File:Portrait_of_Giuseppe_Balsamo_(called_Count_Alessandro_Cagliostro)_LACMA_62.18_(1_of_2).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Alessandro Cagliostro
Sign in to saveAlso known as Balsamo Giuseppe Conte di Cagliostro, Count Alessandro di Cagliostro
Italian occultist, alchemist, and impostor (1743–1795)
OverviewAI-generated
Alessandro Cagliostro, born Giuseppe in Palermo in 1743, was a male physician, alchemist, adventurer, and impostor. He spoke Italian and held French citizenship. His religious worldview was Catholicism, and he was a member of Freemasonry.
Cagliostro was convicted of heresy and detained at Castel Sant'Angelo and the Fortress of San Leo. He died at the Fortress of San Leo on 26 August 1795. His works include *Vie de Joseph Balsamo*, *Connu Sous le Nom de Comte Cagliostro*, and *Evangelio de Cagliostro*. He is described in sources such as the *Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary*, *The Nuttall Encyclopædia*, and the *Encyclopædia Britannica* 11th edition.
Synthesized by Vinony from 19 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, Open Library. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
In the Vinony graph
Vinony's link graph records 159 inbound references to Alessandro Cagliostro, and connects out to freemasonry in Belgium, Arsène Lupin and Freemasonry in Spain.
Vinony files it under 1743 births, 1795 deaths and 18th-century alchemists.
Vinony links it to 34 Wikipedia language editions.
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 2
Top works
- Vie de Joseph Balsamo, Connu Sous le Nom de Comte Cagliostro
- Evangelio de Cagliostro
via Open Library + Wikidata
Key facts
- Born
- Giuseppe Balsamo , ( 1743-06-08 ) June 8, 1743, Albergheria , Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily
- Died
- August 26, 1795 (1795-08-26) (aged 52), Forte di San Leo , Papal States
- Other names
- Beppo Balsamo, Joseph Balsamo, Joseph Cagliostro
- Occupations
- Occultist adventurer magician confidence trickster
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Giuseppe
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- France
- Place of birth
- Palermo
- Place of death
- Fortress of San Leo
- Occupation
- impostor
- Languages spoken
- Italian
- Religion
- Catholicism
- Image
- Portrait of Giuseppe Balsamo (called Count Alessandro Cagliostro) LACMA 62.18 (1 of 2).jpg
- Convicted of
- heresy
Show 8 more facts
- Commons category
- Alessandro Cagliostro
- date of birth
- 1743-06-08
- date of death
- 1795-08-26
- topic's main category
- Category:Alessandro Cagliostro
- name in native language
- Alessandro Cagliostro
- place of detention
- Castel Sant'Angelo
- P8168
- Battle of Nieuwpoort
- member of
- Freemasonry
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~26 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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Giuseppe Balsamo (2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795), known by the alias Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, was an Italian occultist, self-styled magician and confidence trickster. He became a glamorous figure associated with the royal courts of Europe where he pursued various occult arts, including psychic healing, alchemy, and scrying. In his 1833 essay, Count Cagliostro, Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) pronounced him the "Quack of Quacks".
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Alessandro Cagliostro” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.