Corrupt pope borgia biography
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Pope Alexander VI
Head of the Catholic Church from 1492 to 1503
"Rodrigo de Borja" redirects here. For the Spanish nobleman, see Rodrigo de Borja (Spanish noble).
Pope Alexander VI[Note 2] (born Rodrigo dem Borja;[Note 3]; epithet: Valentinus ("The Valencian");[6]c. 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into the prominent Borgia family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon, Rodrigo studied lag at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Curia beneath the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the process. In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope, taking the name Alexander VI.
Alexander's papal bulls of 1493 confirmed
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Lucrezia Borgia
(1480-1519)
Who Was Lucrezia Borgia?
Lucrezia Borgia was the daughter of future pope Alexander VI, and her three marriages into influential families helped build the political power of her own family. Historians debate whether or not Borgia was an active participant in her notorious family’s crimes, but interest in her has inspired countless works of art, books, and films.
Early Years
Borgia was born on April 18, 1480, in Subiaco, near Rome. She was the daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who would later become Pope Alexander VI, and one of his mistresses, Vannozza Cattanei, who was also the mother of Borgia's two older brothers, Cesare and Giovanni. Borgia reportedly spoke and wrote several languages, among them Italian, French, Latin and Greek.
Borgia was born during the Italian Renaissance, when artists, architects, and scientists were reaching new levels of accomplishment and transforming their world. While famous figures such as Leonardo da Vinci were
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Were the Borgias Really So Bad?
Renaissance Italy was dominated by rich and powerful families whose reputations have been shaped by the many dark and dastardly deeds they committed. In quattrocento Florence, the Medici bought, bribed, and blackmailed their way to the top; in Rimini, the Malatesta flitted continually between self-destructive megalomania and near psychopathic brutality; and in Milan, the Sforza were every bit as infamous for their sexual proclivities as they were for their political ruthlessness. But in this devilish roll-call of nefarious names, none sends such a chill up the spine as that of ‘Borgia’.
It is impossible to imagine a family more heavily tainted by the stains of sin and immorality, and – as even those who have not seen the eponymous television series will know – there is scarcely one of their number who does not seem to be cloaked in an aura of iniquity. The founder of the family’s fortunes, Alfons de Borja (1378-1458) – who reigned as Pope Call