the house of borgia - epilogue

The House of…

Borgia

Rodrigo de Lanzol y Borgia

Pope Alexander VI 1492 - 1503

Besides being the Holy Father, he was the real father of Pier Luigi, Juan, Cesare, Lucrecia, Gioffre, Ottaviano, Girolamo and Isabella.

History Fact: Set the Line of Demarcation between areas of the New World claimed by Spain and Portugal. Portugal got

Brazil. Spain got everything else.

b.1431

As Pope, Rodrigo used his position to further the gains of

himself and his family. While this

was not uncommon (as, indeed, also

being a parent), he also reportedly hosted orgies,

gambled and kept his mistresses within

the Lateran walls.

His death in August 1503 was among the strangest in Papal history. Reports were that the dying Pope began to bloat after contracting fever (or Malaria) and gave off an evil stench from every orifice. When the public

was finally allowed to see the body, it was…

"the ugliest, most monstrous and horrible dead body that was ever

seen, without any form or likeness of humanity.”

Because of the unpopularity of his reign, the Cardinals refused to bury him in the Vatican with the other Popes, until

forced to do so by Papal staff.

In the end, his body was removed from the Vatican and interred with his uncle, Pope Calixtus III, at the Santa Maria in Monserrato

degli Spagnoli in Rome.

Vannozza dei Cattanei

Mistress of Pope Alexander VI, mother of Juan, Cesare, Lucrezia and Gioffre

1442 - 1518

Despite the number of mistresses in Pope Alexander’s life, Vanozza shared a high level of esteem with him because of their children.

JuanCesare Lucrezia Gioffre

‘La Bella’ - Giulia Farnese

1474 - 1524

Sadly, not even Vanozza’s charms could keep the Holy Father from falling in love with…

Adriana del Mila

There was one small problem: Giulia was already married to this man:

He’s the son of this woman:

Caretaker of the Borgia household and governess to Lucrezia.EEK!

Giovanni (Juan) Borgia

2nd Duke of Gandia (Valencia, Spain), Duke of Sessa, Grand Constable of

Naples, Governor of St. Peter's, and Gonfalonier and Captain General of

the Church.

Juan became the 2nd Duke of Gandia upon the murder of the 1st Duke…his half-brother, Pier Luigi Borgia.

Guess who (supposedly) killed Pier Luigi?

In September, 1493, Juan married Maria Enriquez de Luna, who was engaged to Pier Luigi before his death. They had two children, Juan (b. 1495) and Isabella (b. 1498).

In June, 1497, Juan was murdered in Rome. His body was found in the Tiber River, hands bound

and with gold ducats still in his purse, which appeared to make the death one of vengeance.

His widow commissioned this painting (“Virgen de los Caballeros’) in 1500 in Juan’s memory, with the man she perceived to be his killer standing over him with a dagger.

Juan

His brother, Cesare

Juan’s son, Juan de Borja y Enriquez, would become the 3rd Duke of Gandia and the father of who many believe a true

man of the Church and the only ‘good’ Borgia…

St. Francis Borgia (1510 – 1572)

Cesare Borgia

Duke of Valentinois, husband of Charlotte

d’Albret, Cardinal, Soldier,

Statesman and Politician.

Aside from Lucrezia, Cesare is perhaps the most notorious of the

Borgia family.

…a reputation he almost fully deserved.

Between 1502 and 1503, Cesare befriended one man who was Secretary to the Chancellery of Florence.

Niccolò Machiavelli

Cesare Borgia

Machiavelli’s book, ‘The Prince’, recounts the rule of Borgia as a lesson in depending too much on acquiring power by virtue of another force (in this case, Cesare’s father, the

Pope).

During the same period, Borgia hired another man as a military advisor and engineer…

Leonardo da Vinci

Sure enough, after Alexander’s death and the ascention of Pope Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere), Cesare’s Italian empire was shattered in a

matter of months and he was forced back to Spain, where, in 1507, he was killed in action fighting alongside his brother-in-law, King John III of

Navarre.

Cesare Borgia is buried in the Igelesia de Santa Maria de la Asuncion in Vianna, Navarre,

Spain.

HIS ORIGINAL EPITAPH: "Here lies in little earth one who was feared by all, who held peace and war

in his hand." .

Lucrezia Borgia

Lady of Pesaro and Gradara Duchess of Bisceglie and

Princess of Salerno Duchess of Ferrara, Modena

and Reggio

Very little is known about Lucrezia Borgia or her role in her family business. She may well be one

of the most maligned women in history.

“If you were to serve up one of your meals at Staff HQ, you'd be arrested

for the greatest mass poisoning since Lucrezia Borgia invited 500 of her close friends

for a Wine and Anthrax party!”-‘Blackadder Goes Forth: Captain Cook

The beauti

ful Lucrezia was marrie

d three times

…

Husband #1:

Giovanni SforzaArranged by Pope

Alexander. Was declared null because marriage was

never consumated.

Husband #2:

Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglie

Attacked in the Piazzo of St. Peter’s in

August, 1500, then strangled, (most

believe on Cesare’s orders). They had one child, Rodrigo

(1499 - 1512)

Husband #3:

Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara

(fortunately, it appears Cesare approved)

Following the death of Alexander VI and the rise of Pope Julian II, Lucrezia moved with d’Este to Ferrara in northern Italy and remained until her death on June 24, 1519, a week after giving birth to their

eighth child.

Through her granddaughter, Anna d’Este, Lucrezia Borgia is claimed as an ancestor of the following personages…

King Juan Carlos I of Spain

Henri of Luxembourg

Albert II of BelgiumConfederate General P.G.T.

Beauregard

Gioffre (or Jofré) Borgia

Gioffre was 12 when he married 16-year-old Sancia of Aragon and became Prince of

Squillace in southern Italy.

To all appearences, it was an ideal marriage for the two…except it wasn’t.

For Sancia had her eyes on two others…

…His own brothers.

Cesare Juan

There are, in fact, many who believe Juan was not killed by Cesare at all…

…but by Gioffre, in his jealousy over the beautiful Sancia.

Needless to say, Gioffre and Sancia had no children.

Fortunately, he was cleared of all

wrong-doing by his father, the Pope.