This arrangement, called the
cicisbeatura or
cicisbeismo, was widely practised, especially among the
nobility of the
Italian cities of
Genoa,
Nice,
Venice,
Florence and
Rome. While many contemporary references to
cicisbei and descriptions of their social standing exist, scholars diverge on the exact nature of the phenomenon. Some maintain that this institution was defined by marriage contracts, others question this claim and see it as a peculiarity of 18th-century customs that is not well defined or easily explained. Other scholars see it as a sign of the increasing emancipation of aristocratic women in the 18th century. The
cicisbeo was better tolerated if he was known to be
homosexual.
Louise d'Épinay wrote from Paris to her friend
Ferdinando Galiani about the impending departure of marchese Alvise Mocenigo, the Venetian ambassador, whose tastes the ambassador had displayed in Paris: Regardless of its roots and technicalities, the custom was firmly entrenched. Typically, husbands tolerated or even welcomed the arrangement:
Lord Byron, for example, was
cicisbeo to
Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli. After Byron's death, the Contessa's second husband, the Marquis de Boissy, was known to brag about the fact, introducing her as "
Madame la Marquise de Boissy, autrefois la Maitresse de Milord Byron" (the Marquise de Boissy, formerly the mistress of Lord Byron). Byron also famously analyzed the institution from an
English point of view in his poem
Beppo. Attempts by the husband to ward off prospective
cicisbei or disapproval of the practice in general was likely to be met with ridicule and scorn:
Cicisbei played by set rules, generally avoiding public displays of affection. At public entertainments, they would typically stand behind their seated mistress and whisper in her ear. Customs of the time did not permit them to engage in relationships with any other women during their free time, making the arrangement rather demanding. Either party could decide to end the relationship at any time. A woman's former
cicisbei were called
spiantati (literally
penniless,
destroyed), or cast-offs. ==In the arts==