Home > Alessandro Cagliostro

Cagliostro was born to a poor family in Palermo, Sicily; he called himself count, and traveled in many countries under many different names and characters, pretending sometimes to be a nobleman, sometimes a physician, and sometimes a juggler. With the help of his wife, he cheated many people, and made great money, especially selling an elixir which would make people live forever and keep their beauty. He himself claimed to be very old, sometimes putting his age at two-hundred. He also pretended to make gold out of other metals, and many noble and rich people believed that he could.

His claim to the title of count was fabricated. He claimed to have been initiated into the Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of Malta, and to have studied alchemy, the KabbalahKabbalah "Reception", Standard Hebrew Qabbala Tiberian Hebrew Qabblh also written variously as Cabala Cabalah Cabbala Cabbalah Kabala Kabalah Kabbala Qabala Qabalah is a religious philosophical system claiming an insight into divine nature. Kabbalah" is a, and magicMagic (also called magick to distinguish it from stage magic) is a supposed way of influencing the world through supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. This article provides an overview of specific magical traditions and practices. It also discusses under their auspices. He did become involved in FreemasonryFreemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization. Its members are joined together by shared ideals, of both a moral and metaphysical nature, and, in most of its branches, by a common belief in a Supreme Being. Freemasonry is an esoteric art, in that cert in London, England and used his Masonic connections and personal charm to roam through aristocratic circles throughout Europe, where he peddled various magical elixirs and charms.

He was in the affair of the diamond necklaceThe Affair of the diamond necklace was a mysterious incident in the 1780s at the court of Louis XVI of France involving the queen Marie Antoinette. It was one of the events that led to the French populace's disillusionment with the monarchy, which eventua which involved Louis XVI of FranceLouis XVI of France ( August 23, 1754 January 21, 1793) succeeded his grandfather ( Louis XV of France) as King of France on May 10, 1774; he was crowned on June 11, 1775. His father, the Louis dauphin son of Marie Leszczynska, had died in 1765. Louis was and Marie AntoinetteElisabeth Vigee-Lebrun Marie Antoinette ( November 2, 1755 October 16, 1793) was Queen Consort of France. Daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria of the Habsburg dynasty and her consort, the Emperor Francis I, she was married to the heir to the Frenc, and was imprisoned in FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. for fraud. After being released from prison in France, he travelled to Rome. Cagliostro even claimed to be a freemason from Egypt who had walked on the sands of Galilee with Jesus. He died in prison after falling foul of the Inquisition.