Description
Book SynopsisThe Borgias have become a byword for pride, lust, cruelty, avarice, splendour and venomous intrigue. An inspiration for many works of fiction, most famously Mario Puzo's The Godfather, they have aroused abomination and fascination in almost equal measure, while their patronage of the arts created some of the great masterpieces of the Renaissance. From the powerful, merciless Rodrigo Borgia, better known as Pope Alexander VI, to the beautiful Lucrezia and the debauched and murderous Cesare, Mary Hollingsworth's account of the dynasty's dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to the heights of Renaissance society forms a compelling tale of brutality, incest, unparalleled corruption and extortionate greed.
Table of ContentsFlorins and Ducats. Introduction: The Borgias - a family and its reputation. Alonso de Borja - From royal secretary to servant of Rome, 1414-55. Calixtus III - The first Borgia pope, 1455-58. The Borgia nephews - Cardinals and captain-generals, 1458-71. Rodrigo Borgia - New titles, new relationships, new wealth, 1471-84. Rodrigo Borgia - From eminence to pre-eminence, 1484-92. Alexander VI - The second Borgia pope and his family, 1493-97. Alexander VI, Cesare and Lucrezia - A pope, a warrior and a widow, 1498-1500. Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia - Conquests in battle and in love, 1501-03. Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia - The duke and duchess, 1503-19. The Borgia descendants - Dukes, cardinals and saints, 1520 and after. Bibliography and Sources. Endnotes. Picture credits. Index.
