The year 2025 marks the tercentenary of the birth of Giacomo Casanova (Venice, April 2, 1725 – Duchcov, June 4, 1798), an emblematic figure of 18th-century Europe, with his elusive personality as a man of letters, adventurer, and bon vivant, in other words, a “man of the world” who built his lasting fame among the streets of Venice and the cities of Europe.

Among the places where Casanova stayed (under the guise of the Chevalier de Seingalt) was Castello di Spessa, a residence that welcomed him in September 1773 at the invitation of Count Luigi Torriano, who persuaded him “to spend the autumn in his country house six miles from Gorizia.” Casanova accepted the invitation, given that the Count was said to “love women and become ferocious when he wanted to take revenge for some affront made to him,” two qualities that promised a stay that would live up to his expectations. Casanova devoted several pages of his memoir, The Story of My Life, to the two months he spent in Spessa, praising the beauty of the landscape, but also the “excellent wine” that already brought prestige to this estate at the time.

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

from “Don Giovanni”

Deh vieni alla finestra

 

Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945)

from Cavalleria rusticana

Voi lo sapete o mamma

 

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

from La Bohème

In un coupé? … O Mimì, tu più non torni

 

Francesco Cilea (1866-1950)

from “Adriana Lecouvreur”

Io son l’umile ancella

 

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

from “Manon Lescaut”

Tra voi belle

 

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

from “Un ballo in maschera”

Teco io sto

 

Georges Bizet (1838-1875)

from “Carmen”

Votre toast

 

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

from “Madama Butterfly”

Addio fiorito asil

 

Franz Lehár (1870-1948)

from “La vedova allegra”

Tace il labbro / Lippen schweigen

 

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

from “Il trovatore”

Tace la notte

 

THE GIACOMO CASANOVA AWARD – CASTELLO DI SPESSA

Castello di Spessa is inextricably linked to the fascinating figure of Giacomo Casanova, who, despite being known for his skills as a seducer, was above all a leading representative of 18th-century culture and an inspired man of letters. Giacomo Casanova, Knight of Seingalt: a brilliant man who exhibited an astonishing versatility for us moderns, as Hermann Hesse described him. Not the celebrated lover, nor the adventurer, nor the spy of the Venetian Inquisition, but the multifaceted and cosmopolitan intellectual who wrote 43 works, translated Homer, and invented several literary genres.

For this reason, in 2003, thanks to the initiative of the “Amici of Casanova” (Friends of Casanova )Association, the Giacomo Casanova – Castello di Spessa Prize was established. The award, whose ceremony takes place annually at the Castle, is given to the authors of the “best work inspired by the values of freedom, tolerance, and openness to other cultures.”

 

PICCOLO OPERA FESTIVAL 2025: an edition to remember

The eighteenth edition of the Piccolo Opera Festival, dedicated to “Pleasure” on the occasion of the tercentenary of the birth of the Venetian adventurer, writer, intellectual, musician, and European traveler Giacomo Casanova, could only end with an opera gala inspired by him. 2025 was a year of “maturity” for the Festival, with a highly satisfying program that perfectly intertwined its path with that of GO! 2025, European Capital of Culture, thanks also to the splendid co-production of Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims with SNG opera in balet Ljubljana, staged on a memorable evening in Piazza Transalpina-Trg Evrope on June 19, exactly two hundred years after its Paris debut. On the same day, the Ministry of Culture announced the national recognition of the Piccolo Opera Festival, which has thus been admitted, with an excellent artistic quality score, to the list of entities financed by the National Fund for Live Entertainment and accredited alongside the major Italian festivals, with which we have long been united in a network within ItaliaFestival and OperaEuropa. This satisfaction must undoubtedly be shared with all those who support our programming, from the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region with #iosonofriuliveneziagiulia to the Fondazione Friuli, from private sponsors to municipalities and institutions that have offered their patronage and collaboration. But we must not forget the tireless and unmatched staff of the Festival, and of course our loyal audience, who have been following us for some time now in our ‘borderless’ musical journey, in the name of art and beauty.

Gabriele Ribis, artistic director