“In Rome (or possibly
Subiaco), to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia and Vannozza Catanei, wife of Giorgio di
Croce, a daughter, Lucrezia.”
That’s the way the
announcement could have read in the local rag in 1480, if they had such things
then. The problem was that Rodrigo
belonged to that cadre of men who weren’t supposed to sire children – not that
that stopped him or any of his fellow fornicating men-of-the-cloth. Everyone knew they did it, but for
form’s sake, the polite world went along with the polite fiction that the
children of popes, cardinals, bishops, et al, were (in public) ‘nieces’ and ‘nephews’.
[No, children. Lucrezia and
her siblings were not the first or only children of the highest Catholic
prelates. There were others, fore
and aft.]
 |
| Rodrigo as pope |
Lucrezia’s father, Roderigo
Borgia, was born into the Catalan (Spain) family of Lanzol. His mother’s brother, Alonso de Borja,
Bishop of Valencia, had risen to power in the court of Alfonso V of Aragon
(Spain). When Alfonso finally
ascended to the throne of Naples, his diplomatic bishop accompanied him, and by
dint of reconciling his sovereign and his pope in a serious quarrel, received
the cardinal’s hat. Elected in
1455 as a compromise candidate for the Chair of Peter, the former cardinal
– now Callixtus III – raised two
of his nephews to the position of cardinal – one of them being Roderigo, who by
now had taken his uncle’s name of Borja (Borgia in Italy).
Twenty-six year-old Rodrigo was
created a cardinal in 1456; a year later, he was made vice-chancellor of the
Church of Rome. Even after Uncle Callixtus’
death in 1458, when the jealous Italians drove out the Spaniards who had
swarmed in on the heels of a Spanish pope, Rodrigo managed to maintained his
wealth and position. He built a
handsome palace for himself and indulged his sensual nature – collecting art,
holding orgies, setting out on romantic adventures… the usual leisure-time
occupations of Cardinals.
So NOT in accordance with
the life of a Christian prelate was his conduct, that he earned a written
rebuke from Pope Pius II: “Our displeasure is beyond words, for your conduct
has brought the holy state and office into disgrace… This is the reason the
princes and the powers despise us and the laity mock us; this is why our own
mode of living is thrown in our face when we reprove others. Contempt is the lot of Christ’s vicar
because he seems to tolerate these actions… We leave it to you whether it is
becoming to our dignity to court young women, and to send those whom you love
fruits and wine, and during the whole day to give no thought to anything but
sensual pleasures… A cardinal should be above reproach and an example of right
living before the eyes of all men… “ And, as Rodrigo no doubt yawned, ‘blah
blah blah’. He promised to amend
his ways, but then a dark eye full of ‘come hither’ was flashed at him, and off
the straight and narrow went the cardinal.
Looking at his picture, one
might find it hard to believe that he could lead the life of Don Juan, but
descriptions of him gave him an elegant figure and a serene countenance: “He is handsome; of a most glad
countenance and joyous aspect, gifted with honeyed and choice eloquence. The beautiful women on whom his eyes
are cast he lures to love him, and moves them in a wondrous way, more
powerfully than the magnet influences iron.” “… tall and neither light nor
dark; his eyes are black and his lips somewhat full. His health is robust, and he is able to bear any pain or
fatigue; he is wonderfully eloquent and a thorough man of the world.”
 |
| Vannozza in later years |
Around 1466 or 67 (perhaps
even earlier), Cardinal Borgia attracted a woman of Roman or possibly Mantuan
family, Vannozza Catanei, age 24 or 25. Rumor has it that she might have been the beautiful 17-year-old
wife of a clueless husband in Mantua, who was seduced by a handsome but unnamed
Cardinal when Pius II took his Court to Mantua in 1459. Cardinal Borgia did assuage his boredom
while in Mantua with parties and what could be coyly termed ‘romantic
adventures’, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that this was the
start of the liaison between the two. Probably very beautiful, passionate, and
intellectually vigorous, she was an excellent businesswoman and administrator,
who owned and managed several properties including inns and a large-scale
pawnbroking business, by which she amassed a tidy fortune – apart from the
generosity of Rodrigo. At the time
of Lucrezia’s birth, she was 38, had possibly been widowed twice, was currently
married to Giorgio di Croce, an apostolic secretary (thanks to his wife’s lover),
and living in Rome in a house near the Cardinal’s palace on the Piazza Pizzo di
Merlo.
Lucrezia had several
siblings, beside the three brothers who were also children of Rodrigo and
Vannozza. By another woman,
Rodrigo had sired a son, Pier Luigi and two daughters, Girolama and Isabella,
all three at least a decade older than Lucrezia. Her eldest full brother, Giovanni (from whom descended Saint
Francis Borgia) was born in 1474, Cesare followed in 1476, and her youngest
full brother, Giuffre, was born in 1481 or 1482. Since Rodrigo didn’t give up his way of life, even after becoming
Pope, there were at least a couple more half-siblings to follow.
 |
| Young Lucrezia |
How long Lucrezia lived with
her mother is unknown, as is the age at which she was entrusted to her father’s
cousin Adriana del Mila Orsini and went to live in the Orsini palazzo on Monte
Giordano (near her father’s residence).
She was living with Madonna Adriana at age 9, when young Giulia Farnese
(soon to be Rodrigo’s mistress) arrived to marry Adriana’s son Orsino. Here, Lucrezia received a perfect
education in style, manners, culture, religious piety, and all the social graces. She learned to speak and write fluently
in French, Spanish and Italian, less fluently in Greek and Latin, composed
elegant poetry in these languages, took lessons in music, drawing, embroidering,
and classic literature, and had access to the greatest philosophers and
humanist thinkers who attended her father’s court. With Giulia as her father’s mistress and Adriana promoting
the liaison, Lucrezia also learned a few things about the seamier side of life.
Descriptions of Lucrezia
always mentioned her beautiful golden hair and pleasant countenance: “She is of
medium height and slender figure.
Her face is long, the nose well defined and beautiful; her hair a bright
gold, and her eyes blue; her mouth is somewhat large, the teeth dazzlingly
white; her neck white and slender, but at the same time well rounded. She is always cheerful and
good–humored.”
Rodrigo was always looking
for ways to advance his family, legitimate or otherwise. At age 11, Lucrezia was contracted to
marry (the following year) Don Cherubino Juan de Centelles, a nobleman of
Valencia in Spain, with a huge dowry in money, jewels, and other valuables. At the exact same time, another
betrothal contract with a different Valencian noble was signed. Neither one was fulfilled. Before she could be sent off to Spain
as a bride to either of these men, Pope Innocent VIII died, and Cardinal
Rodrigo Borgia was elected in his place (or, to quote Gregorovius, “To him, the
highest bidder, the papacy had been sold”), taking the name Alexander VI.
Lucrezia’s life changed
rapidly. For a start, Alexander
acquired and furnished a residence for her near St. Peter’s called Santa Maria
in Portico, where the 12-year-old girl held court, accompanied by her governess
and preceptress, Adriana Orsini, and her good friend, Giulia Farnese Orsini. And since the daughter of a pope could
look much higher for a spouse than a mere nobleman, the previous marriage
contracts were nullified, while scions of the ruling houses of Italy offered
themselves or their relatives. In
June 1493, age 13, the Pope’s ‘niece’ (as she was referred to publicly)
celebrated her first wedding, marrying the 26-year-old Giovanni Sforza, Lord of
Pesaro – a relative of Lodovico il Moro of Milan – in the Vatican with all the
ostentatious pomp and publicity that her father delighted in.
You know the rest of the
story. Or think you do.
==================================================================
Artwork:
Cristofano dell’Altissimo, [posthumous]
Portrait of Pope Alexander VI, mid-16th
c. Corridoio Vasariano Museum, Florence.
Swiped from Wikipedia.
Vannozza dei Catanei, a contemporary portrait, 16th century.
Pinturicchio, Lucrezia Borgia as Catherine of Alexandria,
c. 1494, The Vatican. Swiped from Wikipedia.
