[Gallery] Murderers, adulterers, slanderers. People around Lucrezia Borgia

Who did she love and who did she hate? Who did she have to be with, and who did she really want? For whom was she ready for the highest sacrifice? Time to meet relatives and friends of the papal daughter Lucrezia Borgia. And this is a collection of the most eminent figures of the beginning of the Italian Renaissance ...

Licorice Borgia. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Lucretia Borgia was born in 1480. She was the third child of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia and his longtime lover, Vanozza Cattanei. During the first years of her life, she was buried with the belief that her daddy was Giorgio de Croce, and the clergyman who often visited her mother was just a good uncle. Rodrigo made sure that his daughter learned 4 foreign languages, and when she turned 11, he began to plan her marriage. However, he did not confess the truth to Lucrezia about their blood ties until 1492, when he achieved the highest possible position - the pope. From then on, the girl became a princess of the Vatican.

Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI). The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Rodrigo Borgia's great clergy career would never have had a chance to develop had it not been for one event. In 1455, his uncle Alfonso Borgia, or Callixtus III, became pope. A loving relative got young Rodrigo a cardinal's hat and the office of papal vice-chancellor. In this way, Rodrigo became the gray eminence of the Vatican for decades, the second person in the Church after the Pope. And he used this position to meet other beautiful ladies ... Before he became pope, he fathered at least 7 children - including Lucretia.

Vanozzo Cattanei. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Vanozza Cattanei has accomplished an extraordinary art - for about a decade she remained the lover of the influential papal vice-chancellor Rodrigo Borgia. The cardinal regularly found his way to her bed, and without hesitation took her three children as the fruit of his loins. Before he did, however, he found a fictional husband for her to pretend to be a father for their children. And when the man dared to thwart the cardinal's plans and died, Rodrigo quickly recruited his replacement, Carlo Canale. When Borgia became Pope, Vanozza stepped back into the shadows. But her children don't…

Caesar Borgia. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Caesar Borgia, son of Rodrigo and Vanozza, was to pursue a church career. Daddy quickly gave him a cardinal's hat. There are many indications that Alexander VI wanted to repeat the exploits of the popes from centuries ago and lead to the fact that his son also became the head of the church. Caesar, however, did not want to follow in his father's footsteps. As soon as daddy released him from ordination, he became a condottiere. And it is very successful. Caesar mastered virtually all of central Italy. He did this with the help of his father, the King of France, and his own cunning. He defeated one of the Italian mighty ... with his own cannons!

Juan Borgia. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Juan Borgia was also Lucrezia's brother. His father dedicated him to a secular career. He also gave him the Duchy of Gandia, purchased years ago, and the hand of a close relative of the Spanish king. Juan, however, showed no great talents and preferred having fun to dealing with serious matters. He died at the age of 21, stabbed to death, and then drowned in the Tiber. Who really killed him has never been proven. Therefore, it is likely such a version of the accidents that Caesar was behind it, and daddy swept the matter under the rug ...

Joffre Borgia. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Joffre Borgia was the youngest of Lucrezia's brothers. The Pope suspected that the boy was the fruit of Vanozza's betrayal, which she allegedly committed - horror of horrors - with her own husband. Nevertheless, he provided him with the name, the principality of Calabria, and the hand of a beautiful relative of the kings of Naples, the Sancha of Aragonese. Unfortunately, she was several years older than Joffre and from the moment of the wedding she complained that as a woman she had to be in a relationship with a boy. She quickly learned to avoid the principle of marital fidelity, allowing, among others, to her bed the Joffre brothers. Was it because of her reasons that Juan died?

Giulia Farnese. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Giulia Farnese was the first friend of Lucretia we knew. They met at the house of Adriana Mila, a distant relative of Lucrezia. Adriana was also Giulia's mother-in-law. Not much older than Lucrezia, Giulia also soon became… something like her stepmother. Rodrigo Borgia, while still a cardinal, began an affair with this phenomenally beautiful Italian with Adriana's permission. Giulia's daughter, born shortly before the conclave, was probably ... Lucretia's half-sister. During the first years of her pontificate, Giulia often played the role of the Vatican's first lady, including honoring the wedding of Lucrezia.

Giovanni Sforza. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Giovanni Sforza was a distant relative of Queen Bona. In 1493, he married only 13-year-old Lucretia. Like her, he was a bastard, but twice his wife's senior and once widowed. Lucrezia spent 4 relatively boring years with him in the provincial town of Pesaro. However, the pope soon decided that her hand could be better used. The more that he was disappointed in the procrastinating command of the army by his son-in-law ... Alexander VI sent Caesar to make his sister a widow. Lucrezia warned her husband, who managed to save his life with quick escape. In the end, the pope contented himself with dissolving the union on the pretext of Sforza's impotence. The ex-husband repaid Lucrezia's rescue by spreading lampoons about her incestuous relations with her father and brother ...

Alphonsus of Aragonese. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Alphonsus of Aragon of Naples was the very man by whom Giovanni Sforza was to die. The handsome brother of Sancha (Lucrezia's sister-in-law) became Lucretia's second husband for purely political reasons. The spouses, however, liked each other immensely, and their warm affection soon resulted in the birth of a son. However, black clouds gathered over the family. They had to flee Naples, and taking refuge in Rome was not the best idea. The Pope was no longer satisfied with the alliance with Alfonso's family and was looking for a way to get rid of his son-in-law. No wonder that Alphonsus died a few months later.

Alfons d'Este. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Lucrezia was lucky with the Alphonsus. Her next husband was Alfonso d'Este, heir to the throne of Ferrara. For a long time he hesitated before marrying the Pope, convinced that he had too high ancestry. Nevertheless, he finally agreed, tempted by a high dowry. Lucrezia was welcomed in Ferrara by a group of his illegitimate children… so she actually felt at home immediately. She created a quite successful marriage with Alfonso, as evidenced by the birth of 5 sons and 2 daughters. And the fact that Alfons did not divorce Lucretia when her family lost any political importance.

Ercole d'Este. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Ercole d'Este was Lucretia's last father-in-law. This ancient prince of Ferrara learned about Lucrezia's talents faster than his son. He immediately saw in her a great negotiator, a confident and intelligent woman. At first, even Ercole had to persuade Alfonso to marry this woman with a reputation torn by rumors. Lucrezia's father-in-law later made her the head of the justice apparatus in the principality. Their relationship, however, was not always harmonious, mainly due to Ercole's incredible avarice.

Francesco Gonzaga. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

Francesco Gonzaga was Lucretia's brother-in-law. The proud Marquess of Mantua met the papal daughter when she was still Countess Pesaro. Lucrezia gained the respect of the Marquis of Mantua by intervening in the case of an innocently condemned man. Francesco later confided in Lucrezia many times about his problems and valued her opinion. Malicious claims that the two were even linked by an affair when Alfonso d'Este fought far from Ferrara. However, Francesco, plagued by syphilis so common at the time, hardly ever crossed the border of a platonic relationship with Lucretia.

Licorice. The illustration comes from the book "The Pope's Daughter" by Dario Fo in collaboration with Jessica Borroni and Michella Casiere.

So who was Lucretia Borgia? Initially, a slightly reckless girl and a puppet in the hands of an ambitious family. Then, however, she made a position in society. She was a loving mother who was pregnant at least 10 times. She cared for Caesar's illegitimate offspring and was the brother's last friendly soul. She was sensitive to the suffering of the poorest and the most disadvantaged, ready to bring them real help. She loved to play and enjoy life, she was patron of art and culture. When she died in childbirth at the age of 39, many considered her a saint ...

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Character descriptions are based mainly on the book by Dario Fo, Pope's Daughter, Horizon 2015 sign.

Incidentally, the following were also used:

1. Maria Bellonci, Lucrezia Borgia. Her life and times, PIW 1989.
2. Roberto Gervaso, Borgias, Library 2007.
3. Alois Uhl, Children of Popes, Olimp 2009.