosophy, chemistry, and mathematics. He worked at a seminary, became a professional gambler, was a violin player in the San Samule Theater, he was a prisoner, a salesman, a spy, and a librarian. He associated with European royalty, popes, and cardinals, philosophers such as Voltaire, musicians such as Mozart, and even Benjamin Franklin…Wow!

This week’s post will not be about his scandalous love affairs, but his great passion for food and wine. To better understand the times that he lived in, let me give you a few excerpts from his book…

At the time of Casanova's birth, “the city of Venice thrived as the pleasure capital of Europe, ruled by political and religious conservatives who tolerated social vices and encouraged tourism. It was a required stop on the Grand Tour, traveled by young men coming of age, especially men from Great Britain. The famed Carnival, gambling houses, and beautiful courtesans were powerful drawing cards.” This was the social environment that bred Casanova and made him it’s most famous citizen.

As a student, he became friends with a Senator who moved in the best circles and taught young Casanova a great deal about good food and wine, and how to behave in society. It was here that he began to appreciate the finer things in life and he made sure that he associated with the best people that could afford him this lifestyle. I guess if this were modern times, he might be called a “Kardashian”. He wrote early on about some of his experiences with fine food - “I have always been fond of highly-seasoned, rich dishes, such as macaroni prepared by a skillful Neapolitan cook, the olla-podrida of the Spaniards, the glutinous codfish from Newfoundland, game with a strong flavor, and cheese the perfect state of which is attained when the tiny microbes formed from its very essence begin to shew signs of life.”

Image courtesy of Pairing Made Simple

He enjoyed some of the very best cheese that France had to offer – “I can only give you some bread and cheese, a slice of ham, and some wine which my aunt pronounces excellent.” She said, “She soon laid the table for two, and put on it all the food she had. The cheese was Roquefort, and the ham had been covered with jelly”

But Casanova was Italian, and as such, most of his writing on cheeses are those of his native country. He wrote about “Macaroni Cheese” many times over, claiming that he “wanted to celebrate St. Michael’s Day (Sept 29th) with a macaroni cheese”. No argument there!

Image courtesy of Pairing Made Simple

And then there was Parmesan….“I was dying of hunger, and they coolly told me there was nothing to eat. I laughed in the landlord’s face, and told him to bring me his butter, his eggs, his macaroni, a ham, and some Parmesan cheese, for I knew that so much will be found in the inns all over Italy. The repast was soon ready, and I shewed the idiot host that he had materials for an excellent meal.”

Another entry read as follows:

“Next day I started for Lodi at day-break without telling anybody where I was going… I was surprised to find at Lodi, which hitherto had been only famous in my mind for its cheese, usually called Parmesan. This cheese is made at Lodi and not at Parma, and I did not fail to make an entry to that effect under the article “Parmesan” in my “Dictionary of Cheeses,” a work which I was obliged to abandon as beyond my powers, as Rousseau was obliged to abandon his “Dictionary of Botany.”

Then there was the desserts!!...

“We were treated to lemon, coffee, and chocolate ices, and some delicious cream cheese. Naples excels in these delicacies, and they had everything of the best.”

“The dinner was excellent…Soup, beef, fresh salted pork, sausages, mortadella, milk  dishes, vegetables, game, mascarpone cheese, preserved fruits—all were delicious!”

Since Casanova wrote about Mascarpone Cheese and drinking Orgeat (an almond based drink), I decided to find a recipe for making Orgeat the way that it would have been made once. (You can find the recipe here).

Casanova’s Histoire de ma vie was originally translated in 1838 into German and was heavily censored. From this early translated version, it was reprinted in to twenty different languages. The English version that we see today, only came about in 1894. In 1960, the original manuscript was published in French. In 2010, the original 3,500 page manuscript was purchased by the Bibliothèque nationale de France for over $9 million, the institution's most expensive acquisition to date.

These Memoirs opened up with the following quote:  “I begin by declaring to my reader that, by everything good or bad that I have done throughout my life, I am sure that I have earned merit or incurred guilt, and that hence I must consider myself a free agent. ... Despite an excellent moral foundation, the inevitable fruit of the divine principles which were rooted in my heart, I was all my life the victim of my senses; I have delighted in going astray and I have constantly lived in error, with no other consolation than that of knowing I have erred. ... My follies are the follies of youth. You will see that I laugh at them, and if you are kind you will laugh at them with me.”

He ended them with "I can say vixi ('I have lived')."

I now I close this week’s post, happy to have taken a peek into Casanova’s 18th century “Dictionary of Cheeses”.

Until next week,

Trevor