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In 18th- and 19th-century Venice, the '''cicisbeo''' (IPA: ; plural: '''cicisbei'''), or '''Cavalier Servente''', was the professed gallant and lover of a married woman, who attended her at public entertainments, to church and other occasions and had privileged access to his mistress. The arrangement is comparable to the Spanish ''cortejo'' and, to a lesser degree, to the French ''petit-maître''. The exact etymology of the word is unknown, some evidence suggests it originally meant "in a whisper" ^[1] (perhaps an onomatopeic word), some suggests it is an inversion of ''bel cece'' ^[2], "beautiful chick (pea)". According to OED, the first recorded usage of the term in English is found in a letter by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu dated 1718.
This arrangement, called the '''cicisbeatura''' or '''cicisbeismo''', was widely practiced, with knowledge and consent of the husband, especially among the nobility of the cities of Genoa, Nice, Venice, Florence and Rome.^[3] While many contemporary references to ''cicisbei'' and descriptions of their social standing exist,^[4] scholars diverge on the exact nature of the phenomenon.^[5] Some maintain that this institution was defined by marriage contracts,^[6] others question this claim and see it as a peculiarity of 18th-century customs that is not well-defined or easily explained.^[7] Other scholars see it as a sign of the increasing emancipation of aristocratic women in the eighteenth century.^[8]
Regardless of its roots and technicalities, the custom was firmly entrenched. Typically, husbands tolerated or even welcomed the arrangement. Lord Byron, for example, was ''cicisbeo'' to Contessa Teresa Gamba Guiccioli. After his death, her second husband, Marquis de Boissy, was known to brag about the fact.^[9] Byron also famously analysed the institution from an English point of view in his poem ''Beppo''. Attempts by the husband to ward off prospective ''cicisbei'' or disapproval of the practice in general was likely to be met with ridicule and scorn:
''Cicisbei'' played by set rules, generally avoiding public displays of affection. At public entertainments, they would typically stand behind their seated mistress and whisper in her ear.^[3] Customs of the time did not permit them to engage in relationships with any other women during their free time, making the arrangement rather demanding. Both parties could decide to end the relationship at any time. A woman's former ''cicisbei'' were called ''spiantati'' (literally ''penniless'', ''destroyed''), or cast-offs.^[9] Many comic operas from the period profit from the ''cicisbeo'' institution, for instance Rossini's operas ''L'Italiana in Algeri'' and ''Il Turco in Italia''.

Contents

Notes

References

Notes

1. Gaite
2. DIZIONARIO ETIMOLOGICO ONLINE
3. Krünitz, ''Cicisbeo''.
4. Boswell, 17–19; Smollett; Black, 123–26; Forsyth, 377, 411–12. All cited in Patriarca.
5. Patriarca.
6. Barbagli, 331–36. Cited in Patriarca.
7. Bizzocchi, 67–69. Cited in Patriarca.
8. Cazzoli, 2028–35. Cited in Patriarca.
9. Hodgson, 16.
10. Krünitz, ''Cicisbeo''.
11. Hodgson, 16.

References

★ Marzio Barbagli, ''Sotto lo stesso tetto: Mutamenti della famiglia in Italia dal XV al XX secolo'', (Bologna, 2000)

★ Roberts Bizzocchi, "Cicisbei: La morale italiana," ''Storica'' 3 (1997)

★ Jeremy Black, ''Italy and the Grand Tour'', (New Haven, Conn., 2003)

★ James Boswell, ''Boswell on the Grand Tour: Italy, Corsica, and France 1765–1766'', Frank Brady, ed. (New York, 1955)

★ Carla Pellandra Cazzoli, "Dames et sigisbées: Un début d'emancipation feminine?". ''Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century'' 193 (1980)

★ John Forsyth, ''Remarks on the Antiquities, Arts, and Letters during an Excursion in Italy in 1802 and 1803'', 2nd edn., (London, 1816)

★ Barbara Hodgson, ''Italy Out of Hand: A Capricious Tour'', Chronicle Books LLC, 2005

★ J.G. Krünitz (ed.), ''Oekonomische Encyklopädie oder allgemeines System der Staats- Stadt- Haus- und Landwirthschaft'', Volume 8, 1776. ''Cicisbeo''. Retrieved on March 27, 2006

★ Silvana Patriarca, "Indolence and Regeneration: Tropes and Tensions of Risorgimento Patriotism". ''The American Historical Review'' April 2005. Retrieved on March 27, 2006.

★ Jean Charles Léonard Simonde de Sismondi, ''Histoire des Républiques Italiennes du Moyen Age'', 5th edn., vol. 8 (1807–1818; Brussels, 1839)

★ Tobias Smollett, ''Travels through France and Italy'', numerous editions.

★ ''Love Customs in Eighteenth-Century Spain''

★ DIZIONARIO ETIMOLOGICO ONLINE