Luigi Ponelato, Il cicisbeo, etching, 1790

In 18th- and 19th-century Italy, the cicisbeo (Italian pronunciation: [ˌtʃitʃizˈbɛːo]; 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 or estrecho and, to a lesser degree, to the French petit-maître.^[1] The exact etymology of the word is unknown; some evidence suggests it originally meant "in a whisper"^[2] (perhaps an onomatopeic word). Other accounts suggest it is an inversion of bel cece,^[3] which means "beautiful chick (pea)". According to OED, the first recorded usage of the term in English was found in a letter by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu dated 1718. The term appears in Italian in Giovanni Maria Muti's "Quaresimale Del Padre Maestro Fra Giovanni Maria Muti De Predicatori" of 1708 (p. 734).

Social importance[link]

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.^[4] While many contemporary references to cicisbei and descriptions of their social standing exist,^[5] scholars diverge on the exact nature of the phenomenon.^[6] Some maintain that this institution was defined by marriage contracts,^[7] others question this claim and see it as a peculiarity of 18th-century customs that is not well-defined or easily explained.^[8] Other scholars see it as a sign of the increasing emancipation of aristocratic women in the 18th century.^[9]

The cicisbeo was better tolerated if he was known to be homosexual. Louise d'Épinay wrote from Paris to her friend the abbé Galiani about the impending departure of marchese Alvise Mocenigo, the Venetian ambassador, whose tastes the ambassador had displayed in Paris:

Nothing equals the friendly companionship afforded to a woman by men of those persuasions. To the rest of you, so full of yourselves, one can't say a word that you don't take as provocation. ... Whereas with those gentlemen one knows quite well that they want no more of us than we of them—one feels in no danger and deliciously free"^[10]

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.^[11] Byron also famously analyzed 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:

[...] for, you must understand, this Italian fashion prevails at Nice among all ranks of people; and there is not such a passion as jealousy known. The husband and the cicisbeo live together as sworn brothers; and the wife and the mistress embrace each other with marks of the warmest affection.^[12] [...] [E]very married lady in this country has her cicisbeo, or servente, who attends her every where on all occasions, and upon whose privileges the husband dares not encroach, without incurring the censure and ridicule of the whole community.^[13]

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.^[4] 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.^[11]

[edit] Cicisbei in the arts

The topic can be found in the contemporary poem Il Giorno (1763) by Giuseppe Parini. Other works from the period which make good use of the topic include:

• Cosi fan Tutte Act II scene 1 (1790), an opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• La famiglia dell'antiquario (1749), a comedy by Carlo Goldoni
• L'Italiana in Algeri (1813) and Il Turco in Italia (1788), operas by Gioachino Rossini
• La Tosca (1887), play by Victorien Sardou, the basis of the opera by Puccini

See also[link]

• Courtly love
• Mistress
• Chaperone

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

• 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.
• Gaite, Carmen Martín (1991). "Love Customs in Eighteenth-Century Spain". Berkeley: University of California Press. http://content.cdlib.org:8088/xtf/view?docId=ft6x0nb4m5&chunk.id=d0e157&doc.view=print. Retrieved 2006-12-08. 
• "DIZIONARIO ETIMOLOGICO ONLINE" (in Italiana). http://www.etimo.it/?term=cicisbeo. Retrieved 2006-12-08. 

Marco Travaglio
Marco Travaglio in Trento, 2010.
Born	Marco Travaglio (1964-10-13) October 13, 1964 (age 47) Turin, Italy
Years active	1988 – present

Marco Travaglio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko traˈvaʎʎo]; born 13 October 1964) is an Italian investigative journalist, writer and commentator.

Biography[link]

Travaglio was born in Turin and earned a degree in history from the University of Turin. In 1992 he began to pursue journalism as a career. He started out writing for Catholic publications such as Il nostro tempo ("Our time"), then worked under the renowned journalist Indro Montanelli for newspapers such as Il Giornale and La Voce and gained the attention of Montanelli himself who once used to say about him: "No, Travaglio does not kill anyone. With a knife. He uses a more refined and not legally punishable weapon: the archives"

Since 14 September 2006, Marco Travaglio has been a regular guest in the TV program AnnoZero, hosted by Michele Santoro (also mentioned by Berlusconi in the Bulgarian Edict).

Recently, Travaglio has contributed as a columnist to prominent national newspapers and magazines, such as La Repubblica, L'Unità (with his old columns "Bananas", "Uliwood Party" and "Zorro") and Micromega. He still contributes to L'espresso with the column "Signorno'". In September 2009 he contributed to the formation of the independent newspaper, called Il Fatto Quotidiano ("The Daily Fact").

Political and judicial events of national importance, ranging from Mani pulite to the troubles of controversial political figure Silvio Berlusconi, have been Travaglio's main area of interest.

The journalist became well known in 2001, after participating in a TV show on state-owned national channel Raidue called Satyricon and hosted by Daniele Luttazzi. There, He presented his brand-new book, and bestseller, L'odore dei soldi ("The Smell of Money", co-authored by Elio Veltri), which investigates the origin of Mr Berlusconi's early fortunes. Berlusconi started a lawsuit for slander, but since the book reports official facts already known by the judiciary authorities, he was condemned to pay the legal expenses.^[1]

The show, aired during the campaign for the Italian general election, was heavily criticized by Berlusconi and his party and labeled by them as a politically motivated, non-objective personal attack. After Mr Berlusconi's victory at the elections, both Travaglio and Luttazzi (together with other prominent journalists that had criticized Mr Berlusconi's or investigated his history) have never appeared again on state-owned TV shows until September 2006 (shortly after Berlusconi lost the elections and left power), causing a long debate about freedom of information and censorship in Italy.

Awards and Honors[link]

The National Association of German Journalists (DJV Deutscher Journalisten-Verband) honored Marco Travaglio in 2009 bestowing on him the award for "Press Freedom". The decision, taken by the seven members jury of the association, was accompanied by the following statement from Michael Konken, President of the association of german journalists. Konken stated: «We honour in Marco Travaglio a brave and talented colleague, fighting againsts many obstacles to defend freedom of speech and press in Italy». Other recipients of the Award in previous years include the journalist Miroslav Filipović and the Russian reporter Ol'ga Kitova. Filipović received the award for his articles on the atrocities committed against civilians in Kosovo by the Yugoslav Army, while Olga Kitova was honoured for her struggle in denouncing corruption in Russia.

Publications[link]

Books by Marco Travaglio (usually co-authored with other investigative journalists) include:

• Bravi ragazzi (Italian for Good fellas), published in 2003 and reporting on politicians Cesare Previti and Silvio Berlusconi's alleged (and later confirmed by court's sentence ^[2]) corruption of judges
• Lo chiamavano Impunità ("They Call Him Impunity", a humorous reference to the spaghetti western Lo chiamavano Trinità), published in 2003, about the SME-Ariosto inquiry and court trial
• Mani Sporche (Italian for "Dirty Hands") that reports about the years following the national scandal "Mani pulite" (Italian for "Clean Hands")
• Il Bavaglio ("The Gag") mostly about the Italian politicians' plans to limit freedom of speech and the investigative means of Italian Prosecutors investigating political corruption
• Per chi suona la banana ("For Whom the Banana Tolls"; the title is a pun on For Whom the Bell Tolls, with a reference on the banana republic)
• Italia Anno Zero, Chiarelettere, 2009, ISBN 978-88-6190-051-6 (coauthors: Beatrice Borromeo and Vauro Senesi)

On 10 May 2008, Marco Travaglio commented on Renato Schifani's election as president of the Senate that one should "simply ask of the second highest office of the state to explain those relationships with those men who have subsequently been condemned for association with the Mafia" on the RAI current affairs talk show television program Che tempo fa.^[3][4][5]

The statement of Travaglio resulted in fierce and almost universally negative reactions including from the centre left, except for Antonio Di Pietro who said that Travaglio was "merely doing his job". Some called for chief executives at RAI to be dismissed.

The popular political commentator Beppe Grillo supported Travaglio, while Schifani announced he would go to Court and sue Travaglio for slander.^[6] Schifani said Travaglio's accusation was based on "inconsistent or manipulated facts, not even worthy of generating suspicions", adding that "someone wants to undermine the dialogue between the government and the opposition."^[5] Mister Schifani himself enjoys immunity as leader of the parliament.

In 2009, the German Association of Journalists awarded Travaglio its yearly prize for Freedom of the Press, describing him as a "brave and critical colleague [...] exposing continually the attempts of Italian politicians, especially Silvio Berlusconi, to influence the media to their advantage and to negate critical reports."^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marco Travaglio

• Il fatto quotidiano Independent journal of which Travaglio is the vice director.
• Voglio scendere Blog by Travaglio and fellow journalists and authors Pino Corrias and Peter Gomez (Italian)
• L'Antefatto Official website of Travaglio's independent newspaper, Il Fatto Quotidiano (Italian)
• Unofficial Fan site featuring a column and some other contributions by Travaglio not published elsewhere (Italian)
• Interview with Marco Travaglio (Italian)
• La Repubblica newspaper: the controversial interview with Travaglio by Luttazzi (Italian)
• Signornò [1] L'Espresso-Opinioni (Italian)
• V-day 8 September 2007 Bologna Video (Italian)
• V2-day 25 April 2008 Turin Video (Italian)
• No CAV day 8 July 2008 Rome (Italian)