Piombi (The Leads in English) is a former prison in the Doge’s Palace in Venice. The name of the prison refers to its position directly under the roof of the palace, which was covered with slabs of lead. In winter, these slabs let the cold pass and they acted as a catalyst in the summer heat, imposing harsh conditions for inmates.
In 1755, Giacomo Casanova made a famous escape from the prison. He published the story of his escape in 1787.
Piombi: reblogged from Venice Beyond the Bridge
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Wikipedia has this to say:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giacomo_Casanova#Imprisonment_and_escape
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Thank you for the link, Andrew. If that is the true version of how he escaped, then “What a man”!
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If you go on the Secret Itinerary tour of the Doge’s Palace they take you up to where the cells ‘really were’, but even the most ‘devout believer’ of a guide says exactly that; he most likely persuaded one of his conquests to cross enough palms to allow him to escape.
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And, he had plenty of conquests who would have been eager to spring him out of there!
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Too bad he didn’t really look like Heath Ledger. I’ve seen his portraits. Guess it was those awful wigs they wore.
But I guess it was his “other” charms.
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I also doubt that he made it out the window….probably did what prisoners have done for eons…bribed a guard and walked out the front door. After all, legend has it that he then went to Florian’s for coffee;-)
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Another bad boy …
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Thank you to Venice Beyond the Bridge for this post.
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Thanks to you!
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Prego! I really liked this one.
Yvonne
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