1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:06,479 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Here is an episode from our ten episode 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 1: playlist that we're calling Offbeat History. Yeah, we're adding this 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: to our our regular publishing schedule as one kind of 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,279 Speaker 1: big drop all at the same time on March nineteen. 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: And that is so that you have maybe have a 6 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: little bit of extra entertainment options available to you, particularly 7 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: if you are self quarantined or sheltering a place. Welcome 8 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: to Stuff you missed in History Class a production of 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:41,599 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 10 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,159 Speaker 1: Holly Frying and I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and today we're 11 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,160 Speaker 1: doing a podcast on one of those people that come 12 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,239 Speaker 1: up in history who's kind of larger than life. I'm 13 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: actually shocked that a lot of people don't know who 14 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: she is, um just because she was really like, uh 15 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: tastemaker as well as being the source of much gossip 16 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: and discussion in her time. She's not She's not a 17 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: name that I recognized when you sent the outline over, 18 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:12,680 Speaker 1: but as soon as I saw a picture, I went 19 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,039 Speaker 1: that person. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She is really unique in 20 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: that while many people admired her over the years for 21 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: her life, which was led entirely based on her aesthetics 22 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: and this idea of creating oneself. When you really start 23 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: to examine her biography and look at her life story, 24 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: you also find a woman who was incredibly selfish and 25 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: she was even described by close friends as megalomaniacal uh 26 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: so clearly a very flawed person. So I think that's 27 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: why it is so startling to me that she is 28 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: so lauded as this amazing icon of style, when the 29 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: same people who do that are like, oh, yes, but 30 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,559 Speaker 1: she was in many ways terrible. But even when taking 31 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: into account her really irresponsible and utterly self centered behavior, 32 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: it is also easy in some ways to see how 33 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: she charmed Europe in high society in the early nineteen 34 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: hundreds simply by being such an outlandish creature and really 35 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: something of a caricature of her own design. And this 36 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: very complex woman that we're talking about today is Marquesa 37 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: Louisa Casati. She was born Louisa adele Rosa Maria Aman 38 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: on January one in Milan, Italy. Her parents were Alberto 39 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: Ahman and Lucia Bressi. The family was quite wealthy thanks 40 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: to a successful cotton mill, and Alberto was granted the 41 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: title of count by Italy's king, Umberto the First. As 42 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 1: a child, Louisa was interested in art. She taught herself 43 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: how to draw, first copying images that she had seen 44 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: in print, and then applying her skill to creating portraits 45 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: of her family. Luisa was considered a lot less attractive 46 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: than her older sister Francesca, and living a rather isolated 47 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: life as a child of wealth, she was rather shy. 48 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: In April of eight for, Count Amman and his wife 49 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: were traveling in Florence for business, and so they didn't 50 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: have their daughters with them on the trip, and the Countess, 51 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: who was only thirty seven at the time, became quite 52 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: ill suddenly and she died, although it is still unknown 53 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: what exactly caused her illness. And in the two years 54 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,080 Speaker 1: following Luccia's death, Alberto tried to raise his daughters, but 55 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: his business really required more and more of his time, 56 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: and keep in mind also he was grieving his wife 57 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: at this point. Uh He died on July eleven, two 58 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,799 Speaker 1: years after his wife, leaving his then teenage daughters with 59 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: an immense fortune. The girls lived with their paternal uncle, 60 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: Eduardo Ahman and his wife Fanny for a while after 61 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 1: their father's death. But naturally they were restless teenagers. They 62 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: were eager to engage with the modern world. And their 63 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: new home was in a small community that was about 64 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: twenty five miles away from Milan. Yeah, they were very restless. 65 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: They wanted to go to the city all the time, 66 00:03:57,680 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: which is something that they had done with their mother 67 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: a lot. So there's that factor in as well. Uh. 68 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: And eventually in nineteen hundred, Luisa made her debut, and 69 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: soon after, on June twenty two of that same year, 70 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: she married Camilo Casati Stampa Diconcino, three years her senior, 71 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: and she became a Marquesa in the process. And this 72 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: match was really a good one, at least on paper. 73 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: What Cassati lacked in liquid wealth, he made up for 74 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 1: in noble heritage, and while Luisa had no nobility in 75 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: her family line, she had a great deal of money. 76 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: So they kind of complimented each other in that regard, 77 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: and the newlywed's actually went to the Paris Exposition on 78 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: their honeymoon. A year into their marriage, on July fifteenth 79 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:45,039 Speaker 1: h one, the Casati has had a daughter, Christina, and 80 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: at this point it seemed like Louisa was on track 81 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: for a fairly conventional life that would be expected for 82 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: a wealthy married heiress. She had an interest in the 83 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: occult in the supernatural, which were pretty popular topics at 84 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,359 Speaker 1: the time, but she was leading a pretty typical, though 85 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,720 Speaker 1: very lavish life. Yeah, we really cannot stress how rich 86 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,479 Speaker 1: she was. She was often touted as the richest woman 87 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: in Italy, the richest woman in Europe. Some people called 88 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: her the richest woman in the world during her heyday. 89 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: But then in nineteen oh three, Louisa met the Italian 90 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: poet and playwright Gabrielle de Nunzio, and her life took 91 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,839 Speaker 1: on a very different course. For a little background on 92 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: de Nunzio, he was famous already at this point for 93 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,039 Speaker 1: his romantic exploits with actresses and socialites throughout Europe. He 94 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: is sometimes credited as the inventor of fascism, and an 95 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: Atlas Obscure article written about him in late described de 96 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: Nunzio as quote across between the marquis assad Aaron Burr, 97 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,039 Speaker 1: i'm rand and Madonna. So that gives you an idea 98 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: of what he may have been like as a person. 99 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,280 Speaker 1: Uh De Nunzio wrote in his novel Il Piacere in 100 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: eight nine, quote it's necessary that the life of an 101 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 1: intellectual be artwork with him as the subject. The Nunzio 102 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:04,840 Speaker 1: first saw the Marquesa as she rode on horseback one 103 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:08,359 Speaker 1: day during a fox hunt. He wasn't participating in this 104 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,839 Speaker 1: fox hunt, he was just watching. When he saw the woman, 105 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: who he later likened to quote a slender Amazon, he 106 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: was immediately taken with her, and from that moment on 107 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: he made sure to attend many of the same hunting 108 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: parties as the Cassatis did, just so he could get 109 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: close to her. When he did at first start by 110 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: flirting with her sister, he remained fixated on the Marquesa. Yeah, 111 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: there are many theories as to whether he was just 112 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: lavishing attention on her sister is a way to get 113 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 1: Louise's attention, or if he was just maybe playing the 114 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: odds hoping either of these heiresses would be into him. 115 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: But for Luisa's part, at this point, she was already 116 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: growing really frustrated with the role of wife. She felt 117 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 1: like she was confined by the expectations of it, and 118 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: she was progressively less and less shy. As it seems 119 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: she looked to others for social stimulation. In and slowly, 120 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,600 Speaker 1: throughout the course of a series of hunts and events 121 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: where de Nunzio made sure he was there, she became 122 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: aware of him, and he was nearly twenty years older 123 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: than she was, and his jouis davive and his adventurous 124 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: spirit eventually captivated her, though he was far from being 125 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 1: an especially handsome man. But it wasn't long before Luisa 126 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: and de Nunzio began a sexual relationship, so the affair 127 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: that the two of them had was intense. Casati became 128 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: de Nunzio's muse, and Casati's husband seemed to just ignore 129 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: the whole situation. Soon Louisa, who do Nunzio had called 130 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: quote destroyer of mediocrity in one of his book dedications, 131 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: had become the toast of Europe's avant garde set. Uh. Yeah, 132 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: we'll talk a little bit more about uh Camillo Casati 133 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: and why he seemed to be okay with ignoring this 134 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: situation in a bit. Uh. But we should say that 135 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: while Luisa and de Nunzio were sort of gallivanting around Europe, 136 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: it was not as though everyone immediately accepted the pair. 137 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: While mistresses were certainly common for wealthy men. For a 138 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: wealthy married woman to fairly openly pursue a romance with 139 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: a man who was not her husband was still considered 140 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:15,239 Speaker 1: quite scandalous, and Louisa often found herself the subject of gossip, 141 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: both whispered and in print, although it did not seem 142 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 1: to bother her, She actually seemed to kind of like it. 143 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: She also started to gather a list of very high 144 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: profile friends and admirers. As their list of high profile 145 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: friends and admirers got longer and longer, Ma Kasa Luisa 146 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: Kasati continued to evolve. She constantly up to the bar 147 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 1: on her own outlandishness to basically keep people interested in 148 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: her and feed all the stories in the gossip columns. 149 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: So not only was she not bothered by the gossips, 150 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:48,160 Speaker 1: she was encouraging it. Yeah, that goes on throughout her life. Um, 151 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: and she was such an unusual character that she became 152 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: almost mythical. Her extreme appearance, which we'll talk about in 153 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: a bit, uh fostered all manner of gossip and speculation 154 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: that was both tied to and reaching owned any that 155 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: had circulated about her affair with De Nunzio. And she 156 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 1: seems as tracy just said to have consciously nurtured the 157 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: more outlandish stories that were told about her in social 158 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: circles and society pages. Living in the vast luxurious homes 159 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: that she stared with her husband, because they did have 160 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: several homes, often left the Marquisa feeling lonely, isolated and bored. 161 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 1: She countered this problem by throwing really lavish balls and parties, 162 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: often for charity. She was often outfitted in the most 163 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: extreme and showy ensembles for these themed events. And we're 164 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:38,559 Speaker 1: gonna talk more about how Kasati started to morph into 165 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: an almost entirely different person after she met De Nunzio 166 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: in just a moment, But first we're gonna pause for 167 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: a word from one of our sponsors. Throughout the years 168 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: following nineteen o three, when she first met De Nunzio, 169 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: the marquis that changed dramatically. Uh Do Nunzio's idea of 170 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: self creation is art, which we mentioned a moment ago 171 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 1: really struck a chord with Luisa and Kasati was naturally 172 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: a very striking figure. You'll remember that he saw her 173 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,200 Speaker 1: riding on horseback and was completely taken with her. She 174 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 1: was six ft tall and she was very very thin, 175 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: But she actually chose to accentuate these physical traits rather 176 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 1: than minimizing them, and she created a sort of character 177 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: in the way that she chose to present herself. So 178 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,839 Speaker 1: her hair, which was naturally sort of a dark brown color, 179 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 1: slowly shifted in shades to become a brighter and brighter 180 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 1: shade of red. She powdered her skin so it would 181 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: be as pale as possible, and she took on the 182 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: habit of maintaining a constant smoky eye appearance by applying 183 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: plenty and plenty of coal eyeliner. She was really dedicated 184 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,839 Speaker 1: to maintaining a very heavy, dark eyed look. Sometimes she 185 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:56,440 Speaker 1: would go so far as to glue strips of black 186 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: velvet around her eyes in addition to always wearing these 187 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: very heavy a lashes. Sometimes she would have several layers 188 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: of lashes on at a time. I have hard enough 189 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:12,840 Speaker 1: time with one on the rare occasion that I have 190 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: reason to wear eyelashes. She's even said to have taken 191 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:19,200 Speaker 1: Bella Donna and regular doses to try to keep her 192 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:25,000 Speaker 1: pupils dilated for the aesthetic effect, which also sounds very difficult. 193 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: All of this artifice was because she wanted in her 194 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: own words, to become quote a living work of art, 195 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: and the sentiment was very clearly in line with De 196 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 1: Nunzio's ideology as an artist like you, I can't imagine 197 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: that that much heaviness. At times, she allegedly wore false 198 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: eyelashes that were like two inches long and then layered 199 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,839 Speaker 1: it would feel like a chandelier. But it did make 200 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: her quite striking and memorable. Well. I remember at my wedding, 201 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: my lashes were really two different lashes, but one of 202 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: them was like a half set m hm. And even 203 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:07,320 Speaker 1: then that was a lot of eyelash too much. I 204 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:09,839 Speaker 1: wonder about the strength of her eyelids, like they were 205 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: constantly getting a workout. Um all of these changes in 206 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: her appearance, because up to this point she really had 207 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: kind of looked like the classic well dressed, almost Gibson 208 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: girl esque image. But these changes did not go unnoticed 209 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: by Kasati's friends and acquaintances, and so as she stepped 210 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 1: farther and farther out of her demure appearance as a 211 00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:33,719 Speaker 1: wife of nobility, people actually began to speculate that there 212 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: may be some occult influence that was being exerted by 213 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: de Nunzio that was causing this shift in her appearance 214 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:41,959 Speaker 1: and behavior, because it was so dramatic. When I went 215 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,600 Speaker 1: to find artwork to go with this episode, uh, my 216 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: first thought after oh yeah, was is it Halloween already? 217 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 1: It's always Halloween, Tracy. So for his part, Denuncio was 218 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:01,520 Speaker 1: equally under her spell. So he had seduced a lot 219 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: of women in his time, and he would eventually move 220 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,760 Speaker 1: on when either his interest in them or their money 221 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: ran out. But Luisa really kept his attention in part 222 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: because she just stayed really obsessed with herself and her transformation. 223 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,319 Speaker 1: She was more obsessed with that than she was with him, 224 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,719 Speaker 1: and that and their shared love of aesthetics and decadence 225 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: really fueled their romance. Neither of them was tethered to 226 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:33,080 Speaker 1: the other, but they stayed involved romantically for decades. Yeah, 227 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 1: I was reading in in one account that part of 228 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: the reason was that she always met him as an equal, 229 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:42,280 Speaker 1: like she never fell into the the traditional role of 230 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 1: a woman is subservient when she was with him, and 231 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: so he sort of was very intoxicated by that. In 232 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: nineteen o six, Camilo Kasati, her husband, commissioned another home, 233 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 1: this one in Rome and Luisa was given complete control 234 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 1: over its decor and the move, at least for part 235 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 1: of her time to Rome. Remember, she lived in many 236 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,960 Speaker 1: houses facilitated Louisa meeting some new friends who were as 237 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: obsessed with art as she was, including the painter and 238 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:15,559 Speaker 1: sculptor Alberto Martini and the futurist Felippo Tomaso Marinetti. Through 239 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: De Nunzio, she also met with the celebrated portrait painter 240 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: Giovanni Bordini. This artist was instantly fascinated with Luisa and 241 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: he wanted to paint her in his studio in Paris, so, 242 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:31,400 Speaker 1: without hesitation, she moved immediately and temporarily to France. She 243 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:35,360 Speaker 1: left her husband, her child, and many many households behind. 244 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: When Baldini's painting, which features the Marquesa clad almost entirely 245 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 1: in black with accents of purple, accompanied by a greyhound 246 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: and sort of gazing directly out from the campus, when 247 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 1: this was unveiled as part of a show of portraits Bibaldini, 248 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: it got a lot of attention, and it was both 249 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,760 Speaker 1: praised as the apex of Baldini's work and criticized as 250 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 1: having a vaguely demonic air about it Uh and that 251 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: controversial assortment of attention to the work completely delighted Louisa Casati, 252 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: but her delight quickly turned to anger when she discovered 253 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: that Boldini had denied magazines the right to print reproductions 254 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: of the portrait. She really wanted that press, and after 255 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 1: the artist and his subject bickered over the matter, primarily 256 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: through a series of letters back and forth, Boldini finally consented, 257 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 1: although he was convinced it would lead to a degradation 258 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 1: of his reputation because of the bad prince that would 259 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: be produced. Meanwhile, De Nunzio was obsessed with Venice, and 260 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 1: that sparked Cassatti's own love affair with that city, so 261 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: the Marquesa decided she needed a home there too. She 262 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 1: had actually set the wheels in motion before this portrait 263 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 1: trip to Paris, but it wasn't until after the painting 264 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,000 Speaker 1: had been shown that a lease was found that would 265 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: suit her needs. In Marquesa, Louisa Casati moved into the 266 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: Palazzo Vignier de Leoni, and construction on this unfinished Venice 267 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 1: palace wasly begun in the mid seventeen hundreds. The luxurious 268 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,160 Speaker 1: home which sits right on the Canal was never completed 269 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: by its architect, Lorenzo Boschetti, but even unfinished, it was 270 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: the perfect place from Marquesa Kasati to indulge her every 271 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: flamboyant whim So first she had the structure restored and decorated, 272 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 1: but she insisted that this restoration still retained the sense 273 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,920 Speaker 1: of deterioration that the building had had. She just wanted 274 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 1: it to be structurally sound so that it would not 275 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 1: literally deteriorate around her. She also hired a permanent gondolier 276 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: who was always dressed in eighteenth century clothing, complete with 277 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:41,280 Speaker 1: a powdered wig yea. There are stories about how the 278 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,880 Speaker 1: the people who owned the other homes in the area 279 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,240 Speaker 1: were really excited initially that it was being renovated because 280 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 1: it had gotten a little dilapidated and was something of 281 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: an eyesore. And then they realized there was nothing being 282 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 1: done on the outside. They're like, oh, it's it's still 283 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: gonna look like a mess um. But she loved it 284 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: that way, and in setting up her new home, Luisa 285 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,720 Speaker 1: had her greyhounds transported to Venice, and then she purchased 286 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:09,879 Speaker 1: two cheetah's as pets as well. She would eventually start 287 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:12,880 Speaker 1: taking the cheetahs out in her gondola and walking them 288 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:17,480 Speaker 1: through Venice on jeweled leashes. To complete her image in 289 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: her new city, Marquesa, Casati turned to the designer Mariano Fortuny. 290 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: Long lean lines and rich colors and luxurious fabrics that 291 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:29,960 Speaker 1: for Tunia is famous for made the already tall and 292 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 1: then Marquesa look even more extreme, so she became a 293 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:37,880 Speaker 1: really devoted customer. By this point, Luisa and Camillo, who 294 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: preferred rome, we're living almost entirely separate lives. Their daughter, Christina, 295 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:45,440 Speaker 1: who was nine when Louisa moved into her Venetian palace, 296 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 1: was sent to boarding school. In effect, Luisa had completely 297 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: rid herself of any of her familial obligations, and Camillo 298 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,119 Speaker 1: Casati was dependent enough on his estranged wife's wealth that 299 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,199 Speaker 1: he really didn't make a fuss about her essentially abandoning 300 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 1: him and her daughter. The pair did eventually legally separate, 301 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:08,359 Speaker 1: but that was several years into Luisa's carefully cultivated life 302 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 1: on the canal in nineteen fourteen, and it was another 303 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:15,919 Speaker 1: decade before they would actually be divorced. Luisa incidentally insisted 304 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:18,399 Speaker 1: that she get to keep the title of Marquesa. In 305 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 1: that divorce settlement, the Marquesa, who the residence of Venice 306 00:18:22,119 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: started to call La Kasati, became famous for the parties 307 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,880 Speaker 1: that she both threw and attended. She became the ultimate 308 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 1: party girl. She spent massive sums of money on drinks 309 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:36,040 Speaker 1: as well as opium, and at one soire, a Russian 310 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 1: ballet dancer named Vaslav Najinski and an American dancer being 311 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:45,000 Speaker 1: Isadora Duncan gave an impromptu performance for the other lucky 312 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:49,679 Speaker 1: attendees who were there. That sounds amazing. She also had 313 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: a wax version of herself made and at times she 314 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: would do things like sit in a dimly lit room 315 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 1: with it during her parties to see how guests would 316 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:01,679 Speaker 1: behave when they wandered in and discovered this duo and 317 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: this waxen doppelganger would sometimes accompany her to dress fittings, 318 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:08,000 Speaker 1: or it would be seated at the dining table as 319 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,200 Speaker 1: though it was a guest, and at one point De 320 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 1: Nunzio even planned to include the wax figure in a 321 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,679 Speaker 1: narrative that he was writing, although it appears at that project, 322 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 1: which was a short story, never really came to fruition 323 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: or if it did, it was lost to time. A 324 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: key part of her image, particularly at all these parties, 325 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: was Laka Sati's wardrobe. There are descriptions on top of 326 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,480 Speaker 1: descriptions about her dresses and her jewels and her accessories. 327 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: She said to have adopted the habit of shopping in 328 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,679 Speaker 1: Venice with her cheetahs wearing nothing but an incredibly luxurious 329 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:43,520 Speaker 1: dressing gown. She's even been described at times as wearing 330 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: more perfume than clothing. This was also the period of 331 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,560 Speaker 1: her life where she regularly patronized another one of our 332 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:55,480 Speaker 1: past podcast subjects, designer Paul Poor A. Yeah, she definitely 333 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: liked to draw the eye, which was sometimes in a 334 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: wild outfit. There an image if you if you do 335 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 1: an Internet search for her, you'll find an image of 336 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 1: her in this wonderfully bizarre looking dress that's made of 337 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,160 Speaker 1: light bulbs. But then she would also just kind of 338 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: count on using a bit of nudity to try to 339 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: get the same attention if the clothes weren't doing the trick. 340 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:17,760 Speaker 1: There's one story of her at a party where she 341 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 1: insisted she couldn't breathe and she just cut her dress 342 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:24,560 Speaker 1: off of herself. So she definitely was into the exhibitionism. 343 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:27,880 Speaker 1: She would also have outfits made by Balletus costume designer 344 00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:31,920 Speaker 1: Leon Boxed as well, and increasingly the difference between her 345 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,959 Speaker 1: fancy dress ensembles and her everyday clothes became kind of indiscernible. 346 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:38,600 Speaker 1: And at the same time, she felt her wardrobe had 347 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:41,359 Speaker 1: to be constantly augmented to top what had come before. 348 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:45,800 Speaker 1: So uh she was always adding to that and the 349 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 1: amusement park that her palace had become. She just kept 350 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 1: wanting more and more and more of everything. In addition 351 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,680 Speaker 1: to the dogs and the cheetahs, there were monkeys, birds, 352 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:58,680 Speaker 1: and other wild cats. She then became obsessed with snakes. 353 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:01,439 Speaker 1: She started with small all snakes and eventually worked her 354 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,720 Speaker 1: way up to a boa constrictor. She also wanted the 355 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 1: snakes to travel with her, and she commissioned expensive boxes 356 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:11,880 Speaker 1: from jewelers that she could carry them with her when 357 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:15,919 Speaker 1: she had ventured away from Venice. She's also alleged to 358 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: have convinced a zoo in Rome to lend her a 359 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 1: lion so that she could have it tethered to the 360 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:26,359 Speaker 1: throne that she kept in her home. So while Casati 361 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,480 Speaker 1: was by all accounts a lover of animals comes up 362 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 1: over and over that she loved them. The manners we 363 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: have to say in which she kept them were obviously 364 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:40,560 Speaker 1: not kind by today's standards. Keeping primates, confining cages, taking 365 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: wildcats out on leashes, making leopards pull her in a chariot, 366 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: and sedating snakes so that she could wear them as 367 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:51,280 Speaker 1: jewelry are obviously all very very problematic. Uh. In short, 368 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:54,639 Speaker 1: keeping exotic animals as pets is generally a bad idea, 369 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:59,679 Speaker 1: and especially so when they are considered fashion accessories. But 370 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 1: for all that extreme extravagance, Livisa always wanted more, So 371 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,239 Speaker 1: we're going to dive into some of the ways that 372 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:16,440 Speaker 1: she pursued it after we pause for another quick sponsor break. 373 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,439 Speaker 1: When even her home wasn't an exciting enough space for 374 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: her decadent masked balls and costume parties, Cassati actually managed 375 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:28,360 Speaker 1: to get permission to use Venice's Piazza San Marco as 376 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:32,120 Speaker 1: her own private party space. She hosted a grand ball 377 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: there in September, which was an eighteenth century themed masquerade ball, 378 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:41,680 Speaker 1: and the Marquesa made a grand entrance by boat after 379 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,879 Speaker 1: the rest of the guests had arrived, heralded by trumpet 380 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: and accompanyed by her cheetahs. Cassati also became increasingly interested 381 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: in the occult while living in Venice, and she would 382 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: seek out seances and other gatherings of like minded people 383 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,920 Speaker 1: all through Europe. She would also invite people who seemed 384 00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:02,199 Speaker 1: to have connections to the spirit world to live in 385 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:05,800 Speaker 1: her home as Venice in Venice as guests for long 386 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:09,360 Speaker 1: periods of time. Yes, she had people that lived there 387 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:14,040 Speaker 1: for years. And perhaps in line with her complete indulgence 388 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:17,119 Speaker 1: in her own fantasy world, is the unrest of World 389 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:20,679 Speaker 1: War One began, Luisa was almost indifferent to it. She 390 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 1: was actually in Paris on August third, nineteen fourteen, when 391 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,439 Speaker 1: Germany declared war on France, and the next day, in 392 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:29,800 Speaker 1: her suite at the Ritz, she rang her bell for 393 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:32,520 Speaker 1: breakfast service, which was incidentally in the afternoon for her, 394 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: and she was irritated when no one came to bring 395 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 1: her food. She allegedly ran down into the the hotel 396 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 1: lobby and discovered a bunch of soldiers there, and that 397 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:47,440 Speaker 1: same day Great Britain declared war on Germany. Cassati really 398 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 1: weathered the war in relative ease. She took advantage of 399 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 1: that time to patronize new artists and basically continue her 400 00:23:55,640 --> 00:24:00,639 Speaker 1: lavish lifestyle. In nineteen Cassati's sister Francesca eyed during the 401 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: Spanish flu epidemic. Francesca had been the one family member 402 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:07,719 Speaker 1: that Louisa had retained a relationship with. Although there's no 403 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:12,240 Speaker 1: real account of how the loss affected the Marquesa, that's 404 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 1: something that comes up over and over. There's not much 405 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,760 Speaker 1: recorded about her like emotional state at some of these times, 406 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,880 Speaker 1: so whether that's just because she kept it private because 407 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,439 Speaker 1: it did not add to the exterior mystique that she 408 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:29,680 Speaker 1: was working to cultivate or not is unclear. She continued 409 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 1: to travel the world, amazing, amusing, and sometimes dismaying her 410 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,880 Speaker 1: hosts in various measures with her outlandish attire, which sometimes 411 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:40,439 Speaker 1: included a walking stick that was almost as tall as 412 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 1: she was, which was actually a flask from which she 413 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: would serve herself absinthe. During a lengthy stay on the 414 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,400 Speaker 1: island of Capri, she wore only black and she dyed 415 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 1: her hair bright green, but then eventually darkened it black 416 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:55,679 Speaker 1: as well, and her sort of bizarre behavior and appearance 417 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 1: led to rumors spreading among the locals there in Capri 418 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,440 Speaker 1: that she actually slept in a coffin. Though she remained 419 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 1: her same self, the post war world was less and 420 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 1: less her oyster. A lot of her rich friends that 421 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: she had been partying with for years were struggling financially 422 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,200 Speaker 1: after World War One. They couldn't keep up with her anymore. 423 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 1: And then, to make matters worse, ready to wear clothing 424 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: was becoming stylish, which is something we've talked about in 425 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: past episodes. Ready to wear clothes were utter anathema to her. 426 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 1: The custom closet of expensive garments that she was used 427 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:35,760 Speaker 1: to having became difficult to maintain when many designers making 428 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,960 Speaker 1: those garments were closing up shop. Her trademark white skin 429 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,959 Speaker 1: and red lip, which she maintained, started to look dated 430 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: instead of glamorous. And at the same time, Louisa was 431 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: tiring of her homes in Italy, and so she purchased 432 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,359 Speaker 1: the Grand Trianon in Versailles, which was known as the 433 00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:57,160 Speaker 1: Palais Rose because of its pink marble exterior, and just 434 00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: as she had done in Venice, Cassati spared no expense, 435 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:05,120 Speaker 1: creating another spectacle of decor and indulgence. It was in 436 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,879 Speaker 1: the Palais Rose at the end of June, which was 437 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:11,840 Speaker 1: deep in the decade known as n a Fool or 438 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 1: Crazy Years in France, Casati, through a massive party called 439 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:20,960 Speaker 1: Soire mag the Marquesa, was costumed as the Count Cagliostro, 440 00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: who had been an Italian magician and occultist in the 441 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:27,680 Speaker 1: late seventeen hundreds. Casati Is ensemble for the event included 442 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:31,119 Speaker 1: a crystal sword and a suit made of silver and gold. 443 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,399 Speaker 1: A photographer from Vogue magazine was actually on hand to 444 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 1: capture the event, but this lavish, primarily outdoor party was 445 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:43,200 Speaker 1: upstaged by the weather when a storm rolled in as 446 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 1: the costume guests were conducting a parade. Everyone had to 447 00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:50,119 Speaker 1: make a run for it, and as that storm whipped in, Cassati, 448 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:52,840 Speaker 1: who literally her clothes were being whipped off of her 449 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: by this weather, brandished her sword to try to rally 450 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,360 Speaker 1: the revelers, but then she fainted and the evening came 451 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 1: to a rapid than unpleasant clothes there were a lot 452 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: of other things that happened that night that did not 453 00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 1: go well. Allegedly, one attendee even spent the night locked 454 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,879 Speaker 1: in a closet for having committed this sin of wearing 455 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: an outfit similar to the hostess. All of this lavish living, 456 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:19,920 Speaker 1: the costumes, the animals, the drinks, and the houses. Obviously, 457 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,919 Speaker 1: they were expensive. Luisa soon blazed through the fortune she 458 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,239 Speaker 1: had inherited as a teenager. By n thirty, she had 459 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:29,920 Speaker 1: also taken on massive debt, alleged to be as high 460 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: as twenty five million dollars in modern worth. Desperate to 461 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 1: try to settle some of those debts, Kasati traded many 462 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: of her priceless pieces of art away, and she sold 463 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,399 Speaker 1: items from her home. She also started to borrow money 464 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:46,639 Speaker 1: from shady people to try to make up gaps in 465 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:51,600 Speaker 1: her finances, which only created worse problems. Additionally, she still 466 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: couldn't manage to control her spending habits. After a lifetime 467 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,560 Speaker 1: of just throwing money around without a care, an auction 468 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:02,600 Speaker 1: was held at the Palais in December ninety two, and 469 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 1: almost all of the Marquesa's personal possessions were up for grabs. 470 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: The Pale Rose itself was mortgaged several months later and 471 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:15,120 Speaker 1: passed to one of Cassatti's creditors. Luisa initially moved into 472 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,200 Speaker 1: an apartment in Paris, but after just six months there 473 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,760 Speaker 1: she had no permanent address in the city. She basically 474 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:25,400 Speaker 1: moved from hotel to hotel. She depended on the generosity 475 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: of friends to cover her expenses. In ninety eight, the 476 00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:32,000 Speaker 1: person who Luisa had been closest to for the longest 477 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: length of time in her life, Gabrielle de Nunzio, died, 478 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: just as with her sister. There is no record of 479 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:41,720 Speaker 1: her reaction to this passing, and she did not attend 480 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: his funeral. Meanwhile, Camilo Casati had remarried and settled into 481 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:50,480 Speaker 1: a quiet life. Christina Casati had married Frances Hastings, the 482 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:54,480 Speaker 1: sixteenth Earl of Huntingdon, and Marquesa. Casati would sometimes visit 483 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:57,560 Speaker 1: them in their home in Britain. In nineteen thirty four, 484 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: Hastings painted a portrait of Luisa. Yeah, so she had 485 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:03,960 Speaker 1: a relationship with her daughter, but it seems like it 486 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 1: was To my reading, it feels almost like, um here 487 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: is my odd distant relative than than like the closeness 488 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 1: that a mother and daughter would normally share. Uh and 489 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: eventually to escape her debts in France and Italy and 490 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,200 Speaker 1: a reputation that had been built on a lifetime of 491 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:26,640 Speaker 1: invited gossip that then at this point made her basically 492 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 1: a pariah in high society. Casati moved permanently to Great Britain, 493 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 1: although it's unclear exactly when this move happened. By two 494 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 1: she was destitute, and by the late nineteen fifties, be 495 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,920 Speaker 1: Satti was living in London in a series of small flats. 496 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,800 Speaker 1: She never stayed in one for very long. Over the 497 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,880 Speaker 1: intervening years, she had subsisted on small, regular donations of 498 00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:51,040 Speaker 1: money from her friends. They wanted to keep her from 499 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: having to beg but they knew that if they gave 500 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 1: her lump sums, she would just spend it all and 501 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:59,720 Speaker 1: then be back to asking for help. The ones exquisitely 502 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,520 Speaker 1: out it in Marquesa was sometimes seem rummaging and trash 503 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,600 Speaker 1: bins for bits of velvet or lace to adorn herself, 504 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:09,840 Speaker 1: and there are numerous accounts, even from the people who 505 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:13,920 Speaker 1: loved her dearly, of her ongoing substance abuse. She could 506 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:18,000 Speaker 1: be at turns her most charming and delightful self, or 507 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:23,080 Speaker 1: an angry and unpredictable specter of her former glory. Her daughter, Christina, 508 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:26,040 Speaker 1: who had divorced and remarried at this point, helped her 509 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:28,960 Speaker 1: mother as she could, but then Christina died of breast 510 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:32,920 Speaker 1: cancer in nineteen fifty three and her later years, Marquesa 511 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,520 Speaker 1: Louisa Casati was largely cut off for most of the 512 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:41,000 Speaker 1: society that had once celebrated her, she no longer corresponded. 513 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:44,640 Speaker 1: She had started believing she was telepathic. She engaged in 514 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 1: seances with a handful of friends and acquaintances who were 515 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 1: making up her social circle by the end of her life. 516 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,600 Speaker 1: She died of a stroke on June one, nineteen fifty seven, 517 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: at the age of seventy six. A friend and frequent 518 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,880 Speaker 1: seance participant named Sydney farm snuck into her home after 519 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:04,440 Speaker 1: learning that she had died, and took her Pekinese dog, 520 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,600 Speaker 1: which was taxidermy in a pair of false eyelashes, which 521 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 1: he then spruced up. This was not to steal them, 522 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 1: but to make sure that someone who knew and cared 523 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:17,200 Speaker 1: about her preserved them for her funeral Marchesa Casati was 524 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:20,760 Speaker 1: buried five days after she died, with the taxidermy dog 525 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:24,280 Speaker 1: and the false eyelashes, dressed in black and leopard at 526 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:28,080 Speaker 1: Brompton Cemetery, one of the oldest garden cemeteries in London. 527 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,040 Speaker 1: Among those in attendance, which was a very small number, 528 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: was Emilio Basildella, who was Kasati's gondolier from Venice. Luisa's 529 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:42,320 Speaker 1: Venice home was purchased in nineteen forty nine by Peggy Guggenheim. 530 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:46,200 Speaker 1: Was Guggenheim's home for thirty years, and beginning in nineteen 531 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:49,840 Speaker 1: fifty one, the American socialite would open her Venice home, 532 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: which was filled with art, to the public. In nineteen 533 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:56,840 Speaker 1: eighty one, year after Guggenheim died, it was open to 534 00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:59,880 Speaker 1: the public for good as the Guggenheim Museum, which it 535 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,120 Speaker 1: means today. So if you wish to walk in Marquesa 536 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:07,000 Speaker 1: Luisa Casati's decadent footsteps, you can still visit her former 537 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:11,560 Speaker 1: residence in Venice. Yeah, as I was talking about her 538 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:15,120 Speaker 1: to a number of people, particularly over the weekend, I 539 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:17,560 Speaker 1: saw a lot of friends and several of them have 540 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:20,280 Speaker 1: traveled throughout Italy and I was saying, oh, you know, 541 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: have you been to the Guggenheim in Venice And they 542 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:23,560 Speaker 1: would go, yes, it's amazing, and I'm like, that is 543 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:28,120 Speaker 1: where she lived, and they would go, Holy Moses, because 544 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:30,920 Speaker 1: it's an impressive structure. If you have ever heard of 545 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:34,640 Speaker 1: the fashion brand Marquesa, it is named after her. Many 546 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:39,200 Speaker 1: many designers have used Luisa Casati as inspiration for their collections, 547 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,720 Speaker 1: and there has been speculation that her unique look, tall 548 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:44,960 Speaker 1: and gaunt, was a big part of what drove the 549 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:48,720 Speaker 1: fashion industry to seek out models exclusively of that body 550 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:52,840 Speaker 1: type for many years. Writer Quentin Crisp described Casati in 551 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 1: the forward to her biography as quote, a picturesque ruin 552 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: of a woman. They also made a really insightful observe 553 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:02,200 Speaker 1: ation that goes a long way and examining how a 554 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:04,920 Speaker 1: woman who in her youth seemed set to live a secure, 555 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 1: conventional life ended up taking such a dramatically different path. 556 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:13,200 Speaker 1: Chris wrote, quote, without question, the Marquesa Casati was an exhibitionist, 557 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:16,800 Speaker 1: but exhibitionism is a potent drug. After a short time, 558 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:20,440 Speaker 1: a dosk's strong enough to kill a novice no longer works. 559 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:25,840 Speaker 1: And in a similar sentiment, painter and illustrator Alberto Martini, 560 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:28,200 Speaker 1: who of course we mentioned in the episode she knew 561 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,440 Speaker 1: he was one of the many artists she became friends with, 562 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:33,600 Speaker 1: and he actually worked as Cassatti's personal painter for a time, 563 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:38,000 Speaker 1: wrote in his autobiography that the Marquesa quote lived partly 564 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 1: as a slave to her dream world, and finally Jean 565 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,960 Speaker 1: Cocteau once wrote of Marquesa Luisa Casati, she astonished, she 566 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:51,000 Speaker 1: did not please. So that's the Marquesa Luisa Cassatti who 567 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:55,880 Speaker 1: is a mind bender for me. She's very fascinating. It's 568 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:57,320 Speaker 1: one of those things where you kind of want to 569 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:01,200 Speaker 1: love her, but then you're like, it's difficult. I think 570 00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:08,840 Speaker 1: probably many people in her life felt the same way. 571 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:11,640 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us today for this classic. 572 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,400 Speaker 1: If you have heard any kind of email address or 573 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:16,279 Speaker 1: maybe a Facebook you are l during the course of 574 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:18,920 Speaker 1: the episode, that might be obsolete. It might be doubly 575 00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:22,319 Speaker 1: obsolete because we have changed our email address again. 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