Bartolomeo Veneto, Idealised Portrait of a Young Woman as Flora (traditionally assumed to be Lucrezia Borgia), ca. 1520

Frankfurt, Städel Museum, 1077

Image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1520_Veneto_Idealbildnis_einer_Kurtisane_als_Flora_anagoria.JPG

The Borgias – a family conceived in sin, debauched by power, and ultimately destroyed by ambition… I’m sure you’ve heard of them. 

Let’s start at the beginning though. In 1455, an elderly Spanish cardinal named Alfons de Borja was elected Pope Callixtus III. Soon after, a host of friends and relations from his native Valencia made their way to Rome to join the papal gravy train. Callixtus was an old man, however, and when he died in 1458, most of the relatives went home. The exception was his nephew Rodrigo, already a cardinal.  

This was the Borgia who founded the legend. After decades of brinksmanship he eventually became Pope Alexander VI, in 1492. Banks went bust soon after, due to the number of bribes promised. Finally in the top job, he immediately set about the ennoblement of his (obviously illegitimate!) children. Already old, Rodrigo knew that time was of the essence - and the children weren’t waiting around either. 

Cesare murdered not only his brother but also his brother-in-law, so that he could become the head of the brood and make himself a great ruler in Italy (that is, once he had rid himself of the inconvenience of being a cardinal). And as for poor Lucrezia, well it may be that, as so often, it’s the woman whose reputation suffers most – even (especially?) when she has, from girlhood, been treated as little more than a pawn by the men of her family in their games of power.

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