Casanova's Prison Escape

Today In History with The Retrospectors

Rerun: One of Giacomo Casanova's most famous deeds was his daring midnight, cross-rooftop escape from the dreaded “The Leads” prison in Venice on the night of October 31st, 1756.

Key to his escape plan was a Bible, a large iron bar and an oversized bowl of pasta.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why Casanova wasn’t thrilled about being moved to a new jail cell with a better view; explain why he had a little nap right in the middle of his jailbreak; and consider the awkwardness of being such an indiscriminate shagger that you eventually accidentally end up in bed with your own daughter…

Further Reading:

• 'How Casanova’s provocative memoir created a legend' (BBC, 2016): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20161108-how-casanovas-x-rated-memoir-created-a-legend

• 'Giacomo Casanova Breaks out of Prison' (Odd Salon, 2016): https://oddsalon.com/jan-5-1757-giacomo-casanova-breaks-out-of-prison/

• 'Fellini's Casanova - The Escape’ (Produzioni Europee Associate, 1976): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccQ3f0agbU4

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday…

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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