For centuries, the extraordinary abilities of Count Cagliostro excite the imagination of people. Myths and reality about him are so closely intertwined that it is very difficult to distinguish them. Among the great charlatans of his time, he stood out for his special audacity and imagination. His fame boomed throughout Europe. The fraudster knew how to impress, and then carefully cover his tracks. The great "magician" and "alchemist" had a chance to visit Russia. We will talk about the life of this unusual person in our article.
Childhood
The real name of our hero is Giuseppe Balsamo. He was born in 1743 in a family of poor Sicilians. His father was engaged in merchant business, trading in cloth and silk. The man was very pious and dreamed of making a priest out of his son. So he sent the boy to a monastery, where he was found to have many talents. The future Count Cagliostro drew beautifully, studied calligraphy, performed chemical experiments under the guidance of a mentor, and even mastered the skills of ventriloquism. However, Giuseppe's adventurous inclinations soon made themselves felt. AThe was convicted of fraud in the monastery, and he fled to Palermo. Thus began his dizzying career.
Lies and fraud
The future Count Cagliostro did not disdain anything. He forged bills and wills, brewed "love" potions, seduced people with stories about countless treasures. He liked to play on human greed. His richest prey at that time was the usurer Murano. He bought into the fiction with the treasure. Giuseppe led him to a certain cave and with the help of ventriloquism convinced that the treasures in it were guarded by a black spirit. Like, to get rid of him, you need to bring sixty ounces of gold into the cave. In the end, some evil creatures attacked the poor moneylender, and he lost a lot of money, but the treasure was never found. After this daring adventure, Giuseppe had to urgently take his feet from Palermo.
Oriental tales
The real story of Count Cagliostro is no less entertaining than the myths he made about himself. At first he traveled through the cities of Italy, then disappeared somewhere for three years. It is possible that he visited Africa or the Middle East, because after his wanderings he acquired a lot of useful and unusual skills. At first, our hero worked with accomplices, but this method turned out to be ineffective. In the end, Giuseppe was fed up with exposure and arrests, and he decided that from now on he would work alone.
Our hero was really very different from the rest of the crooks. First of all, he was very inquisitive and constantly learning something. In a short time he masteredhypnosis. In addition, he adopted aristocratic manners and began to communicate with high-ranking persons. It was possible to make big bets on such a contingent. In addition, fairy tales about the wonders of the East made an indelible impression on the rich and nobles.
Magic tricks
Many people have their own ideal, that is, a person who seems to them an example to follow. Count Cagliostro had one too: the king of swindlers strove to resemble the Count of Saint-Germain. However, a simple Sicilian lacked aristocracy in appearance. Giuseppe looked solid, but rustic. A strong physique, a swarthy face, broad shoulders betrayed in him a rural origin. But our hero spoke several languages, however, with an indestructible Sicilian accent. In general, he lacked the elegance of Saint-Germain.
With written speech, everything was much better, although the theories of Count Cagliostro did not sin with originality. In his notes, he used an explosive mixture of mysticism, parapsychology and traditional medicine. This tried and tested method is used by many modern charlatans. However, no one has ever learned to do it better than Cagliostro himself.
Our hero created a real theatrical performance from his appearance. The scenery could be different: a chemist's laboratory or an exotic oriental outfit. To emphasize his importance, the fraudster came up with a new name for himself - Count Alessandro Cagliostro. However, he had several more pseudonyms: Count Phoenix, Don Ticino, Marquis d'Anno and many others.
Cupid Affairs
A solid store of knowledge and unsurpassed artistry made Balsamo one of the most successful crooks of his time. In the end, he plucked up the nerve and went to Rome, where he confused the heads of the locals. In addition, he met a charming girl - Lorenza Feliciane. With her beauty, the girl could marry a rich man, but she preferred a swindler and a hoaxer. The poor thing did not know that she would have to play along with her husband in his performances, and sometimes please respectable clients.
The love of Count Cagliostro brought him solid dividends. It was at first that the couple wandered around the world, portraying unhappy lovers and begging for money. Then Giuseppe managed to achieve recognition in Britain. He successfully treated the people with miraculous balms, and also surprisingly accurately predicted the winning numbers of the lottery. But there were still more losers. And then the irresistible charms of Lorenza, whom her husband renamed Serafina, came into play. However, even her charming smile was not enough to calm the raging loser clients. They sued Cagliostro and … lost. The scammer managed to prove that people gave him money voluntarily.
Gullible Masons
The Age of Enlightenment shone with paradoxes. On the one hand, people abandoned medieval ignorance, on the other hand, they blindly bowed before the supernatural. This made them easy prey for scammers. And here is an eloquent example: the biography of the famous Count Cagliostro says that in Britain he became close friends with the "enlightened" Freemasons. They eagerly listened to stories of miraclesEast. Probably, it was then that our hero decided to found an Egyptian Masonic lodge and become its master.
Travel the world
However, Count Cagliostro did not stay anywhere for a long time, because he was often accused of fraud. He was always threatened with trial and prison, so he actively moved around Europe: France, Belgium, Germany … Everywhere he was greeted with enthusiasm, and seen off with suspicion. In Courland he stayed with the Medem family. Here he founded his first Masonic lodge, and attracted to it not only men, but also women. In Mitau, our hero became famous for evoking the souls of the dead. He also skillfully predicted the future of the people present at the session. In a word, they started talking about him as a unique healer, soothsayer and alchemist. Having gained solid experience, the alchemist decided that it was time to go to Russia.
Gishpan Colonel
In 1779, our hero appeared in St. Petersburg. In the documents, he was listed as "Mr. Count Cagliostro, Colonel of Gishpan." Of course, they were fake, but no one began to verify their authenticity. The fact is that the count was expected at the very top. No wonder he promised his adherents that in Russia he would be called by his true name and appear in all his glory. Where did the Sicilian swindler get such connections? The fact is that the Russian masons brothers were looking forward to meeting with him. Among them: I. P. Elagin, who served as chief chamberlain of the Empress, Count A. S. Stroganov and many others. As always, Giuseppe was accompanied by the dazzling Lorenza -love of Count Cagliostro. I must say that the girl did not immediately accept the role prepared for her. Once she even managed to escape from her husband with a French nobleman, but the cunning Sicilian got his wife back through the court. Since then, Lorenza has resigned herself to the role of an adventurer and performed it brilliantly. The couple rented apartments on Palace Embankment and furnished them to their liking. A special place was given to a spacious room for magical sessions. It was decorated in a luxurious oriental style, equipped with special props to create a mysterious atmosphere.
Miracles of medicine
In the story "Count of Cagliostro" A. N. Tolstoy does not sympathize with his hero at all, denying him nobility and a sense of compassion. However, not all contemporaries spoke badly about him. In fact, he was an excellent healer. For example, at the very beginning of his stay in Russia, Giuseppe visited his countryman - the singer Giovanni Locatelli. He complained of hoarseness and lack of vigor. The potions of Cagliostro helped. The sonorous voice and former energy returned to the Italian tenor. The rumor about this story immediately spread through secular salons. The afflicted reached out to the count. And many have actually been healed. Rumor keeps talking about the myriad of patients who Cagliostro returned to he alth. It was alleged that the Count helped some with money and medicines.
Friend of the poor
But let's not be mistaken. Our hero was just trying to make a good impression on the public. Therefore, if he helped people with something, then witha specific purpose. Count Alessandro Cagliostro knew many "relatively honest ways" to take money from we althy clients. Yes, and it was not necessary to take away - they themselves begged to accept considerable sums from them. Lorenza also played an important role in this story. Shining with freshness and beauty, she admitted to the ladies that she was "a little over forty." After that, the Calyostrov drugs were sorted out with lightning speed.
Mystery buttons
In the feature film "Formula of Love" Count Cagliostro is presented to us as a wandering philosopher. All his life he deceived people, but in Russia he encountered a mysterious Russian soul, which he could not comprehend. However, our compatriots had much to learn from him. Legend has it that even the all-powerful Count Potemkin was carried away by the spell of Cagliostro. It all started with a trifle: buttons began to disappear from military uniforms in army warehouses. Moreover, the threads remained intact, and the tin products evaporated. Interestingly, nothing like this happened to them in other countries! Now we know that at low temperatures tin can crumble into dust. And then the puzzled nobleman did not find anything better than to address this riddle to the famous alchemist. Balsamo suggested making brass buttons. They listened to him, and since then, for a whole century, shiny "Cagliostro buttons" flaunted on Russian uniforms, which did not suddenly evaporate anywhere.
Magical sessions
The story of Count Cagliostro can be told endlessly! After he managed to gain confidence in Potemkin himself, hedecided to use heavy artillery. Now he invited the chosen society to the "Egyptian hall", where he appeared before everyone in the form of the Great Copt. He dressed in exquisite clothes, put on a headband made of brocade embroidered with gold, adorned himself with fresh flowers with precious stones. A wide ribbon of emerald color, embroidered with bugs, was thrown over his shoulders and chest. A sword with a cruciform handle hung from his belt. In such an unusual form, Cagliostro really seemed like a great adept and unearthly deity.
And our hero did not skimp on broad gestures. He predicted the future, called the souls of the dead people. To communicate with the world of the dead, the alchemist chose children with blue eyes. He gave the guys a special decoction to drink and put them into a trance. After that, "pure creatures" behaved unusually and told amazing things. Now the number of the count's adherents has increased several times. Innocent fellow masons, members of European lodges dreamed of getting into the Egyptian lodge, because they considered it more prestigious. However, in the capital, Cagliostro spoke differently. Some said that he fooled respected and revered people. Others claimed that his actions were distinguished by nobility.
Healing Pavlusha Gagarin
It was a very strange story, after which our hero had to leave Russia forever. Prince Gagarin's one-year-old son fell seriously ill. All doctors admitted their impotence, and only Count Cagliostro volunteered to help. However, he put forward two conditions: to give the child to him inhouse and do not visit him until complete healing. After that, the alchemist kept the baby for two weeks. All this time, the excited parents answered all the questions with one thing: the child is better. Finally, they got back a completely he althy boy. The joy of the parents knew no bounds! Prince Gagarin offered Cagliostro a thousand gold imperials for the healing of his son. According to rumors, the healer refused for a long time, and the happy father left the money in the hallway. And everything seems to be fine. But strange rumors spread around the capital about the substitution of the child. Allegedly, the patient actually died, and his body was burned through negligence during a magical rite. Only one thing is known for certain: Pavlusha Gagarin grew up, became an officer and rose to the rank of general. And his father did not want to think about any substitution.
Expulsion from Russia
Tolstoy's Count Cagliostro is a very mercenary person. The great writer saw nothing but a shameless thirst for profit. In this regard, Empress Catherine II was in complete agreement with him. 140 years before writing the story "Count Cagliostro" she composed two plays dedicated to the great hoaxer - "Deceiver" and "Siberian Shaman". In both, she denounced vile liars and charlatans. Rumors about the tricks of Cagliostro already irritated her beyond measure, and the latter (about the son of Prince Gagarin) completely infuriated her. In addition, a terrible thing happened - her beloved Potemkin entangled with an Italian, the wife of a count! The Emperor's patience ran out. Cagliostro politely hinted that he was staying in Russia. According to the customs of the time, he gave an advance notice of his departure. But in the end, he nevertheless threw out the trick - he left the capital through all the outposts at the same time. This spectacular gesture was appreciated.
Last years of life
The last secret of Count Cagliostro has remained unknown. Who was he really, a deceiver or a soothsayer? Having got out of Russia, our hero went to Warsaw, where he was exposed, but managed to escape in time. He then settled in France. At first, everything went very well, but then the alchemist was embroiled in a story with the queen's necklace. This happened through the fault of another talented swindler - Jeanne de Lamotte. Cagliostro even had a chance to visit the Bastille, but then he was nevertheless acquitted. After that, the soothsayer composed a "Letter to the French people." In this message, he predicted the execution of the king, the destruction of the Bastille, the triumph of the revolution … It turns out that he still had the gift of foresight? This we will never know for sure. And the count eventually returned to Italy, where he founded another Masonic lodge. Soon he was arrested on the denunciation of an agent of the Inquisition and sentenced to life imprisonment. Lorenza was also found guilty and imprisoned in a monastery. The couple died in 1795. They've been through a lot together, so they couldn't live apart from each other.
In conclusion
Thus ended the story of one of the most prominent hoaxers of his time. The modern Russian public presents the hero of our article as he wasshown in the famous feature film by Mark Zakharov. It talentedly and very funny shows a man who wants to fool everyone, but in the end turns out to be fooled himself. So does Count Cagliostro from the "Formula of Love" look like a person who in the 18th century stirred up all of Europe with his bright and virtuoso playing? Who is he: an insidious seducer and an unscrupulous swindler or a talented alchemist and a great healer? Probably, all these qualities were mixed in him at the same time in proportions unknown to us. Sometimes it seems that Giuseppe Balsamo really believed in his high destiny, his plans and undertakings were so bold. One way or another, but his tricks left a mark in world history. And now we are happy to read stories about his dizzying adventures.
