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With the help of Giovanni Sforza's cousin, Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, the Borgia family finalizes marriage negotiations in February 1492 between Giovanni SFORZA, then in his mid-twenties, and Lucrezia Borgia, the thirteen-year-old illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI.
A proxy marriage took place on 12 June that year, as the wedding contract stipulates that Lucrezia would stay in Rome and not consummate the marriage for a year.
Lucrezia Borgia's dowry was 31,000 ducats.
The official marriage was celebrated in Rome in 1493, and reputedly was a lavish and decadent affair.
Giovanni Sforza and Lucrezia Borgia spend two years in Pesaro, during which his importance to the ambitious Borgia family dwindled.
Sforza tried to wield his proximity to the Borgias to Milan's advantage by acting as a spy, and was found out by Alexander VI.
Meanwhile, other political advantages (particularly with Naples) were formed, rendering the strategic marriage useless.
Lucrezia Borgia, used to privileged life in the Papal court, does not adjust to the provincial atmosphere of Pesaro.
By Christmas 1495, both Giovanni and Lucrezia were present again in the court at Rome.
By then, Sforza was aware that his fortune was precarious.
Giovanni Sforza leaves Rome to continue with a military campaign, and upon his return in February 1497 quickly fled the city in disguise.
The accepted reason for this is that the Pope and his son Cesare had contrived a plot to murder Giovanni, but Lucrezia was informed in advance by Cesare and warned her husband to leave. This has not been proven, but remains a popular explanation.
The Pope petitioned for an annulment on Lucrezia's behalf in 1497 (there was no such thing as divorce at this time.) Ascanio Sforza was again called in to mediate between his nephew and the Borgias, and tried to persuade Giovanni into accepting the annulment. However, Giovanni refused to do so on at least two grounds: first, he would have to return Lucrezia's sizable dowry, and second, doing so would require signing a paper that stated he was impotent. Some sources state that Giovanni had married and even fathered illegitimate children prior to his union with Lucrezia, which is not unreasonable given his age; therefore, genuine impotence on his part would be unlikely.
In response, Sforza accused Lucrezia of parental and fraternal incest. This claim, first made solely against the Pope and later extended to all of Lucrezia's brothers, still continues to shade the family's history. It became a popular example of the depravity later attributed to the family, despite its lack of verifiability.
The marriage was eventually annulled in 1497 on grounds of non-consummation.
The Sforza family had by then threatened to withhold protection to Giovanni if he did not comply with the offer, which allowed him to keep the dowry but still required signing the confirmation of impotence.
In March or December, Sforza agreed to the terms.
Six months later, Giovanni Sforza provides sworn testimony that Lucrezia Borgia was a virgin.
Ironically, Lucrezia was then pregnant with the Roman Infante, whose parentage was cited by some as proof of incest between her and her brother Cesare Borgia.
It is certain that Giovanni Sforza did not parent Lucrezia Borgia's child, but details beyond that are uncertain.
In 1500 Giovanni was excommunicated, and the citizens of one of his cities attempted to kill him.
He was also attacked by Cesare Borgia, who aimed to gain Sforza's lands, and was forced to abandon Pesaro.
Giovanni Sforza sued for help to all the major powers of the time --including France and Holy Roman Empire -- but in vain.
Giovanni Sforza could return to Pesaro only after the death of Alexander VI and the illness of Cesare Borgia (1503).
The following year the new Pope, Giulio II, confirmed him as vicariate in Pesaro.
He remarried to Ginevra Tiepolo, who gave him an heir, Costanzo II (Giovanni Maria), who succeeded him in Pesaro and Gradara.
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