Gaetano followed suit the following year, having become infatuated with Giovanna Benozzi (1662 - c. 1750), a Commedia dell'arte actress who went by the name of "La Fragoletta" ("The Little Strawberry").
[1] Because of the difference in age, nothing came of it and she married Francesco Balletti, from a family of famous actors, who specialized in the role of Harlequin.
[2] In 1723, he left the troupe and went to Venice, where he found a position at the Teatro San Samuele, owned by the Grimani family.
Her father died shortly after,[3] from grief, according to Giacomo, and her mother, Marcia, was reconciled to the union only when Gaetano promised that he would not allow Zanetta to become an actress.
Two days before his death, he called all of his friends and relatives to his bedside, where the Grimanis pledged to take care of his wife and children.