France buys Giacomo Casanova's manuscript

Officials at France's National Library proudly displayed the 3,700 manuscript pages of one of the great works of 18th century literature, Giacomo Casanova's "Histoire de ma vie" or "Story of my Life." It is one of the most published texts in the world with hundreds and hundreds of publications.

Pages of Casanova's memoires manuscript, on display at the Ministry premises in Paris, France

The celebrated Venetian lover started his memoirs while working as a librarian in 1789 and kept modifying them until the end of his life.

The manuscript, packed in 12 boxes was originally thought to have been destroyed during the Allied bombing of Dresden in the spring 1945. It was later discovered that it had been transferred to a safe a few days beforehand and survived the devastation.

The Head of the French National Library says that the Casanova manuscripts are the most important purchase ever made by the library and cost over 7 million euros.