id author title date pages extension mime words sentences flesch summary cache txt en-wikipedia-org-3067 Cicisbeo - Wikipedia .html text/html 1667 272 66 In 18thand 19th-century Italy, the cicisbeo (UK: /ˌtʃɪtʃɪzˈbeɪoʊ/ CHITCH-iz-BAY-oh,[1] US: /ˌtʃiːtʃ-/ CHEE-chiz-,[2] Italian: [tʃitʃiˈzbɛːo]; plural: cicisbei) or cavalier servente (French: chevalier servant) was the man who was the professed gallant or lover[3] of a woman married to someone else. This arrangement, called the cicisbeatura or cicisbeismo, was widely practiced, especially among the nobility of the Italian cities of Genoa, Nice, Venice, Florence and Rome.[8] While many contemporary references to cicisbei and descriptions of their social standing exist,[9] scholars diverge on the exact nature of the phenomenon.[10] Some maintain that this institution was defined by marriage contracts,[11] others question this claim and see it as a peculiarity of 18th-century customs that is not well defined or easily explained.[12] Other scholars see it as a sign of the increasing emancipation of aristocratic women in the 18th century.[13] ./cache/en-wikipedia-org-3067.html ./txt/en-wikipedia-org-3067.txt