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Sep 26, 2024 · Lucrezia Borgia, Italian noblewoman and a central figure of the infamous Borgia family of the Italian Renaissance. Daughter of Pope Alexander VI and sister of Cesare, she is often accused of sharing in their many crimes and excesses but was more likely just an instrument for their ambitious projects.
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- Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia (q.v.; c. 1475/76–1507), son of Rodrigo,...
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Oct 5, 2023 · But perhaps the most scandalous allegation about Cesare Borgia was that he had an incestuous relationship with his sister Lucrezia. Whether the unproven accusation was true or not, it’s clear that Cesare Borgia led a self-indulgent lifestyle and exhibited brutality as a soldier and conqueror.
Lucrezia Borgia[ a ] (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the governor of Spoleto, in her own right, a position usually held by Cardinals.
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Cesare Borgia (born c. 1475/76, probably Rome [Italy]—died 1507, near Viana, Spain) natural son of Pope Alexander VI. He was a Renaissance captain who, as holder of the offices of duke of the Romagna and captain general of the armies of the church, enhanced the political power of his father’s papacy and tried to establish his own principality in ce...
Cesare Borgia was the son of his father’s most famous mistress, Vannozza Catanei. His father, at that time Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, was vice chancellor of the church and had had three earlier children by other mistresses. Cesare was, however, the oldest of the four children born to Vannozza and Rodrigo (the others were Juan, Lucrezia, and Jofré) and was Rodrigo’s second son. As was customary for second sons, he was educated for a career in the church, and in 1480 Pope Sixtus IV dispensed him from the slur of illegitimacy so that he might hold ecclesiastical offices.
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Although he was born in Italy and spent most of his life there, Cesare’s family and cultural background was almost entirely Spanish. His elder half brother, Pedro Luis, was duke of Gandía, and all of his early benefices were in Spain. At the age of seven Cesare was made an apostolic prothonotary and canon of the cathedral of Valencia.
The election of his father as pope in 1492 changed the fortunes of Cesare Borgia. Besides becoming an archbishop, he was also made a cardinal in 1493, with the titular church of Santa Maria Nova; he was now one of his father’s principal advisers. It was already clear, however, that he did not have a true religious vocation; he was better known at the papal court for his hunting parties, his amorous liaisons, and his magnificent clothes than for the meticulous observance of his ecclesiastical duties.
On the death of Pedro Luis in 1488 the title of duke of Gandía had by-passed him and gone to his younger brother Juan, and it was he who was made commander of the papal army in 1496 for the first of Alexander’s campaigns against his rebellious nobility, the Orsini. Cesare was reputed to have been extremely jealous of his brother, and, when Juan was mysteriously murdered in 1497, the rumour gradually spread that Cesare was the culprit. There is, however, no evidence that Cesare murdered his brother (who had many other enemies) beyond the fact that he was certainly capable of murder, as he subsequently proved.
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After the death of Juan, Cesare’s martial and political leanings and his father’s need for a trustworthy secular lieutenant coincided, and in 1498 Cesare gave up his cardinalate. Plans were laid for an important dynastic marriage for him, and, after an abortive attempt to win the hand of Carlotta, daughter of the king of Naples, he traveled to France to marry Charlotte d’Albret, sister of the king of Navarre. At the same time he received from Louis XII, the French king, the title of duke of Valentinois, and from this title he derived his nickname—Il Valentino.
The French marriage of Cesare ensured for him and his father French assistance in their plans to reestablish control in the Papal States and, if possible, to carve out a permanent Borgia state in Italy for Cesare. In 1499 Cesare, as captain general of the papal army, assisted by a large contingent of French troops, began a systematic occupation of the cities of Romagna and the Marches, which had largely fallen under the control of semi-independent papal vicars.
Cesare Borgia was a man of extraordinary contrasts. Machiavelli found that he could be at times secretive and taciturn, at other times loquacious and boastful. He alternated bursts of demonic activity, when he stayed up all night receiving and dispatching messengers, with moments of unaccountable sloth, when he remained in bed refusing to see anyone. He was quick to take offense and rather remote from his immediate entourage and yet very open with his subjects, loving to join in local sports and to cut a dashing figure.
There can be no doubt of the impact that he made in the Italy of his own day, but this impression was largely because of the backing he received from papal money and French arms. He was undoubtedly a master of politico-military maneuver, and it was a combination of daring and duplicity that brought him his striking successes and made him feared all over Italy. His abilities as a soldier and as an administrator, however, were never really tested. He fought no major battles in his short military career, but this was perhaps a measure of his success as a planner. He had little time for the organization of the government of his Romagna duchy, but there are indications that he had plans for centralized government and bureaucratic efficiency, which to some extent justify the claims made for him as an administrator by Machiavelli. His interests tended to be scientific and literary rather than artistic, but once again time was too short for him to emerge as an important Renaissance patron. Leonardo da Vinci was for a short time his inspector of fortresses but executed no artistic commissions for him.
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- Sarah Roller
- She was illegitimate. Born on 18 April 1480, Lucrezia Borgia was the daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo de Borgia (who would later go on to be Pope Alexander VI) and his chief mistress, Vannozza dei Cattanei.
- She was only 13 at the time of her first marriage. Lucrezia’s education and connections meant she would marry well – in a way that was advantageous to both her family and her prospects.
- Lucrezia’s annulment was tainted with accusations of incest. Giovanni Sforza was furious about the annulment – particularly given it was to be on grounds on non-consummation – and accused Lucrezia of paternal incest.
- She was extremely beautiful by the standards of her day. Lucrezia’s allure came not just from her wealthy and powerful family. Contemporaries described her as having long blonde hair, white teeth (not always a given in Renaissance Europe), hazel eyes and a natural grace and elegance.
The famous Borgia family produced two popes, Callixtus III (1378-1458) and Alexander VI (1431-1503), Lucrezia (1480-1519), a duchess famed for her beauty and learning, and Cesare (1475-1507), a leading inspiration for Machiavelli’s The Prince.
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Sep 27, 2024 · Cesare Borgia (q.v.; c. 1475/76–1507), son of Rodrigo, achieved political power while ruthlessly attempting to establish a secular kingdom in central Italy. Lucrezia Borgia (q.v.; 1480–1519), a daughter of Rodrigo and a patron of the arts, became famous for her skill at political intrigue.
