The Life & Legend of Lucrezia Borgia

AUTHOR

TIMELINE

1431

– Rodrigo Borgia is born

1442

– Vannozza dei Cattanei is born

1455

– Rodrigo’s cousin, Cardinal Alonso de Borja, becomes Pope Calixtus III

1456

– Rodrigo becomes a Cardinal

1458

– Pope Calixtus dies. Rodrigo continues his climb to power, buys a key papal fortress outside of Rome, and lives like a prince with 113 servants

1473

– Rodrigo takes Vannozza as his mistress

1474

– Vannozza marries Domenico di Rignano, an elderly lawyer and goes to live at the Piazza Pizzo di Merlo

1475

13th September – Cesare is born to Vannozza and Rodrigo (but is legally the son of Domenico di Rignano)

1476

– Domenico di Rignano dies

– Giovanni (Juan I) is born, (legally acknowledged by Rodrigo as his own)

1480

18th April – Lucrezia is born at the fortress of Subiaco, near Rome

1482

– Geoffredo is born

– Vannozza marries Giorgio San Croce; Rodrigo finishes his affair with her

1483

– Cesare, Lucrezia, Juan, and Geoffredo leave Vannozza’s care and are raised by Rodrigo’s cousin Adriana de Mila at the Palazzo Orsini on Monte Giordano

1491

February 26th – Lucrezia is betrothed to Cherubino Juan de Centelles, Lord of Val d’Ayora. The contract is soon annulled.

April – Lucrezia is betrothed to Don Gasparo de Procida, son and heir to the Count of Aversa. This contract is annulled when Rodrigo is elected Pope.

1492

26th August – Rodrigo Borgia takes formal possession of the papacy in Rome, changing his birth name to the regnal name Alexander VI

– Lucrezia moves into the Palazzo Santa Maria in Portico, next to the Vatican

1493

2nd February – Lucrezia (13yrs old) is betrothed to Giovanni Sforza (26 yrs old), the Lord of Pesaro and Count of Contignola

12th June – Lucrezia is married to Giovanni

– Alexander becomes interested in making an alliance with the House of Aragon

– Juan is married into the House of Aragon (Princess Maria Enriquez) and takes possession of Gandia in Spain

– Cesare is elevated to Cardinal of Valencia

– Cesare is officially recognized as Alexander’s son in a secret Papal Bull

1494

January – King of Naples dies

March – Alexander decides to invest the son of the King of Naples (Alfonso II) with the Neapolitan crown, rather than Charles VIII of France. The Borgias are now allied with Naples, the enemy of Milan and the Sforzas. Rome becomes dangerous for Lucrezia’s husband, Giovanni Sforza

– France invades Italy, helped by Ludovico Sforza who grants the French safe passage through Milan

– the Orsini family betray Alexander and supporting the French, providing them with the use of family castles

31st December – Charles VIII and the French army enter Rome. Alexander retreats to safety at Castel Sant’Angelo

1495

– Alexander promises to support the French; Charles VIII leave for Naples and takes Cesare with him to ensure Alexander’s continued allegiance

– Cesare tricks the French, escapes their custody, and returns to Rome

January – Alfonso II of Naples abdicates and passes his throne to Ferdinand II

February – France occupies Naples

31st March – Alexander forms the League of Venice (comprising of Milan, Venice, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire) against the French

6th July – the League defeat France at the Battle of Fornovo; Charles VIII retreats from Italy

1496

Summer – the Borgia family are reunited (Juan returns from Spain)

– Juan is named Gonfalonier of the Church and invested with the standard and baton of Captain General of the Papal Army

– Juan and Guidobaldo of Urbino launch a campaign against the Orsini family (revenge for French betrayal)

– Giovanni Sforza makes his first escape from Rome

September 7th – Ferdinand II of Naples dies; Frederick IV of Naples becomes King

– Juan’s campaign starts to fail (he loses a long siege at the Orsini fortress of Bracciano)

1497

January – Papal Army is defeated at the battle of Soriano. The campaign against the Orsinis completely fails

8th January – Virginio Orsini dies (probably poisoned) in the Castel dell’Ovo in Naples

February – Alexander is forced to make peace with the Orsinis (who now control the Roman Campagna)

March – Giovanni Sforza panics and flees Rome for Pesaro. Alexander starts divorce proceedings (he now desires an alliance with Naples)

June 4th – Lucrezia escapes the authority of her family in Rome and flees to the Dominican convent of San Sisto

– Lucrezia possibly receives visits from Pedro ‘Perotto’ Calderon, a papal servant

– Lucrezia testifies at divorce proceedings; submits to an examination by a midwife, thereby proving that the marriage to Giovanni was never consummated (the only legal grounds for divorce)

– Juan is given a duchy made from the cities of Benevente, Terracina, and Pontecorvo

Wednesday, 14th June – Juan Borgia is last seen alive

Thursday, 15th June – Papal soldiers search Rome for Juan

Friday 16th June – Eyewitness reports that a body was dumped in the Tiber; at midday, the Tiber is searched and Juan’s body is found; at 6pm, Juan is buried

6th July – Alexander halts the official investigation into Juan’s death

– Giovanni Sforza protests the divorce, but eventually relents when he is allowed to keep the dowry. The marriage is soon dissolved

– 17 cases of syphilis break out in the Papal Court; Cesare becomes infected. Afterwards, he occasionally wears a mask over his face to cover outbreaks of pustules

1498

8th February – Cesare attacks ‘Perotto’ at the Vatican

14th February – Bodies of Perotto and Panthasilea (a female papal servant in the service of Lucrezia), are found drowned in the Tiber

March – Lucrezia possibly gives birth to a child; at the same time, the mysterious boy ‘infans Romanus’ is born to either Alexander or Cesare and an unknown woman

7th April – Charles VIII dies and Louis XII inherits throne of France (he soon threatens war with both Naples and Milan)

15th July – Alfonso of Aragon (17yrs old), Duke of Bisceglie, arrives in Rome and officially meets the Borgias

21st July – Lucrezia and Alfonso are married

– Alexander becomes interested in helping Louis of France (who wishes the Pope to annul his marriage). Alexander also starts to turn against King Frederick in Naples (who is backed by Spain), since Spain and Naples won’t support Cesare’s proposed marriage to Frederick IV’s daughter, Carlotta. In contrast, France will agree to support marriage, since Carlotta is at the French court. Naples encourages the Orsinis and Colonna to unite against Pope

17th August – Cesare relinquishes his cardinalate and becomes Duke of Valentinois

1st October – Cesare departs for the French court

– Spanish ambassadors arrive at the Papal court and argue with Alexander

1499

February – Lucrezia suffers a miscarriage

23rd May – a courier arrives at the Vatican with news of Cesare’s marriage to Charlotte d’Albret

August 2nd – Alfonso flees Rome and goes to Naples (as do other pro-Spanish allies of the Borgias). Specifically, he goes to the Colonna fortress at Genazzano

– Alexander gives Lucrezia the governorship of Spoleto and Foligno

– Alfonso and Lucrezia are reunited in Spoleto

25th September – Alexander gives Lucrezia the governorship of Nepi

11th October – Louis XII invades Milan with Cesare in the ranks

2pm, 14th October – Lucrezia gives birth to a son with Alfonso (Rodrigo)

– Alexander takes over direct control of many papal states on the grounds they have not paid the census

11th November – Rodrigo is christened

– Cesare’s first Romagna campaign; he captures Imola and Forli and Pesaro (Caterina Sforza is captured at Forli)

1500

– Jubilee year in Rome

– Alexander campaigns against the Caetanis and captures Sermoneta

February – Lucrezia is given the governorship of Sermoneta; Cesare returns to Rome

29th March – Alexander gives Cesare the Golden Rose and invests him with the insignia of Gonfalonier and Captain General of the Church

10th April – France defeats Milan and the Sforzas lose all power (French attention then turns to Naples and war with the Aragons)

June – a whirlwind strikes the Vatican, kills several people, and injures Alexander

Wednesday 15th July – three hours after sunset, Alfonso is attacked outside St. Peter’s Basilica on his way back to his palazzo. He survives the assault. Immediately, Lucrezia barricades herself and Alfonso in the Torre Borgia, guarded by a watch of 16 men. She tries to nurse him back to health over the next few weeks

11pm, 18th August – Alfonso is murdered (strangled by Cesare’s men)

September – Lucrezia sent to Nepi to mourn out of sight (Alexander is already planning her next marriage)

2nd October – Cesare starts the second stage of his conquest of the Romagna, leaves Rome with 10,000 men

1501

– Cesare captures Faenza, Piombino, and Elba; he meets and employs Leonardo da Vinci at the siege of Faenza

– Cesare and French army sack Capua and seize Naples

– Alexander seizes the Orsini family’s possessions

Sunday 30th October – Cesare and Alexander hold the infamous ‘Ballet of the Chestnuts’ at Palazzo Apostolico, inviting over 50 courtesans to attend

30th December – Lucrezia marries Alfonso d’Este, heir to the Dukedom of Ferrara (the Borgias make an alliance in the buffer region between the Romagna and unfriendly Venice)

– Alexander grants Lucrezia control over the Vatican and Holy See for 4 days, while he is absent from Rome

1502

– Cesare’s third Romagna campaign; he conquers Urbino, captures Camerino; during this time he meets Niccolò Machiavelli

– Cesare’s condottieri conspire against him; Cesare traps and kills the condottieri at Sinigaglia (much to Machiavelli’s admiration)

– French and Spanish fight over Naples

September – Alexander accepts parentage of the ‘infans Romanus’ in a secret Papal Bull

1503

– French army is defeated at Seminara and Cerignola (southern Italy)

6th August – Cesare and Alexander attend a dinner at the villa of Cardinal Adriano da Corneto; they possibly contract an illness or suffer poisoning

Saturday 12th August – Cesare and Alexander both fall seriously ill with a mysterious illness

18th August – Alexander dies from the illness, Cesare slowly recovers but is incapacitated for a lengthy period

– Within 2 days, the House of Orsini start to regain control of Rome

– Within a week, the deposed tyrants of the Romagna challenge Borgia command of several towns in the region

October – Pope Pius II is elected, but dies 26 days later. Pope Julius II is then elected; he restores moral respectability to the Vatican and ushers in the Golden Age of Rome in which much rebuilding is undertaken. The House of Borgia quickly falls from power. Julius II betrays Cesare and imprisons him. Cesare soon escapes and flees to Naples

1504

– French army surrenders at Gaeta

– Venetians advance in the Romagna

– Cesare loses his title of Duke of Valentinois. He is taken prisoner again, moved to Spain, and imprisoned at Chinchilla

1505

– Lucrezia becomes Duchess of Ferrara

– Cesare is transferred to the dungeons at the fortress of Medina del Campo

1506

– Cesare escapes Medina del Campo and flees to Navarre. King Jean of Navarre places him in charge of a small army

1507

12th March – Cesare is killed in battle (with the rebellious Count of Beaumonte’s troops) at the siege of Viana in Navarre

1508

– Lucrezia gives birth to the heir of Ferrara, Ercole II

1510

– Lucrezia acts as governor of Ferrara

1513

– Machiavelli publishes ‘The Prince’ (inspired by Cesare’s leadership), considered the most influential political work of all time

1518

– Vannozza dei Cattanei dies, leaving her money to orphans, a hospital, and pious communities. She is buried with the honor of a cardinal at the church of Santa Maria del Popolo

1519

24th June – Lucrezia dies in Ferrara from fever after childbirth

Sources

Alexander, VI (1431-1503). Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Alexander, Virginia. What Life Was Like At The Rebirth Of Genius: Renaissance Italy AD 1400-1550. Ed. Denise Dersin. New York: Time Life Books, 1999.

Borgia, Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara (1480-1519). Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Bradford, Sarah. Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death In Renaissance Italy. New York: Viking, 2004.

Cesare Borgia. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Cloulas, Ivan. The Borgias. Trans. Gilda Roberts. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1985.

Erlanger, Rachel. Lucrezia Borgia: A Biography. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1978.

Fisher, Robert I.C. Fodor's Holy Rome, 1st Edition: A Millennium Guide to Christian Sights. New York: Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc., 1999.

Haslip, Joan. Lucrezia Borgia: A Study. London: Cassel & Co. Ltd., 1953.

In Search Of History: The Borgias. Narr. David Ackroyd. Prod. Deborah Blum. History Channel, A&E Home Video, 1997.

Ketchum, Richard M., ed. The Horizon Book Of The Renaissance. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co, Inc., 1961.

King, Ross. Michelangelo And The Pope's Ceiling. New York: Penguin, 2003.

Lucrezia Borgia. Historic World Leaders. Gale, 1994. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Scott, R. A. Basilica: The Splendor And The Spectacle: Building St. Peters. New York: Viking, 2006.

Wild, Fiona, and John Heseltine. Eyewitness Travel: Rome. New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishers, Ltd. , 2006.

PROFILE

Origin of Name

Her name derives from the Roman legend of Lucretia, a woman who killed herself rather than live with the shame of being raped. Lucretia is a symbol of womanly chastity.

Birth

18th April, 1480, at the fortress of Subiaco near Rome. This location was probably chosen for reasons of discretion (Vannozza was now a widow, so it would’ve been obvious to the world that Lucrezia was Alexander’s daughter).

Death

24th June, 1519. She died from a fever contracted shortly after giving birth to her eighth child.

Appearance

Middle-height, golden hair, fair skin, slender and graceful proportions.

Like many noblewomen, she knew the power of maintaining a dazzling appearance. For example, one of her capes was made from crimson satin, lined with ermine, and embroidered with 61 rubies, 55 diamonds, 5 large pearls, 412 medium-sized pearls, and 114 small pearls.

Personality

Privileged --- she spent her entire life in palazzos, and was 12 yrs old when her father became Pope. During her childhood, she was raised in an atmosphere of male dominance and power, lavished by her father’s affection. She was also encouraged to express great loyalty towards her family, especially since they were surrounded by powerful enemies in Rome (e.g., the Houses of Colonna and Orsini).

Well educated --- she spoke Italian, Catalan, French, Latin, and Greek. She also loved music, poetry, and dancing.

Rebellious --- In 1497, at the age of 17, she ran away to the Dominican convent of San Sisto, perhaps due to a quarrel with Alexander about her divorce from Giovanni Sforza (the process could be humiliating for a woman). The convent was the only place she could escape the authority of her family, and she refused to return home when her father requested it. Furthermore, after death of Alfonso of Aragon, she rejected absolute loyalty to her family and soon fell out of favor with her father (in reaction, he banished her to the far corner of the Papal States to marry a nobleman in Ferrara).

Passionate --- during her life, she had affairs with secret lovers, and there were strong rumors that she gave birth out of wedlock in 1498. At the same time, a child mysteriously appeared at the Vatican named the ‘infans Romanus’ (child of Rome), and the mother and father were unknown. Later, Alexander himself accepted parentage in a secret Papal Bull, yet this may only have been for purposes of legitimacy and succession. The real father may actually have been Pedro ‘Perotto’ Calderon, a papal servant who was rumored to have been Lucrezia’s lover. Lending credence to this legend, is the fact that Cesare violently attacked Perotto at the Vatican, possibly after learning about his dishonorable affair with Lucrezia. Days later, Perotto was found drowned in the Tiber, the killer uncaught...

Strong --- Alexander had so much confidence in Lucrezia’s ability to weild power with responsibility, that he gave her the governorship of several cities (Spoleto, Foligno, Nepi, and Sermoneta). Furthermore, when Alexander left Rome to visit his newly captured castles in the Campagna, he placed Lucrezia as regent in charge of the Holy See and the Vatican (this also happened on two subsequent occasions). Such an event was unprecedented in the history of the Catholic Church (no other woman has ever officially ruled over the Holy See).

Immediate Family

Pope Alexander VI

Originally from Spain (Valencia). Despite his advanced age when he became Pope, he was known to have an aggressive, clever, charming and virile personality. His climb to power began in 1455, when his uncle became Pope Calixtus III. After holding the position of cardinal for 36 years, he became Pontiff in 1492 (and was accused of bribing his way to the papacy). Despite the lax morals of the time, Alexander is known for bringing new depths of corruption to the Vatican, and his contemporaries despised him for defiling the sanctity of the Church.

Alexander had many notorious traits. He used his own children to further the political aims of the family. He is rumored to have created his own special poison and used it to kill many of his enemies. And he also kept his own personal flock of courtesans resident at the Vatican. His carnal behavior soon inspired many rumors of orgies and other licentious activities at the Apostolic Palace (there were even unsubstantiated rumors of incest with Lucrezia).

Alexander died shortly after dining with Cesare at the villa of Cardinal Adriano da Corneto in 1503. During this meal, both Cesare and Alexander possibly contracted a disease or ingested a poison (some people suggest that they were trying to poison their host, but accidentally poisoned each other instead). Days later, both Cesare and Alexander collapsed with a life-threatening illness: Cesare recovered, but Alexander did not. By the time of his burial, Alexander’s body was so badly decomposed (swollen and black) that porters had to use clubs to pummel it into a casket.

Vannozza dei Cattanei

Originally from Lombardy, daughter of Jacopo Pinctoris (a painter). Like Lucrezia, she had fair hair and light green eyes. She raised Lucrezia and her two brothers for only a few years: in 1483, Alexander took his children away from her, placing them with his cousin Adriana da Mila at the vast Orsini Palazzo at Montegiordano.

Due to several marriages, and her relationship with Alexander, Vannozza became quite a wealthy woman. In fact, she owned three of Rome’s inns: ‘The Lion’, ‘The Cow’, and ‘The Eagle’. When she died in 1518, she donated all her money to religious causes and was buried with great honor at the church of Santa Maria del Popolo.

Cesare

The oldest of Alexander’s children by Vannozza. At the time of his birth, Vannozza was married to another man, and so Alexander could not legally declare Cesare as his own son (this was rectified later in a secret Papal Bull). Cesare was legally considered the second son of Alexander and therefore destined for the church.

When Juan was killed in 1497, Cesare’s fortune dramatically changed: he left his cardinalate and finally took over the family titles and wealth. Through negotiations with France, he assumed the title Duke of Valentinois and married a French noblewoman. Soon afterwards, Alexander gave Cesare the titles of Gonfalonier of the Church and Captain General of the Papal Army. Cesare then launched many campaigns in the Papal States and central Italy, conquering every town in his path, gradually extending Borgia influence over an increasingly wider sphere. Alexander even hoped to unite all the Italian states under Cesare’s rule, crowning him the first king of Italy.

Cesare was a powerfully built man, much accomplished at physical combat. He is renowned for the ruthlessness of his personality, and the intelligence of his political tactics and military strategies. He even inspired Niccolò Machiavelli’s famous political work ‘The Prince’. Cesare was also rumored to be the most handsome man of his era, but eventually he contracted syphilis which marred his face with pustules and scars. To hide his disfigurement, he sometimes wore a mask. He also conducted many of his affairs at night and often wore entirely black clothing.

After Alexander died, Cesare quickly lost all his influence and power: he was betrayed by the new Pontiff, Julius II; captured and imprisoned; stripped of his dukedom; and sent away to dungeons in Spain. He escaped prison twice and briefly served as a mercenary soldier for his brother-in-law, King Jean of Navarre, before meeting his death on the battlefield in 1507.

Juan

Although he was the younger of Alexander’s two sons, Vannozza gave birth to Juan in 1476, when she was a widow - hence Alexander could legally declare Juan as his son (unlike Cesare). Thus meant that Juan became the heir to the Borgia fortune and titles. He was considered the Pope’s favorite son, but he also had a reputation as a cruel, dissolute, and pretentious young man. He married into Spanish nobility and gained the title Duke of Gandia; and Alexander originally gave him the titles of Gonfalonier of the Church and Captain General of the Papal Army. Unfortunately, Juan was inept at his military command – he failed in his campaign to storm the Orsini fortress at Bracciano, deeply embarrassing the family in front of their enemies.

In 1497, he was murdered (stabbed nine times) in Rome after attending a banquet with Cesare at his mother’s country villa. He was last seen alive in the company of a masked man, riding away in the direction of the Ghetto. After a day’s search of the city, his body was discovered to have been dumped in the Tiber. There were many suspects for the murder, including his brother Cesare (who had most to gain from Juan’s death) and the Orsini, but Alexander stopped the police investigation after less than a month’s progress. The killer was never identified.

Marriages

Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro

This was not a very high match for Lucrezia, since Giovanni offered neither wealth nor great prestige (the marriage was made entirely for temporary political gain). Their union lasted four years (1493-1497), but Lucrezia never saw Giovanni for more than a few months at a time. Their marriage was generally thought to be loveless, and there was a great age gap between the two spouses (Lucrezia was 13 yrs old; Giovanni was 26). Giovanni had a bumbling and awkward personality, and was known as a handsome, conceited young man with a violent temper (he may also have been physically abusive towards Lucrezia).

During the marriage, Alexander shifted political alliances towards the enemies of the Sforzas, quickly undermining the union. Giovanni even feared that the Borgias might assassinate him, and he fled Rome on two different occasions, escaping to the safety of his fortress at Pesaro.

Alexander eventually wished to marry Lucrezia to a more useful ally, and he began divorce proceedings in 1497. He claimed the marriage was invalid as it had never been consummated due to Giovanni’s impotence. Giovanni rejected this accusation, and launched many counter-charges of his own at Alexander (including allegations of incest with Lucrezia), but he finally relented when Alexander permitted him to keep Lucrezia’s dowry.

Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglie

The illegitimate son to the King of Naples, Alfonso II. His contemporaries considered him to have an open, unassuming, and gentle personality; he was also renowned for his handsome features. Lucrezia and Alfonso were of the same age (17 yrs old) at the time of their wedding, and they fell in love very swiftly. For several years (1498-1500), they lived together peacefully in Rome at the Palazzo Santa Maria in Portico, and formed a small literary court, inviting many poets and writers to entertain them at their palazzo. Lucrezia became pregnant in 1499, and gave birth to a son, named Rodrigo.

The marriage only became unstable when Alexander and Cesare formed alliances with France (an enemy of Alfonso’s family). Like Giovanni, Alfonso also feared that his life was at risk from the Borgias, and he fled Rome and took refuge at a nearby fortress. Lucrezia was distraught at his sudden departure, but they were soon reunited, and Alfonso returned to Rome the same year.

In 1500, Alfonso was attacked one night while walking to his palazzo after leaving the Vatican. As he strolled across St. Peter’s Square he was stabbed by five men dressed as pilgrims. Alfonso survived the attack and was dragged back to the Apostolic Palace. Lucrezia immediately placed him in the Borgia tower, and had his room guarded by 16 men.

Over the next 33 days, she nursed him back to health (even preparing his food herself to prevent his poisoning). She also tried to negotiate his safe departure from Rome. Despite her efforts, however, nothing could save Alfonso: Cesare’s henchmen eventually stormed the room and strangled him in his bed. Afterwards, Cesare claimed that Alfonso had provoked this attack by shooting at him with a crossbow while he wandered in the gardens below the Borgia Tower. Years later, Cesare’s chief guardsman stated that it was actually Alexander who had ordered the attack.

After the murder, Lucrezia’s grief at Alfonso’s death was both intense and prolonged (she referred to herself in letters as ‘La Infelicissima’ – the most unhappiest of ladies). Alexander soon grew annoyed at her continued misery and sent her away to the city of Nepi to mourn out of sight. Meanwhile, he arranged her next marriage.

Alfonso d’Este, heir to the Dukedom of Ferrara

He was an accomplished nobleman, famous for his clever mechanical and artillery designs. Lucrezia and Alfonso were married in 1501. At the start, their union was rather dysfunctional (Alfonso thought Lucrezia had a sullied reputation), but over time she grew close to her new husband, eventually giving birth to seven children: Alessandro (September-October 1505); Ercole, the future heir (1508-1559); Ippolito (1509-1572); Alessandro (1514-1516); Leonora (1515-1575), Francesco (1516-1578) and Isabella Maria (June-November 1519).

The Este court was renowned for its patronage of the arts, and Lucrezia spent the rest of her days surrounded by some of the greatest painters, sculptors, and poets of her era (such as Ariosto and Pietro Bembo). Her life in Ferrara was not without incident, but compared to her scandalous past in Rome, it became a haven of tranquility.

Legacy

During the renaissance, women were generally considered to be untrustworthy and deceitful because of their spiritual inheritance from the original sinfulness of Eve. This worldview partly explains why Lucrezia has so often been blamed for the crimes of her family, despite the lack of any evidence to suggest her involvement. It should be noted that almost no one in her own time accused her of taking part in the poisonings attributed to Alexander and Cesare – her contemporaries in Rome merely felt that her reputation was tarnished by allegations of incest and promiscuity. Indeed, the legend of Lucrezia as a femme fatale, a ruthless woman who poisoned her enemies, actually arises years later from the many novels, plays, and operas created by artists in the centuries after her death.

In reality, during her tumultuous life, Lucrezia managed to overcome the damaged reputation she suffered from her family. After her father died in 1503, and Cesare swiftly fell from power, Lucrezia was no longer used as a pawn to increase the influence and interests of the House of Borgia. Instead, in the lands of Ferrara, far away from Rome, she settled into a new role as a Duchess. Over time, she managed to shed the notorious rumors about her life in Rome, reinventing herself as a generous patron of the arts, a loving mother of seven children, and a kind benefactor of many charities. By the time of her death in 1519, many people mourned her loss and she was buried with great honor in the highest church in Ferrara, the disgraceful rumors about her past now long forgotten...

Sources

Alexander, VI (1431-1503). Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Alexander, Virginia. What Life Was Like At The Rebirth Of Genius: Renaissance Italy AD 1400-1550. Ed. Denise Dersin. New York: Time Life Books, 1999.

Borgia, Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara (1480-1519). Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Bradford, Sarah. Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death In Renaissance Italy. New York: Viking, 2004.

Cesare Borgia. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Cloulas, Ivan. The Borgias. Trans. Gilda Roberts. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1985.

Erlanger, Rachel. Lucrezia Borgia: A Biography. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1978.

Fisher, Robert I.C. Fodor's Holy Rome, 1st Edition: A Millennium Guide to Christian Sights. New York: Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc., 1999.

Haslip, Joan. Lucrezia Borgia: A Study. London: Cassel & Co. Ltd., 1953.

In Search Of History: The Borgias. Narr. David Ackroyd. Prod. Deborah Blum. History Channel, A&E Home Video, 1997.

Ketchum, Richard M., ed. The Horizon Book Of The Renaissance. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co, Inc., 1961.

King, Ross. Michelangelo And The Pope's Ceiling. New York: Penguin, 2003.

Lucrezia Borgia. Historic World Leaders. Gale, 1994. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Scott, R. A. Basilica: The Splendor And The Spectacle: Building St. Peters. New York: Viking, 2006.

Wild, Fiona, and John Heseltine. Eyewitness Travel: Rome. New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishers, Ltd. , 2006.

LIFE IN ROME

Population

In the ancient era, Rome had a population approaching 1 million people (by the 4th century AD, over 800,000 people lived in the city). After the barbarian invasions in the 5th century AD, and the Papacy’s removal to Avignon in 1309, the city’s population steadily dwindled to around 50,000 people. By Lucrezia’s time, however, Rome was again the seat of the Catholic Church, the city was thriving, and the population had grown to 200,000.

Architecture

Renaissance Rome was a city entirely enclosed within ancient walls, and Roman ruins dominated the cityscape. Everywhere there were broken columns and the remains of roman theatres, circuses, and stadiums. Medieval houses and huts sprouted between all the ruins like weeds (indeed, people often plundered the ruins for building material or razed them to the ground to make way for new building projects). The city was also still very rustic, like a collection of overgrown villages: cows grazed at the Forum, horses ran wild around Trajan’s Column, and sheep flocked on most of the Seven Hills. The city was even thought to smell like a barnyard!

Streets

The roads were narrow and cobbled, receiving little sunlight. In summer, temperatures could be cool in the tiny alleyways, but stepping out into a piazza was like entering a furnace. Cramped neighborhoods were also rimmed with watchtowers that guarded the strongholds of the baronial families (the Houses of Savelli, Cenci, Orsini, and Colonna).

Skyline

In Lucrezia’s time there were no picturesque domes yet (except the flattened roof of the Pantheon), but the city was notable for having 300 towers and campaniles (freestanding bell towers), many of them crenellated. The city also had four major basilicas: St. Peters; St. Paolo Fuori le Mura; St Giovanni in Laterano; and St. Maria Maggiore. The sloping roofs and formal arches of each church looked like vaulted islands spread out in four distant locations in the city.

Lifestyle

When the Papacy removed to Avignon, Rome became a faint shadow of its illustrious past, full of ruinous buildings and plague. It was soon overrun by warring Roman tribes (the Orsini and Colonna) who killed each other, terrorized the citizens, raped nuns, robbed monks, and pillaged churches.

Although these problems remained far into Lucrezia’s time, the city was beginning to regain its strength. Once the Papacy had finally returned to Rome, the city slowly began to rebuild both physically, artistically, and politically. Popes constructed bridges, widened streets, built hospitals, erected churches, and gave land to people to build houses or palaces.

One of the main interests in Rome was the ruins. Scholars and architects began to find a new respect and admiration for classical architecture, and many artists were inspired by new discoveries of ancient painting and sculpture (e.g., in 1490, the Apollo Belvedere was found in a roman villa). Travelers visited from all over Europe and Asia to see sights like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Trajan’s Column, the Capitol, and the Pyramid of Caius Cestius.

Rome was also famous as a place of loose morals -- it was even nicknamed ‘The City of Women’, since there were over 7,000 courtesans and prostitutes at work in the city.

Notable Locations

St. Peter’s Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro)

The old building (before Julius II demolished and rebuilt it), originally constructed by the Emperor Constantine. It was the largest church in the world, cluttered with over one hundred Corinthian columns, numerous side chapels (over 90), treasures, and monuments to dead Pontiffs. In the center, the altar was located over St Peter’s tomb, and above it stood a solid gold cross that weighed 150 pounds.

Outside in the piazza, the area was full of beggars, stalls, and kiosks selling wares to pilgrims visiting the church.

The Apostolic Palace (Palazzo Apostolico)

Hall of the Parrot (Sala del Pappagallo) --- the site of many Borgia parties, and also where Alexander lay in state after his death.

Royal Hall (Sala Reale) --- the chamber where Alexander gave public audiences; also, the site of the notorious 'Ballet of the Chestnuts'.

The Borgia Apartments (Appartamento Borgia)

Located on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace, this network of chambers was the private living quarters for Alexander and Cesare. Alexander built this area specially to his design when he became pontiff in 1492. In total, there were five reception rooms (2 in the Borgia Tower): Room of the Liberal Arts, Room of the Saints, Room of the Faith, Room of the Sibyls, Room of the Creed. Each hall was decorated with murals painted by the artist Pinturicchio, and they are now considered one of the jewels of the Renaissance.

Hall of the Pontiff (Sala dei Pontefici) --- a 2,300 square ft. antechamber, decorated with portraits of 10 famous popes. A narrow marble doorway (with a crest above that shows the Keys of St Peter and the arms of Nicholas V) leads to a suite of 3 reception rooms, each covering an area of 100 square yards.

1st Room: Hall of the Faith (Sala dei Misteri della Fede) --- gilded stuccowork with a blue background that enhances the rich murals inside the hall. The murals have scenes from the New Testament, representing the mysteries of the Faith and are framed with gold arabesques set against a pale green background. The walls depict the Annunciation, Nativity, Epiphany, Resurrection, Assumption, and Pentecost. In the scene of Resurrection, Alexander is shown kneeling at Christ’s tomb as the Savior ascends to heaven.

2nd Room: Hall of the Saints (Sala dei Santi) --- decorated with the lives of the saints, 6 frescos fill the lunettes formed by the vault, and above them is a marble cornice carved with a bull motif. On the rear wall, Lucrezia is shown as St. Catherine of Alexandria facing 50 opponents, as the Emperor Maxim challenges her to refute the pagan beliefs. The emperor sits on a throne with a gold canopy over his head, and is thought to be a depiction of Cesare Borgia. To the far right, a man sits on horseback in oriental dress with dogs at his side: this is considered to be a portrait of Juan Borgia. There is also a round stucco frame above the entrance to the room depicting Guila Farnese (Alexander’s longtime mistress) as the Virgin Mary teaching Christ to read.

3rd Room: Hall of the Liberal Arts (Sala delle Arti Liberali) --- a large study brightened by frescos of the liberal arts, represented as young women (grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, music, geometry, arithmetic, etc.) on marble thrones surrounded by scholars. In the vault are allegories of Justice.

Borgia Tower (Torre Borgia): a massive construction built in 1494, facing the Sistine Chapel, and overlooking a small courtyard. It contains:

Hall of the Sibyls (Sala delle Sibille) --- 700 square ft. Is the first room one enters when going to Tower. Lucrezia’s second husband, Alfonso of Aragon, was murdered here in 1500. The chamber overlooks the Belvedere gardens and contains 24 lunettes depicting sibyls and old-testament prophets announcing the coming of the Savior.

Hall of the Creed (Sala del Credo) --- 1,000 square ft reception room, consisting of 3 windows and 12 frescos depicting apostles and prophets.

Palazzo Santa Maria in Portico

Lucrezia moved into this palazzo in 1492 when her father Rodrigo Borgia became Pope Alexander VI. This was the main residence for her entire adult life in Rome. The palazzo was built by Giovanni-Battista Zeno, Cardinal of Santa Maria in Portico, and was rented to Alexander. The building stood to left of the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, almost directly opposite the Palace of the Inquisitions. It also had a private chapel opening directly onto St. Peter’s, meaning that Lucrezia could slip unnoticed into the Sistine chapel, and from there into the Pope’s private apartments (and vice-versa).

Castel Sant’Angelo

Rome’s major fortress, built by Emperor Hadrian as his mausoleum, but used by Popes as a stronghold in times of danger (it defended the northern entrance to the city, and held huge reserves of food, complete with granaries, a mill, vast water tanks, and even wineskins in the walls). A covered, fortified secret corridor called the ‘Passetto di Borgo’ links the castle with the apostolic palace (it looks only like a wall from the outside).

Campo de’ Fiori

An open air marketplace and site for executions. The square was named after Pompey’s lover Flora (the Italian name means Flora’s square). Surrounding the square were many inns and taverns catering to Pilgrims, artisans, and prostitutes, including three inns owned by Lucrezia’s mother, Vannoza dei Catanei (‘The Lion’; ‘The Cow’; ‘The Eagle’). Nearby lies the Curia of Pompey, the site where Julius Caesar was murdered, as well as the Palazzo della Cancelleria (the papal administration building).

Via dei Coronari

A street used by Pilgrims walking to St. Peter’s Basilica, who would then cross over the Tiber River at the Ponte Sant’Angelo. Many businesses sprang up here to serve Pilgrims, including rosary sellers (the ‘Coronari’). By the late 1400’s, several homes and palaces also stood along the street, including the house of Fiammetta (the mistress of Cesare Borgia) at the address of 156-157.

Via del Corso

The main street in Rome, lined with many ancient churches. It was the principal access route to the city for visitors and pilgrims from the North. This was also the street where Lucrezia and her brothers would have celebrated the city’s festivals, parades, and spectacles, including the Carnival races.

Esquiline Hill

The largest and highest of Rome’s 7 hills. It was a poor area, but Vannoza owned a vineyard here. In 1497, it was this vineyard that Cesare and Juan visited on the night of Juan’s murder.

Ghetto

Juan was last seen alive here in 1497, riding into the Piazza Guidea with a masked man.

Church of Santa Maria del Popolo

Located near the Aurelian walls, this church is a typical example of the era’s architecture, and was also the burial place of Juan and Vannozza.

Notable Events

Jubilee Year (1500)

This was a sabbatical celebration held every 50 yrs (then also every 25 yrs). During the year, normal work activities were ceased, slaves were freed, and debts/punishments were forgiven. Rome normally seethed with pilgrims (as many as 30,000 entering and exiting every day), but this greatly increased during the Jubilee. This is why Alfonso of Aragon’s attackers disguised themselves as pilgrims to assault him in St. Peter’s square (they could blend-in within the masses of people until the fatal moment).

The Roman Carnival (Carnevale Romano)

A riotous celebration held around January or February, just before Ash Wednesday. The festival was a final burst of exuberance before the severity and fasting of Lent. Over several days, the entire city stopped work, as people ate rich foods, played pranks, staged jousts, sang and danced, mocked authority, and dressed up in colorful masks and disguises. Each day saw a dangerous event known as the ‘Corsa dei Barberi’: a race held with unsaddled horses along the Via del Corso. On the final night, people engaged in a wild party called the ‘Festa dei Moccoletti’ along Via del Corso: all revelers held a candle (a ‘moccolo’) and played at the game of extinguishing each other’s flames. When they were successful, they shouted Senza moccolo, senza moccolo! (without a light, without a light!). Charles Dickens described the festival, essentially unchanged since the renaissance, during his visit to Rome in 1844-1845:

"As the bright hangings and the dresses are all fading into one dull, heavy, uniform colour in the decline of the day, lights begin flashing, here and there: in the windows, on the house-tops, in the balconies, in the carriages, in the hands of foot-passengers: little by little: gradually, gradually: more and more: until the whole long street is one great glare and blaze of fire. Then everybody present has but one engrossing object; that is, to extinguish other people's candles, and to keep his own alight; and everybody: man, woman, or child, gentleman or lady, prince or peasant, native or foreigner: yells and screams, and roars incessantly, as a taunt to the subdued, Senza Moccolo, Senza Moccolo! (Without a light! Without a light!) until nothing is heard but a gigantic chorus of those two words, mingled with peals of laughter.

The spectacle, at this time, is one of the most extraordinary that can be imagined. Carriages coming slowly by, with everybody standing on the seat or on the box, holding up their lights at arms' length, for greater safety; some in paper shades; some with a bunch of undefended little tapers, kindled altogether; some with blazing torches; some with feeble little candles; men on foot, creeping along, among the wheels, watching their opportunity, to make a spring at some particular light, and dash it out; other people climbing up into carriages, to get hold of them by main force; others, chasing some unlucky wanderer, round and round his own coach, to blow out the light he has begged or stolen somewhere, before he can ascend to his own company, and enable them to light their extinguished tapers; others, with their hats off, at a carriage-door, humbly beseeching some kind-hearted lady to oblige them with a light for a cigar, and when she is in the fullness of doubt whether to comply or no, blowing out the candle she is guarding so tenderly with her little hand; other people at the windows, fishing for candles with lines and hooks, or letting down long willow-wands with handkerchiefs at the end, and flapping them out, dexterously, when the bearer is at the height of his triumph; others, biding their time in corners, with immense extinguishers like halberds, and suddenly coming down upon glorious torches; others, gathered round one coach, and sticking to it; others, raining oranges and nosegeys at an obdurate little lantern, or regularly storming a pyramid of men, holding up one man among them, who carries one feeble little wick above his head, with which he defies them all! Senza Moccolo! Senza Moccolo! Beautiful women, standing up in coaches, pointing in derision at extinguished lights, and clapping their hands, as they pass on crying, Senza Moccolo! Senza Moccolo! low balconies full of lovely faces and dresses, struggling with assailants in the streets; some repressing them as they climb up, some bending down, some leaning over, some shrinking back - delicate arms and bosoms - graceful figures - glowing lights, fluttering dresses, Senza Moccolo, Senza Moccoli, Senza Moc-co-lo-o-o-o! - when in the wildest enthusiasm of the cry, and fullest ecstasy of the sport, the Ave Maria rings from the church steeples, and the Carnival is over in an instant - put out like a taper, with a breath!"

Sources

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Alexander, Virginia. What Life Was Like At The Rebirth Of Genius: Renaissance Italy AD 1400-1550. Ed. Denise Dersin. New York: Time Life Books, 1999.

Borgia, Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara (1480-1519). Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Bradford, Sarah. Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death In Renaissance Italy. New York: Viking, 2004.

Cesare Borgia. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Cloulas, Ivan. The Borgias. Trans. Gilda Roberts. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1985.

Erlanger, Rachel. Lucrezia Borgia: A Biography. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1978.

Fisher, Robert I.C. Fodor's Holy Rome, 1st Edition: A Millennium Guide to Christian Sights. New York: Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc., 1999.

Haslip, Joan. Lucrezia Borgia: A Study. London: Cassel & Co. Ltd., 1953.

In Search Of History: The Borgias. Narr. David Ackroyd. Prod. Deborah Blum. History Channel, A&E Home Video, 1997.

Ketchum, Richard M., ed. The Horizon Book Of The Renaissance. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co, Inc., 1961.

King, Ross. Michelangelo And The Pope's Ceiling. New York: Penguin, 2003.

Lucrezia Borgia. Historic World Leaders. Gale, 1994. Gale World History In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

Scott, R. A. Basilica: The Splendor And The Spectacle: Building St. Peters. New York: Viking, 2006.

Wild, Fiona, and John Heseltine. Eyewitness Travel: Rome. New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishers, Ltd. , 2006.

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA: LUCREZIA BORGIA

Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4

BORGIA, LUCREZIA (1480-1519), duchess of Ferrara, daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, afterwards Pope Alexander VI. (q.v.), by his mistress Vanozza dei Cattanei, was born at Rome in 1480. Her early years were spent at her mother’s house near her father’s splendid palace; but later she was given over to the care of Adriana de Mila, a relation of Cardinal Borgia and mother-in-law of Giulia Farnese, another of his mistresses. Lucrezia was educated according to the usual curriculum of Renaissance ladies of rank, and was taught languages, music, embroidery, painting, &c.; she was famed for her beauty and charm, but the corrupt court of Rome in which she was brought up was not conducive to a good moral education. Her father at first contemplated a Spanish marriage for her, and at the age of eleven she was betrothed to Don Cherubin de Centelles, a Spanish nobleman. But the engagement was broken off almost immediately, and Lucrezia was married by proxy to another Spaniard, Don Gasparo de Procida, son of the count of Aversa. On the death of Innocent VIII. (1492), Cardinal Borgia was elected pope as Alexander VI., and, contemplating a yet more ambitious marriage for his daughter, he annulled the union with Procida; in February 1493 Lucrezia was betrothed to Giovanni Sforza, lord of Pesaro, with whose family Alexander was now in close alliance. The wedding was celebrated in June; but when the pope’s policy changed and he became friendly to the king 250 of Naples, the enemy of the house of Sforza, he planned the subjugation of the vassal lords of Romagna, and Giovanni, feeling his position insecure, left Rome for Pesaro with his wife. By Christmas 1495 they were back in Rome; the pope had all his children around him, and celebrated the carnival with a series of magnificent festivities. But he decided that he had done with Sforza, and annulled the marriage on the ground of the husband’s impotence (March 1497). In order to cement his alliance with Naples, he married Lucrezia to Alphonso of Aragon, duke of Bisceglie, a handsome youth of eighteen, related to the Neapolitan king. But he too realized the fickleness of the Borgias’ favour when Alexander backed up Louis XII. of France in the latter’s schemes for the conquest of Naples. Bisceglie fled from Rome, fearing for his life, and the pope sent Lucrezia to receive the homage of the city of Spoleto as governor. On her return to Rome in 1499, her husband, who really loved her, was induced to join her once more. A year later he was murdered by the order of her brother Cesare. After the death of Bisceglie, Lucrezia retired to Nepi, and then returned to Rome, where she acted for a time as regent during Alexander’s absence. The latter now was anxious for a union between his daughter and Alphonso, son and heir to Ercole d’Este, duke of Ferrara. The negotiations were somewhat difficult, as neither Alphonso nor his father was anxious for a connexion with the house of Borgia, and Lucrezia’s own reputation was not unblemished. However, by bribes and threats the opposition was overcome, and in September 1501 the marriage was celebrated by proxy with great magnificence in Rome. On Lucrezia’s arrival at Ferrara she won over her reluctant husband by her youthful charm (she was only twenty-two), and from that time forth she led a peaceful life, about which there was hardly a breath of scandal. On the death of Ercole in 1505, her husband became duke, and she gathered many learned men, poets and artists at her court, among whom were Ariosto, Cardinal Bembo, Aldus Manutius the printer, and the painters Titian and Dosso Dossi. She devoted herself to the education of her children and to charitable works; the only tragedy connected with this period of her life is the murder of Ercole Strozzi, who is said to have admired her and fallen a victim to Alphonso’s jealousy. She died on the 24th of June 1519, leaving three sons and a daughter by the duke of Ferrara, besides one son Rodrigo by the duke of Bisceglie, and possibly another of doubtful paternity. She seems to have been a woman of very mediocre talents, and only played a part in history because she was the daughter of Alexander VI. and the sister of Cesare Borgia. While she was in Rome she was probably no better and no worse than the women around her, but there is no serious evidence for the charges of incest with her father and brothers which were brought against her by the scandal-mongers of the time.

LUCRETIA BORGIA ACCORDING TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS AND CORRESPONDENCE OF HER DAY

BY

FERDINAND GREGOROVIUS

TRANSLATED FROM THE THIRD GERMAN EDITION

BY JOHN LESLIE GARNER

TO

DON MICHELANGELO GAETANI

DUKE OF SERMONETA

First published New York 1904

TO DON MICHELANGELO GAETANI DUKE OF SERMONETA

MY HONORED DUKE: I am induced to dedicate this work to you by the historical circumstances of which it treats and also by personal considerations.

In it you will behold the founders of your ancient and illustrious family. The Borgias were mortal enemies of the Gaetani, who narrowly escaped the fate prepared for them by Alexander VI and his terrible son. Beautiful Sermoneta and all the great fiefs in the Maremma fell into the maw of the Borgias, and your ancestors either found death at their hands or were driven into exile. Donna Lucretia became mistress of Sermoneta, and eventually her son, Rodrigo of Aragon, inherited the estates of the Gaetani.

Centuries have passed, and a beautiful and unfortunate woman may be forgiven for this confiscation of the appanages of your house. Moreover, it was not long before your family was reinstated in its rights by a bull of Julius II, which is now preserved—a precious jewel—in your family archives. To your house has descended the fame of its founders, but to yourself is due the position which the Gaetani now again enjoy.

The survival of historical tradition in things and men exercises an indescribable charm on every student of civilization. To recognize in the ancient and still nourishing families of modern Rome the descendants of the great personalities of other times, and to enjoy daily intercourse with them, made a profound impression on me. The Colonna, the Orsini, and the Gaetani are my friends, and all afforded me the greatest assistance. These families long ago vanished from the stage of Roman history, but the day came, illustrious Duke, when you were to make a place again for your ancient race in the history of the Imperial City; the day when—the temporal power of the popes having passed away, a power which had endured a thousand years—you carried to King Victor Emmanuel in Florence the declaration of allegiance of the Roman populace. This episode, marking the beginning of a new era for the city, will live, together with your name, in the annals of the Gaetani, and will preserve it forever in the memory of the Romans.

Gregorovius.

Rome, March 9, 1874.

INTRODUCTION

Lucretia Borgia is the most unfortunate woman in modern history. Is this because she was guilty of the most hideous crimes, or is it simply because she has been unjustly condemned by the world to bear its curse? The question has never been answered. Mankind is ever ready to discover the personification of human virtues and human vices in certain typical characters found in history and fable.

The Borgias will never cease to fascinate the historian and the psychologist. An intelligent friend of mine once asked me why it was that everything about Alexander VI, Cæsar, and Lucretia Borgia, every little fact regarding their lives, every newly discovered letter of any of them, aroused our interest much more than did anything similar concerning other and vastly more important historic characters. I know of no better explanation than the following: the Borgias had for background the Christian Church; they made their first appearance issuing from it; they used it for their advancement; and the sharp contrast of their conduct with the holy state makes them appear altogether fiendish. The Borgias are a satire on a great form or phase of religion, debasing and destroying it. They stand on high pedestals, and from their presence radiates the light of the Christian ideal. In this form we behold and recognize them. We view their acts through a medium which is permeated with religious ideas. Without this, and placed on a purely secular stage, the Borgias would have fallen into a position much less conspicuous than that of many other men, and would soon have ceased to be anything more than representatives of a large species.

We possess the history of Alexander VI and Cæsar, but of Lucretia Borgia we have little more than a legend, according to which she is a fury, the poison in one hand, the poignard in the other; and yet this baneful personality possessed all the charms and graces.

Victor Hugo painted her as a moral monster, in which form she still treads the operatic stage, and this is the conception which mankind in general have of her. The lover of real poetry regards this romanticist's terrible drama of Lucretia Borgia as a grotesque manifestation of the art, while the historian laughs at it; the poet, however, may excuse himself on the ground of his ignorance, and of his belief in a myth which had been current since the publication of Guicciardini's history.

Roscoe, doubting the truth of this legend, endeavored to disprove it, and his apology for Lucretia was highly gratifying to the patriotic Italians. To it is due the reaction which has recently set in against this conception of her. The Lucretia legend may be analyzed most satisfactorily and scientifically where documents and mementos of her are most numerous; namely, in Rome, Ferrara, and Modena, where the archives of the Este family are kept, and in Mantua, where those of the Gonzaga are preserved. Occasional publications show that the interesting question still lives and remains unanswered.

The history of the Borgias was taken up again by Domenico Cerri in his work, Borgia ossia Alessandro VI, Papa e suoi contemporanei, Turin, 1858. The following year Bernardo Gatti, of Milan, published Lucretia's letters to Bembo. In 1866 Marquis G. Campori, of Modena, printed an essay entitled Una vittima della storia Lucrezia Borgia, in the Nuova Antologia of August 31st of that year. A year later Monsignor Antonelli, of Ferrara, published Lucrezia Borgia in Ferrara, Sposa a Don Alfonso d'Este, Memorie storiche, Ferrara, 1867. Giovanni Zucchetti, of Mantua, immediately followed with a similar opuscule: Lucrezia Borgia Duchessa di Ferrara, Milano, 1869. All these writers endeavored, with the aid of history, to clear up the Lucretia legend, and to rehabilitate the honor of the unfortunate woman.

Other writers, not Italians, among them certain French and English authors, also took part in this effort. M. Armand Baschet, to whom we are indebted for several valuable publications in the field of diplomacy, announced in his work, Aldo Manuzio, Lettres et Documents, 1494-1515, Venice, 1867, that he had been engaged for years on a biography of Madonna Lucretia Borgia, and had collected for the purpose a large mass of original documents.

In the meantime, in 1869, there was published in London the first exhaustive work on the subject: Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara, a Biography, illustrated by rare and unpublished documents, by William Gilbert. The absence of scientific method, unfortunately, detracts from the value of this otherwise excellent production, which, as a sequel to Roscoe's works, attracted no little attention.

The swarm of apologies for the Borgias called forth in France one of the most wonderful books to which history has ever given birth. Ollivier, a Dominican, published, in 1870, the first part of a work entitled Le Pape Alexandre VI et les Borgia. This production is the fantastic antithesis of Victor Hugo's drama. For, while the latter distorted history for the purpose of producing a moral monster for stage effect, the former did exactly the same thing, intending to create the very opposite. Monks, however, now are no longer able to compel the world to accept their fables as history, and Ollivier's absurd romance was renounced even by the strongest organs of the Church; first by Matagne, in the Revue des questions historiques, Paris, April, 1871, and January, 1872, and subsequently by the Civiltà Cattolica, the organ of the Jesuits, in an article dated March 15, 1873, whose author made no effort to defend Alexander's character, simply because, in the light of absolutely authentic historical documents, it was no longer possible to save it.

This article was based upon the Saggio di Albero Genealogico e di Memorie su la familia Borgia specialmente in relazione a Ferrara, by L. N. Cittadella, director of the public library of that city, published in Turin in 1872. The work, although not free from errors, is a conscientious effort to clear up the family history of the Borgias.

At the close of 1872 I likewise entered into the discussion by publishing a note on the history of the Borgias. This followed the appearance of the volume of the Geschichte der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter, which embraced the epoch of Alexander VI. My researches in the archives of Italy had placed me in possession of a large amount of original information concerning the Borgias, and as it was impossible for me to avail myself of this mass of valuable details in that work, I decided to use it for a monograph to be devoted either to Cæsar Borgia or to his sister, as protagonist.

I decided on Madonna Lucretia for various reasons, among which was the following: in the spring of 1872 I found in the archives of the notary of the Capitol in Rome the protocol-book of Camillo Beneimbene, who for years was the trusted legal adviser of Alexander VI. This great manuscript proved to be an unexpected treasure; it furnished me with a long series of authentic and hitherto