"We are all children of God." And sometimes it happened that the Pope. Not very holy fathers found powerful spouses for their children and ensured rich principalities. Time to get to know the Vatican's Renaissance bastards.
Nepotism in the Vatican way
Papal Nepotism, or the custom of appointing relatives to church offices, was initiated at the beginning of the 15th century by Marcin V. However, it was only Callixtus III, who came from Catalonia, that perfected this practice. He paved the way for a career for his nephew Rodrigo Borgia, later Alexander VI - the Holy Father well known from the series Borgias . He was probably also the father of one of his nepots, Cardinal Franciszek.
Successive popes followed suit. Sixtus IV (the one from the Sistine Chapel) was reportedly the father of two of his cardinals nepots. Pius II had a son whom he gave up to his father to be raised saying: I admit my mistake, I am no more holy than King David nor wiser than Solomon .
Pope Pius II during the canonization of Catherine of Siena. I wonder if he thought about his debauched youth during this ceremony (source:public domain).
Successive Holy Fathers took advantage of the increasingly liberal attitude of Italians towards illegitimate children. Pope Innocent VIII was the first to hide from his two children, and presumably had more of them. As Dario Fo wrote in "The Pope's Daughter":
He was known as the "father of the people" as his loving activities during a life of bliss increased the number of his subjects by eight sons and eight daughters. >
A new Caesar without happy ending
The most famous papal bastard was, of course, Caesar Borgia, son of Alexander VI. Formally, his father was Giorgio de Croce, his mother's husband, and thanks to this "origin" he was able to become a cardinal and bishop of several dioceses. His nickname Valentino came from one of them - Valencia.
Caesar Borgia - the perfect ruler, warrior and lover ... for a time. Image of the Altobello Melone brush.
In 1498, Caesar became the first ever cardinal to renounce this office , and the father (the real one) released him from ordination. After all, his son is not refused, the more so as Alexander VI needed a strong secular arm of his power. And he was not disappointed:Caesar conquered the principality of Romagna in a few years, gaining the fame of the new Julius Caesar. As Dario Fo put it in "The Pope's Daughter":
It is as a consequence of this success that Machiavelli enthusiastically mentions the possibility of a single state in Italy built on the model of what happened in Romagna. This is why he dedicates his treatise on the political doctrine " Prince ” just to Caesar.
Valentino had a lot of lovers and he did not shy away from contact with them, even when syphilis had torn him with wounds. He hid the traces of disease under masks, gloves and expensive clothes. Nevertheless, he wanted to marry Carlotta, the daughter of the King of Naples, who ridiculed the proposal with the words: I will never become Cardinal .
Eventually he married another Carlotta, sister of the King of Navarre. He reportedly completed the relationship with "eight proofs of love", although according to another version, he spent his wedding night in a secluded place, mistakenly taking a laxative instead of an aphrodisiac.
In 1503, Valentino became seriously ill and the father-pope died. Then it only got worse. Caesar's gains were squandered, and not only because of his long convalescence. Let's vote the Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo:
The name chosen at the next conclave was the worst name Valentino could have expected. (…) Finally sits on the throne of Peter the greatest enemy of the Borgia, Giuliano della Rovere - that is, from now on Pope Julius II - who immediately deprives Valentin of all the privileges granted by his predecessor. As in the Milan tombola, from the betting urn, the last Borgia draws a slate with the word "piss off", which means the drawer has lost everything, including his pants.
Vanozza Cattanei - mother of four papal children:Caesar, Juan, Jofre and Lucrezia. Image by Innocenzo Francucci
The new pope quickly imprisoned Caesar. The papal son was finally freed from the rope the guards had cut while he was hanging on it. However, he managed to survive. He did not die until the Battle of Viana in 1507, being ambushed ... or perhaps deliberately killing himself.
Brothers Lucrezia and Caesar
Caesar was not the only or even the eldest son of Alexander VI. The firstborn was Peter Louis, Duke of Gandia, but he died before his father became pope. Juan inherited the principality. To this day, debates continue as to whether he was older or younger than Valentino, and which of them his father valued more. It is certain that Caesar was to pursue a Church career and Juan was to pursue a secular career.
When Juan was "offended" as a bastard, he complained to his father, who immediately ordered the author of the insult beheaded. However, the parent did not manage to save his son from death in the attack. Juan's body was thrown into the Tiber, and to this day, it is not known who his murderer was. Personal and family enemy, ex-brother-in-law or maybe… brother Caesar? The death of his son was a shock for the Pope and he tried to reform the Church. No effects.
Another son, Jofre, was accused of the Pope of being the fruit of the betrayal of his mistress Vanozza ... with her own husband. However, he received the Principality of Squillance from Alexander VI. Father (or perhaps stepfather) also led to his marriage to the illegitimate daughter of the King of Naples. After the death of his father, he kept the principality and married his own chosen one - Maria Mila, with whom he had several children.
Unholy Sons of the Holy Fathers
Not only Alexander VI had sons… and problems with them. The son of Innocent VIII, Franciszek Cibo, was an eternally broke gamer . He often complained to his father that he had been tricked into getting his debts paid off. At night, he wandered the streets of Rome, looking for opportunities for robbery. His father married him to the daughter of Lawrence the Magnificent, who thus became a banker of the Vatican ... and borrowed money for his son-in-law's revelations. Nevertheless, Francis was buried in his father's sarcophagus in St. Peter.
Alexander de'Medici was probably the son of Pope Clement VII. Thanks to his alleged father, he became the ruler of his native Florence. Though he was a womanizer, he treated his wife very well. It was she who, after a year of marriage, found him stabbed to death.
Piotr Ludwik Farnese was the son of Paul III. Although he and his wife had 5 children, he definitely preferred gentlemen. He was long burdened by the accusation that he had brutally raped the bishop. However, he turned out to be quite a ruler. In the principality of Parma and Piacenza, given by his father, he reformed the army and administration. However, he met with opposition from the aristocracy and was murdered. Nevertheless, his family remained in the principality until 1731, and Paul III was remembered not for his son's excesses, but for the convening of the Council of Trent.
Alexander de'Medici, alleged papal son who died young (painting by Cristofano dell'Altissimo).
Innocent Ciocchi del Monte was a favorite of Julius III, and there were voices that was his keep or son . The pope appointed him cardinal and secretary of state, but after his death Innocent ended up in prison as a criminal.
Daughters in the shade and on the candlestick
The female offspring of the heads of the Church led much better than the sons. Innocent VIII's daughter, Theodorina, was unobtrusive, unlike her brother Francis. Alexander VI's two eldest daughters, Jeronim and Izabela, also lived in the shadows. And you will find out the true story of Lucrezia HERE.
Julius II had at least one daughter, Felicja. Her father was proud of her and educated her well. As pope, however, he cooled down his relationship with his daughter, cutting himself away from Alexander VI's family practices. He saw her discreetly, usually at dinner in his chambers. He also quietly married her off. At the end of her father's life she nursed him, but on his deathbed he refused to grant her request - to make her half-brother a cardinal.
Pope Julius II did not flaunt his daughter to avoid the accusation of continuing the Borgia policy (painting by Rafael Santi).
Constance Farnese married a relative of Queen Bona and had 10 children. Her intercession with her father, Paul III, could work miracles. For example, it was her merit to establish the Jesuit order. In one conversation, she arranged for the Pope to sign their statute - something that even Loyola had not been able to beg him for before. Her death was a serious blow to the Pope.
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It was only during the Counter-Reformation that it became unthinkable for popes to have children. However, two more Holy Fathers still had descendants from the times of the Renaissance debauchery. Pius IV was so discreet that the names of his three children have not survived to this day. Gregory XIII, on the other hand, gave his son to be brought up by his father, and as pope gave him only a few offices. Successive popes, if they had children, hid this fact much more effectively ...