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The life of Carlo Goldoni progressed from Venice – where he was born in. 1707, at ... Thus, in the prologue of his Mémoires, the eighty year old Carlo Goldoni.
English

House of Carlo Goldoni _ The Home of his Theatre

Accompanying booklet for the museum visit You are kindly requested to return this booklet upon ending your visit

Statira, musical drama by Carlo Goldoni, Venice, 1756. Title-page of the Pitteri edition _

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Il servitore di due padroni (The Servant of Two Masters). Comedy in three acts in prose, Venice, 1761 _

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The Life of Carlo Goldoni

The life of Carlo Goldoni progressed from Venice – where he was born in 1707, at Ca’ Centanni – to Paris, where he died in 1793. A child endowed with uncommon wits, he expressed his passion for the theatre very early, so that we find him very soon playing intently with toy puppet theatres and, as a boy just turned eight, composing his first theatrical plot. His family affairs led him to travel frequently around Italy: Perugia, Rimini, Modena, Milan… He would also be involved in military skirmishes and in actual events of war. Following various mishaps with tutors and schools, he finally achieved his degree in Law in Padua, in 1731. He was to be assistant-clerk and lawyer, then a consul of Genoa in Venice. None of these professions appealed to him, his thoughts and his time were always bent towards the satisfaction of his yearning for the theatre. He avidly read Italian and foreign playwrights, composing pieces in various genres (librettos for musical operas, tragicomedies, dramas, tragedies, satires and entr’actes, poetry).He entered into direct contact with the theatre world: impresarios, authors, actors and lovers, handmaids, masks, organisers; from 1734 to 1743 he was at the Grimanis’ service at the theatre of San Samuele. In 1747 he met the theatre impresario Gerolamo Medebach, signing a contract for the theatre at Sant’Angelo. His ‘reformation’ activity on Italian theatre thus began at this point; his comedies would no longer be tangled mannerisms but true and ‘modern’ theatre texts, entirely committed to paper, with the various roles defined and assigned, line after line. No more ribaldry and weird plots, no more repertoire cues, very few or no masks at all: enlightened and bourgeois, modern theatre was born at last. In 1750 Goldoni engaged in a sort of reckless challenge, composing 16 new plays in a single season. Albeit at the cost of a severe depression, Goldoni managed his task and among the new plays were also some masterpieces like La bottega del caffè (The Coffee Shop). In those same months he penned La famiglia dell’antiquario (The Antiquarian’s Family), Il teatro comico (Comic Theatre), Il Bugiardo (The Liar). Over the following decade fundamental plays such as Il Campiello (The Little Square), La locandiera (The Mistress of the Inn), Le donne curiose (The Curious Women), La casa nova (The New House), I Rusteghi (The Boors), Sior Todero Brontolon (Grumpy Mr. Todero), Le baruffe chiozzotte (The Chioggia Scuffles) (1762) followed each other. In 1753 he passed over to the theatre at San Luca, owned by Francesco Vendramin. By then, the topic in his plays was almost exclusively the world of the bourgeoisie, that new and increasingly characterised social class which increasingly supplanted the old traditional 3

aristocracy due to its dynamism, business acumen, cultural feelings, gusto for the modern. Summoned to Paris by the Théâtre-Italien, before leaving Venice Goldoni wrote Una delle ultime sere di carnevale (One of the Last Carnival Evenings), a sort of heart-rending farewell to his city. He reached Paris in November in 1762; he was to experience a last season of activity and success there, living between Paris and Versailles. In 1771 he dedicated himself to writing his Mémoires, an ironical and amusing autobiography, in a detached and cultured spirit. He died in Paris on 6 February 1793 in total poverty. Goldoni’s theatre output includes five tragedies, sixteen tragicomedies, one hundred and thirty-seven comedies, to which must be added, in the service of music, two sacred pieces, twenty entr’actes, thirteen dramas, forty-nine drammi giocosi, three farces and fifty-seven scenarios.

Mémoires de M. Goldoni. Tome premier, Paris, 1787. Frontispiece and title-page, Librairie Duchesne _

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Ca’ Centani, prospect on calle Centani _

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Ca’ Centani, prospect on the canal of San Tomà _

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Ca’ Centani, longitudinal section _

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Ca’ Centani: the House where Carlo Goldoni was born ground floor

“Je suis né à Venise, l’an 1707, dans une grande et belle maison, située entre le pont de Nomboli et celui de Donna onesta, au coin de rue de Ca’ Centanni, sur le paroisse de St. Thomas” [I was born in Venice, in 1707, in a large and beautiful house, situated between the Nomboli and Donna onesta bridges, on the corner of calle di Ca’ Centanni, in the parish of San Tomà]. Thus, in the prologue of his Mémoires, the eighty year old Carlo Goldoni – by then in Paris for twenty-five years – recalled his home of birth Ca’ Centani, or Centanni, better known as “Casa di Carlo Goldoni”, built in the 15th century. It is a typical, not excessively large, Gothic palace, but still presenting the layout and typical elements of civil Venetian architecture between the end of the 14th and the early 15th century in spite of its several renovations. The wide and well proportioned palace façade curves in order to follow the bend of the narrow canal it overlooks. The dominant element is the lovely quadruple-mullioned window with its slender columns and inflected arches in correspondence with the main, or noble floor. The ground floor, where the typical terracotta flooring confers a pleasantly old-fashioned and multi-coloured appearance, is composed of the porticoed hall towards the water-gate and by the suggestive courtyard with its open stairway supported upon progressively shrinking pointed arches, with a handrail in Istrian stone and simple small cylindrical columns, a little lion and a pine-cone. The upper floors feature a small throughsalon (the traditional portego or lobby in Venetian houses) onto which the other rooms of the house open; but the irregularity of the floor-plan has partially removed the central hub function which a portego of this kind almost always has in a building. Owned by the Rizzi family (the hedgehog carved in relief on the family arms may be seen on the well inside the courtyard) the palace was rented to the Zentani or Centani family, from whom its future name stemmed, and also hosted a thriving artistic and literary Academy. Around the end of the 17th century Carlo Goldoni’s paternal grandfather, Carlo Alessandro, a solicitor with origins in Modena, established himself there. The Goldoni family remained in this house, where Carlo was born on 25 February 1707, until 1719. In 1931, Ca’ Centani was bequeathed to the Venice Municipality so it might be restored and become a Goldoni museum and a centre for theatre studies. (from “Casa di Carlo Goldoni” Marsilio 2001) 7

Anonymous, 18th century. View of the Theatre of San Giovanni Grisostomo Etching, Venice, Museo Correr _

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Ludovico Ughi, Topographical plan of the city of Venice, 1729 _

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Francesco Guardi, Supper and ball at the Theatre of San Beneto _

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The Game-Board

A reproduction of the topographical plan by Lodovico Ughi (1729) has been superimposed upon an educational game-board in the portico on the ground floor, close to the water-gate. It is the most detailed ordnance-survey document representing the urban conditions of 18th century Venice: it depicts in highlight the areas in which the various town dwellings where Goldoni lived were located, as well as those where the many buildings which still made Venice one of the capitals of theatre culture in the 18th century stood.

The Houses where Carlo Goldoni lived Carlo Goldoni spent only about thirty years of his long life in Venice, furthermore fragmented over a period stretching from 1707 to 1762, the year in which he left Venice and departed for Paris. The houses where he found himself pacing out his Venetian life, with differing times and modes, were nine at least.

Theatres in Carlo Goldoni’s age In the course of the 18th century, Venice went through an animated season of novelties and of settling down for its theatrical facilities. Although a few play-theatres were shut down due to their being obsolete or inadequate, others were inaugurated; the most important theatres were subject to renovation, updating and new decorating. In the age of Goldoni the city could still count on around fifteen theatres, which engaged authors, actors, singers, musicians, stage-designers – the protagonists of showbiz offerings - in a prolific production, both under the aspect of quantity and that of variety.

(from “Casa di Carlo Goldoni” Marsilio 2001) 9

Carlo Goldoni’s House. Portego or lobby _

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Seven meditation exercises for Carlo Goldoni’s House Tiziano Scarpa

Crossing the rooms where Carlo Goldoni was born and grew up is a special experience. An inner, subdued experience, entrusted to your capacity for attention and meditation, but pervaded at the same time by a buzz that is impossible to stifle. Here are a few tips for visiting this house thoughtfully. First exercise: the crowd Between comedies, tragedies, tragicomedies, entr’actes, sacred pieces, musical dramas, drammi giocosi and scenarios, Goldoni wrote around three hundred theatre texts. Multiply them by a dozen characters each, and you’ll get an idea of the crowd of phantoms who took part in his life. Can you imagine them, all gathering together? Can you see them? They would fill a town square, an enormous auditorium, a conference centre, a sports arena. Now try and cram them inside these rooms, piled one above the other, up to the ceiling, all together, each one with its own voice, its desires, its anxieties, its claims, its complaints, and try to keep sane. Second exercise: the tussle Carlo Goldoni was assailed by thousands of characters, personalities, mentalities, cadences: a monster with a thousand voices who would have been able to make anybody lose his mind. This beast with a thousand heads has a name: it’s called The Others. Goldoni faced The Others one by one, entering the personality of each one, becoming all of them and their opposite: the stingy old man and the rash youth, the passionate widow and the cynical maiden, the judicious professional and the subversive conman... Imagine Goldoni trying to repel an assault by All of Them. These phantoms in his mind, in his room, in his pages, him fighting them one by one, in groups of two, three, four, scene after scene, listening to them, inking them, absorbing them, routing them. Third exercise: imagination Where do these phantoms come from? The set-up in this museum will help you in the most difficult, but also in the most fascinating of these meditations: imagine Carlo Goldoni’s imagination. Look at the decor. Pay attention to the furniture. This gaming table, this desk, this dormeuse sofa, this screen, this dining-room, this table, this cabinet, this chest... They seem innocuous scenery props. Normally, we are used to considering 11

them as stage-settings, almost like extensions of the characters, satelliteobjects dependent on them. Instead, they are the sources of the characters: they are phantom-producing machines. Imagine Goldoni’s gaze fixing itself on that chair, on the desktop where a sheaf of documents has been laid as if by chance...A vision gushes forth by slow stages from that inert furniture, from those creatures of wood and fabric crouching at home, a figure claims its reasons, the desk is oozing out a busy man, an anguished lawyer, who sets aside the documents he was examining, he needs a pause, he has been defending a client for a few days but now he realises he has fallen in love with the adverse party: his perplexity adds to his appeal, here is the phantom taking shape... Goldoni turns away and sees a chessboard, some dice, a chair. That piece of furniture exudes an aura too, it releases a shape, and this one too is not only contented with appearing, it needs a reason for existing, it is a gambler struggling against his conscience and easily finds a way for fooling it, but in so acting, it creates itself: the phantom begins to breathe, it moves... Fourth exercise: air-draughts Keep in mind two small details. In the puppet theatre room, you will find a tiny window on the left-hand wall focusing your glance, training it into axis with the narrow alley leading to the street entrance to the house. Also, there is a clever visual manhole next to the dormeuse couch, from where a check might be kept on the lower floor by watching the canal-entrance, the palace water-gate set in the portico floor. They’re telescope-glances, vertical looks, eye-plunges. They appear as ways to keep others under surveillance, but they’re vents for letting air-draughts in: visions insinuate themselves into the house, they overflow inside, from the walls, under the feet, spurting up with all the more force in relation to the narrowness of the openings. They are whiffs of imagination. Fifth exercise: the situation Paintings from Longhi’s School show a few possible pictorial equivalents of Goldonian theatre. Certainly not due to their stillness. Goldoni’s characters are not so rigid. Spirited, chatty, unkempt, conflictual, furious, they are distant relatives of these figurines paralyzed on canvas. But there is one thing that Goldoni’s and Longhi’s disciples have in common: situations, or the strong relationship between people and places. Carlo Goldoni positions: not because he takes his characters and drops them into a place, but, quite the opposite, because he takes a location and makes characters burst out of it. He observes the characteristics of a place, he listens to them, he sees phantoms erupting from it: from a kitchen, from a room, from a table, as they do in these paintings. The characters are embedded, rooted in their location, like plants. They are sentenced to it. They are perfectly pertinent to that room, to that little square, to that inn. Until someone arrives who does not fit in any more with the place allotted to him, and frets, subverts, brings foreign winds with him, making it possible for the next generation, or female autonomy, or the future, to burst forth. 12

Sixth exercise: dominion In his memoirs, Goldoni tells of how he played with puppets as a child, in a toy theatre his father got made for him, in this house. His father thus gave him a device for dominion, practicing in people manoeuvring. How does a puppet theatre teach you to manoeuvre others? In three ways: by shrinking them, moving them from above, giving them a voice. It is the glance downwards, from the manhole in the floor, as straight as a plumb-line, spying and ruling at the same time. It is the puppet who acts as a mouthpiece for the puppeteer, until one day it leaves him open-mouthed by starting to talk on its own accord. It is the string that moves the bodies but holds them up at the same time. It is the string that gives the puppeteer the thrill of dominating and cuffs him forever to his characters at the same time. Seventh exercise: the guest His face. The domestic version, the official version. The unobtrusive cap, the ceremonial wig. The headgear he has chosen, and the one society has dressed him up with. The writer version, the character version. One created the other: the writer created the character, the character created the writer, and both have denied each other. The gaze is serene, cheeks and chin are rounded, with few angles, all is soft and affable. One would happily invite him to supper. There is no wariness in letting this man enter one’s home. And instead he will lay you bare with two witticisms, he will annihilate you by thrusting you into a scene, he will ridicule you, he will show you who you really are... But this double portrait indicates that visitor and host are the same person. Carlo Goldoni has welcomed the most dangerous guest into his house: Carlo Goldoni. _

Tiziano Scarpa was born in Venice in 1963. Many biographies describe him as an eclectic author, but we shall say that he is especially and «only» an artist. His best-known novel is Stabat Mater (2008, Strega award in 2009): it is a story set at the beginning of the Eighteenth century in the ancient Ospitale della Pietà, in which Antonio Vivaldi used to compose music for orphan girls. His guide Venezia è un pesce (2000), in which Scarpa describes his city through the feelings of hands, feet, eyes, nose, mouth and heart, is widespread in Italy and abroad. An author of texts for the theatre, radio programmes, poetry, the protagonist of scenic readings at the theatre: who better than him, who has encountered Vivaldi, Goldoni, Leopardi within his pages, can capture the new spirit of Carlo Goldoni’s house nowadays? Also to be remembered, Cosa voglio da te (Einaudi 2003), Corpo (Einaudi 2004 and 2011), Groppi d’amore nella scuraglia (Einaudi 2005 e 2010), Amami (Mondadori 2007), Comuni mortali (Effigie 2007), L’infinito (Einaudi 2011).

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The Conversation (La conversazione) !

first floor

In this dramma giocoso for music, Goldoni describes the conversation at Madama Lindora’s house, where they laugh, jest, shout, quarrel and especially play and dance. The action is not much but the scenes run on quickly, wittily, naturally and, as regards the script, it is one of the best of his compositions in this genre. The author begins to make us smile from the very first lines, by celebrating the chocolate he loves, and makes us discover so many delightful characters: Monsieur Giacinto, the affected traveller, who uses a thousand languages out of context, the comic characters of Don Fabio, a poor aristocrat, and Sandrino, a rich plebeian, ready to boast and waste his money in every sort of game currently in vogue. The personality of Madama Lindora is striking, although it may be surprising that such a gay young widow should adapt herself to marrying the ridiculous traveller: the independent spirit of Lucrezia is more convincing and even the ”serious” scenes on the shy and jealous love between Filiberto and Berenice are not totally out of place within the playful entirety of the plot. With music by maestro Giuseppe Scolari from Vicenza, the drama was staged at the theatre of San Samuele during the 1758 carnival and some of the best Italian artistes of the comic genre acted in it.

The Scenery here depicted is inspired by the first Act - Scene 14 Upon his arrival at Madama Lindora’s House, Don Fabio scrounging for food is set back by Lucrezia, who invites all the guests present to enjoy themselves with a few games. The discussion on the choice of the one most popular with everybody offers us a view of the customs as well as the entertainments in vogue at the time. The scene is very enjoyable, for, besides describing fashionable games with a profusion of detail, it highlights and makes fun of the personalities of all the characters.

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Gaming-table for the “biribisso” game, on four truncated-pyramid legs narrowing beneath its top and tapering and provided with a drawer. The top, rectangular and folding, is decorated with lacquer on a dark red background, with decoupage applications on the top and down the legs, of figurines cut out, tinted and varnished. Second half of the 18th century.

The biribiss, biribisse, biribissi, biribisso: these are words with the same meaning and they refer to a game of pure gambling in which a player’s skill was not absolutely required, and that had considerable peaks of circulation in Venice too. The game is very simple and is made up of a special board divided into a certain quantity of boxes in varying quantity, but often numbering thirty-six; these boxes are numbered and also bear a characterising figure to distinguish them. Wooden balls, inside which were slips of paper each bearing a number and figure as those on the board, mostly pierced to guarantee maximum secrecy, correspond to the same quantity of boxes. The design of this game is normally directed towards the sphere of animals, fruit, masks, birds, flowers. Once all the balls are put into a pouch, the bank-holder proceeds to extract one, then calling the number and figure out aloud. The winner shall be the person who placed money on the box corresponding to the winning figure. The number of players can be unlimited. Chairs in carved wood, lacquered in olive green with floral decorations in green and yellow and red threading. The back is openwork, its central splat with three vertical slits. Padded seat with undulated apron beneath and red rosette motifs within the corner mounts; truncated pyramid legs. Late 18th century. Small gilded mirrors without candle-holders Candle-sticks in pewter with candles Small walnut table with rectangular top and rounded corners. Four legs with light scrollwork. 1750-1799 17

The Venetian Lawyer (L’ avvocato veneziano) !

first floor

With The Venetian lawyer, a comedy performed during the 1749-50 theatre season, not forgetting the profession he plied in Pisa Goldoni staged the positive character of a Venetian lawyer in contrast with theatre tradition which represented men of law as being pettifogging and meddlesome. He wrote in his Foreword: “’twas most just that I should convey to my much honoured profession that prominence, which rightly becomes it”. Lawyer Alberto Casaboni defends Florindo in a lawsuit against Rosaura and, having met his adversary, he falls in love with her. This engenders a struggle between duty and passion, which ends with both being triumphant: Rosaura will lose the lawsuit but will find a passionate and honest husband in Alberto. The comedy met with considerable success and was also performed abroad.

The Scenery here depicted is inspired by the first Act – Scene 1 Alberto Casaboni, a Venetian lawyer, is at his desk, committed to defending and advocating on behalf of Florindo against Rosaura, a client of doctor Balanzoni. He is already feeling tender thoughts for the maiden, whom he saw by chance at a balcony. Arriving to visit him, his friend Lelio tries to distract him from so much work by inviting him to a conversation in Beatrice’s house. But, faithful to his duty, Alberto tries to decline the invitation, procrastinating amusement to when the lawsuit be over…

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Desk veneer in walnut-root with central opening for the legs and a series of three side-drawers. An upper central drawer conceals three inner cubby-holes. Cambered outer shell. Inlaid threading. Cabriole feet. Veneto area; 1740 – 1760 Small armchairs with undulated fretwork back, carved with a figure-of-eight motif in the central splat. Worked armrests ending in a spiral. Padded seat. Lightly cabriole front legs and H-shaped stretcher. Veneto area; second half of the 18th century. Portrait of Carlo Goldoni: painting, oil on canvas by Alessandro Falca called Longhi. Veneto area; 1750 – 1775 Mirrors in gilded wood with arms; candle-holders Garment: male dressing-gown. Stage-costume: cloth embroidered with multicoloured threads, 20th century Martinuzzi Collection

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The Sharp-Witted Woman (La donna di garbo) !

first floor

Beloved by Goldoni in spite of its flaws «inasmuch ‘twas written in its entirety right from the start», “The Sharp-Witted Woman” was composed for the occasion of the 1743 carnival and performed at the San Samuele theatre in Venice. The protagonist is Rosaura, a woman who sees her reasons triumph over the male sex and class prejudices thanks to female arms and ruses, so much entrenched in that age. Topics which Goldoni will take up again many times in his comedies.

The Scenery here depicted is inspired by the third Act - Scene 6 At the Doctor’s house, Brighella gets the servants to set up a table and chairs for academicians. Harlequin is hiding himself under the table because he believes it is mealtime. The reproduced wall picture recalling the above-mentioned scene is to be found in volume 9, Pasquali Edition (1761) of the “Comedies by Carlo Goldoni, Veneto Lawyer”.

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Table covered by a drape, with scattered sheets of paper on top. Harlequin’s mask and his hat peep out from under the table

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The Obedient Daughter (La figlia obbediente) !

first floor

Comedy in three acts, performed for the first time in 1752, in which the romantic concessions beloved by the public’s taste at that time abound. Florindo, the son of a merchant from Livorno, loves Pantalone’s daughter Rosaura, but when his father gives him permission to marry her, she has already been betrothed by Pantalone to the rich and eccentric Count Ottavio. Florindo’s drama unravels around the distressed and anguished submission of Rosaura to the commitments her father has entered with Count Ottavio. Pantalone regrets the sacrifice of his daughter. The background action rolls out the affairs of Brighella, a somewhat degenerate father who got rich with money coming from the success of his daughter Olivetta, who is a ballerina and from whom a servant will steal everything, but whom Count Ottavio will cause to be apprehended. After various mishaps Count Ottavio decides to give up Rosaura, who will finally be able to marry her beloved Florindo. The Scenery here depicted is inspired by the second Act - Scene 4, 5 and 6 Rosaura, who has to humour her father, who has betrothed her to Count Ottavio, decides to inform her swain Florindo that “ my hand, over which he wields authority and control, will obey my father; but not so my heart, which is in no state to obey either him, nor my reason, nor my will. Yes, this heart is yours, my dear adored Florindo” But how to get the letter delivered to her lover? Her friend Beatrice intervenes, leading Florindo right into Rosaura’s chamber. The two lovers, talking and promising each other eternal love, will resist imprudent suggestions by Beatrice who tries to push them into a “contraband” wedding . But Pantalone as suddenly arrives surprising them, they all remain tongue-tied. Rosaura lowers her eyes; Florindo removes his hat and remains in confusion; Beatrice keeps shaking her head; finally Pantalone fixes his eyes on Rosaura, and says: ... The reproduced wall picture recalling the above-mentioned scene is to be found in volume 8, Pasquali Edition (1761) of the “Comedies by Carlo Goldoni, Veneto Lawyer”. 26

Table or console with rectangular top and bevelled corners, in curved carved wood with comb motifs, in shell and leaf-shapes, stylized. Four cabriole legs ending in roe-buck feet. Armchair 18th century Inkwell with goose quill pen and writing paper sheets, letter On the wall “Portrait of Carlo Goldoni with Cap” , Giambattista Piazzetta – Marco Alvise Pitteri, etching, 1754. This portrait dates to the very first months of 1754, as may be deduced from the letter dated 17 July 1754, sent by Goldoni to Marco Pitteri. In this letter the playwright expresses his most sincere appreciation for the work, thanking Pitteri for “the loving care in making me truly eternal with the excellent work of your hands” and also giving a first critical evaluation of it: “Bizzarre is this invention of a cap and my natural hair, making the resemblance more constant. The etching is moreover of such worth, that it will place this further work of yours alongside the most esteemed ones by your hand” and in truth, the etching is of the highest quality, characterised by noteworthy vitality and freshness in its engraving, particularly livened up even further by the informal cap which confers a jovial and youthful appearance to the then forty-seven year-old Goldoni. Unfortunately very few prints were made from this etching, because Pitteri altered the copper almost immediately, replacing the cap for a wig. (Filippo Pedrocco) “Portrait of Carlo Goldoni with Wig”, Giambattista Piazzetta – Marco Alvise Pitteri, etching, 1754 It is – in fact – a second stage of the portrait with the cap, where the cap gets substituted by the more formal wig. The reasons that led Pitteri to make this decision are not clear; the most credible theory is by Bottari, who thinks that the makeover initiative may have been taken autonomously by Pitteri “for having changed his mind”, perhaps wishing to avoid a break from the canons on “dignified” portraiture in that age. The effect of the cap replacement partly worsens the quality of the engraving, both due to the poor execution of the renewed bit, particularly where the wig hairline joins the forehead, both because in general the portrait lacks freshness, assuming a more formal tone, maybe less attuned with Goldoni’s personality. (Filippo Pedrocco) 29

The Fake Patient Woman (La finta ammalata) !

first floor

Presented successfully during carnival in 1751 with the title “The Apothecary, or the Fake Patient Woman”, this comedy approaches the comical theme of the imaginary sick person, a recurrent one in theatre traditions. Preoccupation reigns in the home of wealthy Pantalone, seeing that for some time now his beloved daughter Rosaura has been showing the symptoms of an illness. All attempts have been carried out so far by Pantalone and Beatrice, a friend of Rosaura’s, to make her better: the girl claims she cannot breathe and refuses food. The spectator will realise later that when she is not observed, the girl eats with gusto. The young woman reveals to her servant Colombina and to her friend Beatrice that she is in love, but she is reluctant to admit that she loves the very doctor who comes to check up on her, doctor Onesti. In addition, the girl has no intention of showing any signs of healing since her illness is the only way for receiving visits by the man she loves. One day, being tired of the lack of improvements and ignorant of his daughter’s true situation, Pantalone decides to replace doctor Onesti, and he summons various doctors, amongst whom is doctor Buonatesta, an alleged luminary of the medical science, for a consultation. In spite of Rosaura’s rage and desperation, Buonatesta visits the girl and proposes a very lengthy cure. Beatrice thus decides to intervene and to go secretly to doctor Onesti’s house to reveal to him that Rosaura’s illness is only a lovelorn disease, but the doctor threatens he will not return to visit his young patient any more, so as not to put his professional ethics at risk and in order not to fan the girl’s amorous passions. Pantalone sees no improvements in Rosaura’s state: on the contrary it even appears that the girl has lost all capacity for speaking. A further consultation with the doctors is thus decided, which will see doctor Onesti himself triumphing, as he will be able to loosen the girl’s tongue. At this point Beatrice intervenes, revealing the young woman’s secret love publicly, and in spite of the first perplexities and class differences, Rosaura’s father and doctor Onesti will be convinced to accept a betrothal: Rosaura will thus have the cure she needed. Goldoni created a dramma giocoso from The Fake Patient Woman, which was set to music in 1768 by F. J. Haydn. The Scenery here depicted is inspired by the second Act - Scene 5, 6 While suffering from love pangs, Rosaura has not lost her appetite, which she satisfies lavishly behind her friend Beatrice’s back and her servant Colombina, who are distressed about her. 30

Dormeuse in wood, carved, lacquered with multicoloured flowers on yellow background, gilded profiling. 19th century imitation of the 18th century. Garment (stage costume) Andrienne, robe for stage or fancy-dress ball. Woven bordered lampas in red coloured silk. The square bib, ending at the waist and joined to the skirt with a horizontal cut, is sewn on one side of the andrienne, inside the right lining, while on the left, four snap-fasteners are present on the inner lining and on the bib itself to close the front. The bib is decorated with macramé in silverthread covering it completely with netting, creating a lace detail also repeated at the bottom of the matching skirt. The “Casa d’arte di Giuseppe Peruzzi” label appears at the back. 20th century. Mirror in silver, 18th century Screen with three jointed, carved panels with basketwork moulding in relief. Decoration: dark green background lacquer; gilded lozenge chinoiseries. Gilded carvings and profiling. 19th century imitation of the 18th century. Apothecary pots in faience (1650ca.-1749 ca.) CONS. A OF ROSES: spherical apothecary pot on a very low base, mouth border in relief, decorated with vegetable motifs, within blue stripes against a white background. The contents label is within a central stripe in black colour. Opposite diameter, Moretto bust with jacket and blue hat. CONS. D. ROSEMARY: with round body. Low, flared base. Mouth border: in relief. Decoration with floral and animal motifs; inscription in a stripe. Colours: blue, manganese, white background. BERBERI: with rounded body, mouth border: in relief. Decoration: stylized vegetable motifs; inscription in a stripe. Colours: blue, white background. ZIZULE: with rounded body. Mouth border: in relief. Decoration with stylized vegetable motifs . Colours: blue, white background.

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The Gambler (Il giuocatore) first floor

It is one of the sixteen famous new comedies that Carlo Goldoni had performed in 1750; in three acts, it takes up topics and characters dear to the author. Smitten by the passion for gambling, Florindo falls into the hands of Lelio, a dishonest gambler. Meeting his ruin through gaming, he loses his fiancée, Rosaura, his friends, and only the intervention of old Pantalone, who will force Lelio to return a part of the ill-gotten gains, will save him from the peril of wedding Gandolfa, an elderly, frivolous and depraved aunt of Rosaura’s. Addiction and subjection to gambling, disappointments over losses, opposed to continual hopes of winning, incessant anxiety about the next deal, the one that will surely be the “great deal” are the themes detailed by the Author, so real and entrenched in the Europe of the 18th century and so modern even nowadays.

The Scenery here depicted is inspired by the first Act - Scene 2 and 4 After playing all night and strangely winning, Florindo wishes to put order in his small treasure-trove, but fatigue and tension get the upper hand, so he falls asleep at the gaming-table while counting the gold coins he won. But who is addicted does not know when it’s best to stop, therefore upon awaking he imagines further, much larger and more substantial gains compared to the night before, and he elaborates a “Florindo thought” thu “I play like a man, I know my quarter-of-an-hour, and it’s impossible for me not to win in the long run”

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Small table with folding top, rectangular design and drawer below; walnut and cherry veneer; threading in light-coloured wood. Truncated-pyramid legs with stylized hoof-shaped feet. Late 18th century. Armchairs in carved wood, with padded back framed in wood with a central shell motif, moulded arms ending in a spiral. Padded seat, slightly curved legs. Veneto area, second half of the 18th century. Playing cards and coins

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Venetian Art of the 18th century. Grimani ai Servi Puppet Theatre. Venetian Puppets _

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The Puppet Theatre

The puppet theatre, «A delightful amusement» – according to the autobiographical memoir by the author – which Giulio Goldoni, Carlo’s father, had had made in this house for his son’s entertainment. Even if such documentary data should be a figment of imagination, in virtue of its undoubted symbolic “truth” it had been deemed appropriate to set up a historic theatre within the house where the playwright was born and spent all his childhood. In any case, a puppet theatre represented a playful training medium during the Venetian 18th century for literary and musical contests and was a resourceful domestic surrogate in lieu of public theatre seasons. In addition it also embodied a sort of “chamber theatre”, as opposed to a “piazza theatre”, enlivened by puppet performances (a type of theatre, the latter, that was more elementary, popular and rough, with few rudimental characters; it was staged in the many “casotti” or booths for puppets in the city squares and streets, as may be seen in paintings by Longhi and Canaletto, Bellotto and Carlevarijs). The 18th century puppets exhibited here (as well as the original and rare proscenium) come from the collection of the toy theatre owned by the Grimani ai Servi family in their palace (in the district of Cannaregio, not far from the church of the Friar Servants of Mary): they attest the excellence of Venetian craftsmanship in this sector very well, one of the most sophisticated and the one which came closest to representing a clever imitation of real life. It is sufficient to observe the lavishness of the various characters’ clothing, made with precious fabrics and fashionably cut: aristocrats and servants, some masks from the Commedia dell’Arte, dames, handmaids, knights, Turks and soldiers in a vibrant and curious tangle, faithful interpreters of the cosmopolitan life in 18th century Venice. The theatre has been made workable for the creation of possible shows. More puppets, furthering knowledge and admiration not only for the particular sophistication of such artefacts, but also for the extraordinary “engineering” of their mechanisms, are also on display in dedicated cabinets.

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The Servant of Two Masters (Il servitore di due padroni)

Written in 1745 upon request by the famed actor Antonio Sacchi, the comedy was performed in Milan and Venice in 1746 with great success. Goldoni, who had used a French plot in his first draft, rewrote it entirely in 1753 for the Paperini edition, while in our times, G. Strehler’s directing and changing its title into Harlequin, servant of two masters, contributed to making this piece famous worldwide. The action is centred on Truffaldino’s character. Following news of her suitor Federigo having been killed in a duel by Florindo, Clarice has been betrothed to Silvio by her father Pantalone. In the meantime Federigo’s sister Beatrice arrives in male garments and under her brother’s name, looking for her beloved Florindo, who ran off following the duel. Truffaldino, Beatrice’s servant, also becomes the servant of Florindo without her knowledge, and the comedy rolls along through confusion and misunderstandings caused by Truffaldino. Finally all is cleared: Florindo marries Beatrice, Silvio marries Clarice, and Truffaldino marries Smeraldina, Clarice’s maid. The comedy is packed with comical effects, such as when Truffaldino makes Beatrice believe that Florindo is dead and Florindo that Beatrice is dead, in order to explain an imbroglio of his: but it is a simple preamble in Goldonian theatre. The Scene represented in the Puppet Theatre is inspired by the third Act - Scene 13 and 14 Clarice plays hard to get, now that she is sure Silvio loves her and that all the misunderstandings that happened took place due to his love for her, and does not wish to grant him her hand any longer; thus all present, from the Doctor to Pantalone, from Smeraldina to Truffaldino and to poor Silvio, busily intervene to make her change her mind. Between a sigh from Clarice and a “soul of mine” uttered with a sigh by Silvio, the two young people finally reunite. In the meantime, following the reproaches received from Pantalone, Brighella enters announcing the arrival of Beatrice dressed as a man…

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THE PUPPETS on Stage Pantalone – Venice. 18th century. Puppet with a wooden trunk padded and bandaged in fabric, wooden legs jointed on hip and knee, wooden feet with carved slippers painted in black. The legs are painted in red from knee to foot to simulate stockings. Carved wooden head with mask, eyes in glass paste with black iris. Limed raffia wig painted in black. Canvas arms stuffed with tow, hands in painted lead. Brighella – Venice. 18th century. Puppet with a wooden trunk padded on the front part with tow protected by cotton fabric. Legs jointed on hip and knee, stockings painted in white, lower, shoe-shaped, extremities in lead painted in ochre-yellow. Rope arms with hands in painted lead. Carved and painted wooden head with the character’s typical mask, bushy eyebrows and bristling moustache. Eyes in glass paste with black iris. Raffia wig, covered with a lime mixture and painted in brown. Truffaldino – Venice. 18th century. Puppet with a wooden trunk padded on the front part with tow protected by cotton fabric. Carved and painted wooden head with this character’s typical mask with a large wart on the right of the forehead. The mouth is mobile with its chin and lower lip in painted lead. Legs jointed on hip and knee, lower, shoe-shaped, extremities in lead painted in ochre-yellow with bandages around the ankles. Smeraldina – Venice. 18th century. Puppet with a carved wooden trunk with bosom, wooden legs jointed by means of metal eyelets in pairs screwed into the wood between trunk and hip and at knee level. Legs with stockings painted in white decorated with a red flower. Feet carved into shoes with typical spool-heel in red, with seams and buckle painted in yellow. Rope arms with forearms and hands in painted lead. The wooden carved and painted head has carved eyes, an open mouth and pierced ear-lobes for fixing earrings. Wig in limed raffia painted in white. Doctor – Venice. 18th century. Puppet with wooden trunk. Wooden legs jointed at hip and knee, stockings painted in black and leaden feet covered with cardboard and jute fabric glued together, covered with a plaster mixture to form the shoes, painted in black. The wooden carved and painted head with the mask typical in this character, has an open mouth with a papier-mâché chin and a mobile tongue, eyes in glass paste with black iris.

Clarice – Venice. 18th century. Puppet with a carved wooden trunk with bosom, wooden legs jointed at hip and at knee, stockings painted in white and feet carved to simulate a shoe with a low heel painted in black. Made from a strip of heavyweight fabric, the arms connect with hands in painted lead. The wooden carved and painted head has eyes in glass paste with black iris. The wig is tow, covered with a plaster mixture and then painted in white. Silvio – Venice. 18th century. Puppet with a wooden trunk padded with tow and bandaged with fabric. Wooden legs jointed at hip and at knee, stockings painted in white. Shoe-shaped foot, in lead painted in black, leg stockings painted in white. Arms of rope and metal wire with forearms and hands in painted lead. Wooden carved and painted head with eyes in glass paste with black iris. Limed tow wig painted in white with a long cue.

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Avenging Wrongs (Chi la fa l’aspetta) first floor

Typographical title for this comedy in three acts in dialect, presented to the public at San Luca on the evening of 5 January 1765 with the suggestive title I chiassetti del Carneval (The Carnival Lanes). Lissandro, a false-bauble merchant, wishes to trick the stingy marriagebroker Gasparo, by making him pay for a luncheon and thus allowing Zanetto to approach his beloved Cattina, Raimondo’s daughter. To avoid raising suspicions, Zanetto pretends he is married, but he is exposed by Raimondo, who will not only get Lissandro to pay for the luncheon, but will bestow his daughter to Bortolo, Zanetto’s rival. In this choral comedy each one of the characters has a particularly well defined individuality. According to contemporary accounts, it did not benefit from good acting and this was the main reason for its failure, while from the end of the 19th century it was reappraised until it became a mainstay for many of the best Companies in dialect in the Veneto.

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Dining-table carved and lacquered with a red background and floral multicolour decorations. Four curved legs ending in roe-deer hooves. Veneto area; 1740-1760 Chairs with a fretworked and moulded back, with a central figure-of-eight motif. Padded seat, slightly undulated front legs, joined to the rear ones by an H shaped stretcher. Roe-deer feet. The decoration is a lacquered red background with floral multicolour motifs and gilded comb and shell intaglios. Veneto area; late 18th century Wall-console in carved wood lacquered in red with multicolour flowers. Drawer created in following age in the central fascia of the apron below the top. Four moulded legs ending in a spiral. Finished with gilded threading. Veneto area; 1740 - 1760 Cabinet dresser with three drawers (the upper divided in two), flaps and two mirror-covered doors. Arched moulding interrupted on its upper part by a vase-shaped intaglio. Lacquered in red with gilded lozenge chinoiserie decorations. Inside: small drawers, shelves, open cubby-holes and closed hatches. English area; 1700 – 1710

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The Scenery here depicted is inspired by the second Act - Scene 7 and beginning of 8 The scene takes place in a dining-room furnished with a table, chairs and a large dresser with opening hatches in the background. The guests arrive in a trickle making a jolly racket about their table-placing and the various courses will be spiced-up by their pranks and their jests. Luncheon is over and Lissandro orders the waiters to clear the table and return later to collect the soiled tablecloths. “Putti desparecchiè. Mettè tutto in quella credenza, piatti, possade, biancheria; mettè tutto là che po’ li vegnirè a tor. “ (Lads, clear it. Put everything in that dresser, plates, cutlery, linen; put it all there and come back later to collect it) We have essayed to recreate the atmosphere in the painting “La colazione in villa” reproduced below and present in the room.

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La colazione in villa, School of Pietro Longhi 18th century Series: Pastimes in villas – Scene of an interior with dining-room Painting, oil on canvas, 1760-1799 _ 46

Paintings present in the room Alessandro Falca called Longhi, 18th century Portrait of Carlo Goldoni, painting, oil on canvas, 1760 Pietro Falca called Longhi (after his manner), 18th century Series: Pastimes in villas - La colazione in villa (The Luncheon at the Villa) Painting, oil on canvas, 1760-1799 - La cucina (The Kitchen) Painting, oil on canvas, 1760-1799 School of Pietro Falca called Longhi, XVIII sec. - Pranzo con maschere (Luncheon with Masks) Painting, oil on canvas, 1760-1799 - La lezione di musica (The Music Lesson) Painting, oil on canvas, 1760-1799 - La furlana (The Woman from Friuli) Painting, oil on canvas, 1760-1799 - La venditrice di frittelle (The Doughnut Vendor) Painting, oil on canvas, 1760-1799 -Il Concerto (The Concert) Painting, oil on canvas, 1760-1799 -Il Ballo (The Ball) Painting, oil on canvas, 1760-1799 A large screen-printing between the two walls reproducing “Portrait of Carlo Goldoni”, Lorenzo Tiepolo – Marco Alvise Pitteri, etching. This portrait is found in the first volume of the Pasquali edition of the Commedie (1761) and is taken from a black-pencil drawing by Lorenzo Tiepolo preserved at the Albertina in Vienna. The drawing is in its turn a copy of a youthful painting by Alessandro Longhi. Pitteri’s etching respects Lorenzo’s premises, partly accentuating his chiaroscuro play. Probably the painting was not appreciated very much by Goldoni, who denies a resemblance in his letter from Paris dated 3 December 1764 to Francesco Albergati Capacelli. (Filippo Pedrocco)

Cozzi Manufactures Venice, 1765 – 1804 _ 49

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The Videotheque and The Library !

primo piano

The Videotheque A state-of-the-art TV set, located in a room accessed from the portego, allows the visitor-spectator to watch a screening of the DVD A Venetian between World and Theatre; through this film, the combined play between images and the historical-critical tale will trigger an imaginative and at the same time conscious immersion within the universe of Goldoni’s artistic personality. (From “Casa di Carlo Goldoni” Marsilio 2001) The facilities in the room will also allow visitors – upon request– to access the videotheque material, including video-recordings of the most famous theatre performances, not limited to Goldoni. The visual material permits viewers to range from the unforgettable performances by Cesco Baseggio to Giorgio Strehler’s directing, from classic masterpieces by Eduardo De Filippo to the most recent productions by Marco Paolini, Ascanio Celestini, Stefano Pagin.

The Library For those interested in delving further into reading those texts by Carlo Goldoni introduced by the exhibition itinerary and, furthermore, broadening knowledge on his entire theatre production, it is possible to access the Library of the Centre for Theatre Studies, on the third floor of Goldoni’s House. With over 30,000 works on theatrical art, this is nowadays one of the main libraries specialised in this field and it represents one of the centres of highest importance in the international area of studies on this topic, both for the typology of its specific book and documentary resources, both due to its position as an active centre for culture, by means of an information service and its support to scholars.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Life of Carlo Goldoni Ca’ Centani: the House where Carlo Goldoni was born The Game-Board

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THE SCENERIES The Conversation ( La conversazione) The Venetian Lawyer (L’avvocato veneziano) The Sharp-Witted Woman (La donna di garbo) The Obedient Daughter (La figlia obbediente) The Fake Patient Woman (La finta ammalata) The Gambler (Il giuocatore) The Servant of Two Masters (Il servitore di due padroni) Avenging Wrongs (Chi la fa l’aspetta)

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The Puppet Theatre The Videotheque – The Library

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You are kindly requested to return this booklet upon ending your visit

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