I think the 1100 deflowered virgins should be taken with a rather giant pinch of salt. Rachel Anne Cleves just wanted to open her study with a sensational claim, and then Wikipedia repeats it as though it is fact. Insofar as ND was promiscuous, it seems to have been more with boys (when he wasn't in a serious relationship with a particular boy), if we are to judge by Orioli's diaries. Whereas a girl's family had to be cultivated and the girl herself won over, there was no shortage of boys in southern Italy looking to have a quick sexual encounter with a man in return for money or other rewards. It might not be love, but it is not a sickness either. Addiction? Well, sex is rather rewarding, and tends to be repeated. I should add that the period when he was more interested in girls was earlier in his life. There seemed a definite moment when he suddenly noticed the beauty of boys (when he noticed the beauty of the brother of a girl whom he was pursuing); and thenceforth his attentions switch almost exclusively to boys. He was also attracted to women, at least in the first part of his life.![]()  |