I am very happy to announce the publication of my new book: Flirting with Fortune: Casanova in Rome. First there was Casanova in Venice (Seductive Venice: In Casanova’s Footsteps), but now you can follow his sojourns during three trips to Rome. Here’s the official description:

Clutching letters of introduction, intending to pave his way to the priesthood, adolescent Casanova arrived in Rome. The year was 1743. A future of religious devotion was soon abandoned as he was seduced by sparkling conversations, wild flirtations, French lessons, the lottery, libraries stuffed with books, and ices in candle-lit salons. Experience Rome through eighteenth century eyes, where riderless horses careen down the Corso during Carnevale and cardinals clandestinely meet in cafes. 

Flirting with Fortune: Casanova in Rome invites us to eavesdrop on Casanova’s conversations with powerful priests, love affairs, laughter with popes, and carriage rides to countryside villas. From the convent to the card room, none of his adventures turned out quite how he had hoped, but as a gambler and a lover of life, there was always a chance that fortune was right around the corner. 

Casanova mentions the church of the Trinità dei Monti numerous times.

The book comes with maps for each section plus a QR code where you can access maps on your smartphone. Visit the website to see a sample of the locations and a gallery of images.

This remarkable building served as the dogana or customs house in Casanova’s day. Find out its fuller history in my book.

See more book reviews on the website from authors Michelle Lovric and Lisetta Lovett. Casanovist Tom Vitelli, a long-time editor of l’Intermediaire des Casanovistes and Casanoviana, has this to say about Flirting with Fortune: Casanova in Rome:

Kathleen González has done it again! Flirting with Fortune: Casanova in Rome is a highly entertaining read that fills a gap not only in books about the Venetian adventurer but also in travel writing for anyone visiting the Eternal City. This book is a popular guide that is also meticulously researched, presenting new information about Casanova and his experiences. It’s great fun and will be a new, indispensable classic for tourists, lovers of Rome, and specialists alike.

The book is now available as print-on-demand on Amazon in much of the world. Here is the link for the USA, and for those of you in other countries, type the full title and/or my full name into Amazon to find it. I would greatly appreciate any reviews you can leave on Amazon. In the US, you can also buy the book directly from me using the PayPal link on the website. For these sales, fifty cents will be donated to organizations that protect Venice’s architecture and culture.

In the next month or so, Flirting with Fortune: Casanova in Rome will also be available from Supernova Edizioni in Venice and other parts of Italy (with a different cover but the same text and title). If you see it in the bookstore, please send me a photo. I won’t get a copy of the Supernova edition until next summer!

When I was last in Rome, February 2023, I made a few Quattro Minuti con Casanova videos. Here’s one in front of the former home of Raphael Mengs where Casanova lived for a while.

Former house of the artist Raphael Mengs on via Vittoria.

Gah! Not sure how to express my excitement over this new book! It’s been a very long project, interrupted by a pandemic, and it became much more in depth than I expected it to be. I almost didn’t write it as I considered Casanova’s actions that would be considered very controversial by today’s standards. But here it is, and I hope you enjoy the stories and use this book to enliven your time in Rome as well as your understanding of Casanova.

Hope to see you at the tricentennial symposium in Venice in June 2025!