Casti

Casti, GIAMBATTISTA, poet, born at Prato, in Tuscany, probably in 1721, took orders, but in 1764 was introduced to the court of Vienna, where he gained the favour of Joseph II., and was made poet-laureate. On the emperor's death (1790), he returned to Florence, and in 1798 removed to Paris, where he died 6th February 1803. His best-known works are the 48 Novelle Galanti (Paris, 1793), and Gli Animali Parlanti, a political satire of charming spirit and grace.