#astounding quote

[lamarchesacasati]

Marchesa Luisa Casati spent recklessly and, beyond the sums she lavished on her wardrobe, she hosted parties of astounding extravagance. Many were held at the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, but the one that entered Venetian folklore was the 18th-century costume ball for which Luisa took over the whole of Piazza San Marco, hiring 200 black servants, all dressed by Leon Bakst, to hold back the watching public.

Christie’s