Download - 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.