| Lucrezia Borgia | |
|---|---|
| Lady of Pesaro and Gradara Duchessa di Bisceglie. Princessa di Salerno Duchessa di Ferrara, Modena and Reggio. | |
 Lucrecia as St. Catherine of Alexandria in a fresco by Pinturicchio, in the Sala dei Santi the Borgia apartments in the Vatican c. 1494. | |
| Spouses: | Giovanni Sforza, duca di MILANO. Alfonso of Aragon Alfonso D'ESTE, duca di Ferrara. |
| Issue: Rodrigo of Aragon Ercole II d'Este, Duca di Ferrara Ippolito II d'Este Alessandro d'Este Leonora d'Este Francesco d'Este, Marchese di Massalombarda Isabella Maria d'Este | |
| Noble family | House of Borgia |
Father | Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI). |
| Mother | Vannozza dei Cattanei |
| Born | 18 April 1480 Subiaco, Italy |
| Died | 24 June 1519 (aged 39) Ferrara |
.png)
Lucrezia Borgia (Catalan: Lucrècia; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was the daughter of Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI) and Vannozza dei Cattanei.
Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia.
Lucrezia's Borgia family came to epitomize the ruthless Machiavellian politics and sexual corruption alleged to be characteristic of the Renaissance Papacy.
Lucrezia Borgia was cast as a femme fatale, a role she has been portrayed as in many artworks, novels, and films.
Very little is known of Lucrezia Borgia, and the extent of her complicity in the political machinations of her father Rogrigo Borgia, and her brothers, Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia, is unclear.
Rodrigo Borgia and Lucrezia's brothers -- Cesare, Giovanni and Gioffre -- certainly arranged several marriages for Lucrezia to important or powerful men in order to advance their own political ambitions.
Lucrezia Borgia was first married to Giovanni Sforza (Lord of Pesaro).
Then to Alfonso of Aragon (Duke of Bisceglie).
Finally, to Alfonso I d'Este (Duke of Ferrara).
Tradition has it that Lucrezia Borgia's second husband, Alfonso of Aragon, was an illegitimate son of the King of Naples.
Tradition also has it that Lucrezia Borgia's brother, Cesare Borgia, may have had Alfonso d'Aragone (duca di Bisceglie) murdered after his political value waned.
Lucrezia Borgia was born at Subiaco, near Rome.
Her mother was Vannozza dei Cattanei, one of the many mistresses of Lucrezia's father Rodrigo Borgia ( Pope Alessandro VI).
Lucrezia Borgia is described as having heavy blonde hair (as Joan Sutherland) which fell past her knees, a beautiful complexion, hazel eyes which changed colour, a full, high bosom, and a natural grace which made her appear to walk on air.
These were the physical attributes that were highly appreciated in Italy during that period.
Another description said that her mouth is rather large, the teeth brilliantly white, her neck is slender and fair, and the bust is admirably proportioned.
One painting, Portrait of a Youth by Dosso Dossi at the National Gallery of Victoria, was identified as a portrait of Lucrezia in November 2008.
This painting may be the only surviving formal portrait of Lucrezia Borgia.
However, doubts have been cast on that claim.
Several other paintings, such as Veneto's fanciful portrait, have also been said to depict.
None has been accepted by scholars (knowing them) at present.
On 26 February 1491, a matrimonial arrangement was drawn up between Lucrezia Borgia and the Lord of Val D'Ayora,Valencia, Don Cherubino Joan de Centelles, which was annulled less than two months later.
The arrangement was annulled in favour of a new contract engaging Lucrezia to Don Gaspare Aversa, count of Procida.
When Rodrigo Borgia became Pope Alessandro VI he sought to be allied with powerful princely families and founding dynasties of Italy -- rather than Spain.
As such, Rodrigo Borgia called off Lucrezia Borgia's previous engagements and arranged for her to marry Giovanni Sforza, a member of the House of Sforza who was Lord of Pesaro and titled Conte di Catignola.
Giovanni Sfora was an illegitimate son of Costanzo I Sforza -- a Sforza of the second rank.
Giovanni Sforza married Lucrezia Borgia on 12 June 1493 in Rome.
Before long, the Borgia family no longer needed the Sforzas, and the presence of Giovanni Sforza in the papal court was superfluous.
Rodrigo Borgia needed new, more advantageous political alliances, so he may have covertly ordered the execution of Giovanni Sforza.
The generally accepted version is that Lucrezia Borgia was informed of this by her brother Cesare Borgia, and she warned her husband, who fled Rome -- so the murder plan failed.
Rodrigo Borgia then asks Giovanni's uncle, Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, to persuade Giovanni Sforza to agree to a divorce.
However, Giovanni Sforza refused.
On top of that, he accused Lucrezia Borgia of incest -- both paternal (with her father Rodrigo Borgia) and fraternal (with her favourite brother, Cesare Borgia).
Then, Rodrigo Borgia asserted that his daughter's marriage had not been consummated ("she is a virgin") and was thus invalid.
Giovanni Sforza was offered her dowry in return for his cooperation.
The Sforza family threatened to withdraw their protection should he refuse.
Giovanni signed confessions of impotence finally and documents of annulment before witnesses.
There has been speculation that, during the prolonged process of the annulment, Lucrezia consummated a relationship with Rodrigo Borgia's chamberlain Pedro "Perotto" Calderon.
In any case, families hostile to the Borgias would later accuse Lucrezia Borgia of being pregnant at the time her marriage was annulled for non-consummation ("how can a virgin be pregnant?").
In June 1497, Lucrezia Borgia is known to have retired to the convent of San Sisto to await the outcome of the divorce which was finalized in December of that year.
In February 1498, the bodies of chamberlain Pedro "Perotto", Calderon, and a maid, Pantasilea, were found in the Tiber.
In March 1498, the Ferrarese ambassador claimed that Lucrezia Borgia had given birth, but this was denied by other sources.
However, a child was indeed born in the Borgia household the year before Lucrezia's marriage to Alfonso d'Aragona.
The child was named Giovanni and is known to historians as the "Infans Romanus".
-------
In 1501, two papal bulls were issued concerning the child, Giovanni Borgia.
In the first, Giovanni Borgia was recognized as Cesare Borgia's child from an affair before his marriage -- perhaps with his own sister, Lucrezia Borgia.
The second, contradictory, bull recognized Giovanni as yet another the son of Rodrigo Borgia -- by her daughter, Lucrezia Borgia.
Lucrezia's name is not mentioned in either, and rumours that she was Giovanni Borgia's mother have never been proved.
The second bull was kept secret for many years.
Giovanni Borgia was assumed to be Cesare Borgia's son.
This is supported by the fact that in 1502, Giovanni Borgia became Duca di Camerino, one of Cesare's recent conquests, hence the natural inheritance of the Duke of Romagna's oldest son.
After Rodrigo Borgia's death, Giovanni Borgia went to stay with Lucrezia Borgia in Ferrara, where he was accepted as her half-brother (or son).
Following her divorce from Giovanni Sforza -- "the impotent one" -- Lucrezia Borgia was married to the Neapolitan Alfonso d'Aragona, the brother of Sancha of Aragon who was the wife of Lucrezia Borgia's younger brother Gioffre Borgia.
The marriage was a short one.
It lasted from 1498 to Alfonso's murder in 1500.
It is widely rumored that Lucrezia Borgia's brother, Cesare Borgia, was responsible for Alfonso's death, as he had recently allied himself (through marriage) with France -- against Naples.
Lucrezia Borgia and Alfonso d'Aragona had one child, Rodrigo d'Aragona, who pre-deceased his mother in August 1512 at the age of 12.
After the death of her second husband, Lucrezia Borgia's father, Rodrigo Borgia, arranged a third marriage.
Lucrezia Borgia then married Alfonso I d'Este, duca di Ferrara in early 1502 in Ferrara.
Lucrezia Borgia gave her third husband a number of children and proved to be a respectable and accomplished Renaissance duchess, effectively rising above her previous reputation and surviving the fall of the Borgias following her father's death.
-------
Neither partner was faithful. (THIS IS THE TOPIC OF DONIZETTI'S OPERA).
Beginning in 1503, Lucrezia Borgia enjoys a long relationship with her brother-in-law, Francesco II Gonzaga, Marchese di Mantova.
Lucrezia Borgia also enjoyed a love affair with the poet Pietro Bembo.
-----
Francesco II Gonzaga's wife was the cultured intellectual Isabella d'Este, the sister of Alfonso d'Este, to whom Lucrezia Borgia had made overtures of friendship to no avail.
The affair between Francesco II Gonzaga, marchese di Mantova, and Lucrezia Borgia was passionate, more sexual than sentimental as can be attested in the fevered love letters the pair wrote one another.
The affair ended when Francesco II Gonzaga, marchese di Mantova, contracted
syphilis and had to end sexual relations with Lucrezia.
Lucrezia Borgia met the famed French soldier, Chevalier Bayard while the latter was co-commanding the French allied garrison of Ferrara in 1510.
According to his biographer, Bayard became a great admirer of Lucrezia Borgia's, considering her a pearl among women.
How much Lucrezia Borgia returned his admiration is unknown.
Lucrezia Borgia died in Ferrara on 24 June 1519 from complications after giving birth to her eighth child, having had a lifelong history of complicated pregnancies and miscarriages.
She was buried in the convent of Corpus Domini.
On 15 October 1816, the Romantic poet Lord Byron visited the Ambrosian Library of Milan.
He was delighted by the letters between Borgia and Bembo -- the prettiest love letters in the world -- and claimed to have managed to steal a lock of her hair -- "the prettiest and fairest imaginable" -- held on display.
Lucrezia was mother to seven or eight known children:
The child's paternity was acknowledged by both Rodrigo Borgia and Cesare Borgia in two separate Papal bulls.
It was however rumoured that Giovanni Borgia was the child of Lucrezia Borgia and Rodrigo Borgia's chamberlain, "Perotto" Calderon.
The child (identified in later life as Lucrezia's half-BROTHER) was most likely the result of a liaison between Rodrigo Borgia and an unknown mistress and was not Lucrezia's child.
Lucrezia Borgia was the mother of Rodrigo d'Aragona (1 November 1499 – August 1512). Son by Alfonso of Aragon.
----
Lucrezia Borgia was the mother of Ercole II d'Este, duca di Ferrara (5 April 1508 – 3 October 1559).
Lucrezia Borgia was the mother Leonora d'Este (3 July 1515 – 15 July 1575), a nun.
Lucrezia Borgia was the mother Francesco d'Este, Marchese di Massalombarda (1 November 1516 – 2 February 1578).
Lucrezia Borgia was the mother of Isabella Maria d'Este (born and died on 14 June 1519). Complications at birth caused the death of Lucrezia ten days later.
At least one biographer (Maria Bellonci) claims that Lucrezia gave birth to three more children, one by Alfonso of Aragon and two by Alfonso d'Este, who did not survive infancy.
She is also thought to have had at least four miscarriages.
Lucrezia Borgia is claimed to be the ancestress of many notable people, including American Civil War general P.G.T. Beauregard.
She is a collateral relative of most
of the royal families of modern
Europe including that of the United Kingdom.
Through her granddaughter Anna d'Este, Duchess of Guise and later Duchess of Nemours, Lucrezia is the ancestress of
-- Juan Carlos I of Spain.
-- Albert II of Belgium
-- Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg; as well as the Count of Paris and the claimants to the Thrones of Portugal, Austria, Bavaria, Brazil, Parma, Saxony and the Two Sicilies.
Many of these concern allegations of incest, poisoning, and murder on Lucrezia Borgia's part.
However, no historical basis for these rumours has ever been brought forward, beyond allegations made by the rivals of the Borgias.
This apparently documents an actual event, although the precise moment depicted (a Franciscan friar kissing Lucrezia's feet) was invented by the artist.
Biographies:
It was made into a film of the same name in 1949, starring Orson Welles and Tyrone Power. Lucrezia Borgia NOT featured in film.
In the game the incestuous relationship between Cesare Borgia and Lucrezia Borgia is depicted openly.
-- she always strikes me as a Lucrezia [Borgia]-type person".
The lyrics of the song refers to
the fall of empire (quite possibly referring to the Papal empire),
war (quite likely referencing and objectifying religious politics of the time, and intimidation threats and assassination methods utilized by her mafio-esque family)
and the consequent destruction of other aspects of life
(possibly in reference to the aftershocks involving the personal antics of the Borgias, their political intrigue and ecclesiastical perversions Lucrezia, Cesare and Rodrigo thrust upon the Roman populace.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
^ George R. Marek The Bed and the Throne: the Life of Isabella d'Este, Harper & Row, 1976, ISBN 978-0-06-012810-4 p. 142
^ NGV's Renaissance mystery woman revealed, The Age, 25 November 2008, retrieved on 25 November 2008.
^ Only known painting of Lucrezia Borgia discovered in Australian gallery The Times, London, 25 November 2008
^ Infamous Renaissance woman subject of mystery portrait – Australian Broadcasting Corporation 26 November 2008, retrieved on 26 November 2008.
^ Gallery unveils portrait of infamy, The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 November 2008, retrieved on 26 November 2008.
^ Portrait of Renaissance femme fatale Lucrezia Borgia found at NGV, The Age, 26 November 2008, retrieved on 26 November 2008.
^ Art detective says the brother did it, The Age, 27 November 2008
^ Bellonci, Maria (2000). Lucrezia Borgia. London: Phoenix Press. p. 18. ISBN 1-84212-616-4.
^ Bellonci, Maria (2000). Lucrezia Borgia. London: Phoenix Press. p. 23. ISBN 1-84212-616-4.
^ a b Thurmel, Joseph (1923). Le Journal de Jean Burchard, Évêque et Cérémoniaire au Vatican. Paris: Les Éditions Reider. p. 328.
^ Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death in Renaissance Italy, Sarah Bradford, Viking, 2004
^ Marek, pp.166–67
^ Marek (1976) p. 169
^ "Ferrara 2002 Anno di Lucrezia Borgia". Comune di Ferrara.
^ Viragos on the march, The Spectator, 25 June 2005, by Ian Thomson, a review of Viragos on the march by Gaia Servadio. I. B. Tauris, ISBN 1-85043-421-2.
a b Pietro Bembo: A Renaissance Courtier Who Had His Cake and Ate It Too, Ed Quattrocchi, Caxtonian: Journal of the Caxton Club of Chicago, Volume XIII, No. 10, October 2005.
^ Byron by John Nichol.
^ Letter to Augusta Leigh, Milan, 15 October 1816. Lord Byron's Letters and Journals, Chapter 5: Separation and Exile.
^ Sarah Bradford: Lucrezia Borgia, Penguin Group, 2004, p. 68 and 114
^ Frances P. Keyes, Madame Castel's Lodger, pp. 40–41.
^ Maike Vogt-Luerssen:
Lucrezia Borgia: The Life of a Pope's Daughter in the Renaissance, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4537-2740-9, pp. 90–91.
^ Tate Collection | Lucretia Borgia Reigns in the Vatican in the Absence of Pope Alexander VI: Frank Cadogan Cowper 1877–1958
External links [edit]
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lucrezia Borgia |
- Lucrezia Borgia: The Family Tree in Pictures
- Lucretia Borgia at the Internet Movie Database
- DIARIO DE LOS BORJA BORGIA
Lucrezia Borgia
Born: 18 April 1480 Died: 24 June 1519 | ||
| Royal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant
Title last held by
Maddalena Gonzaga | Lady of Pesaro and Gradara 12 June 1492 – 20 December 1497 | Vacant
Title next held by
Ginevra Tiepolo |
| Vacant
Title last held by
Eleanor of Naples | Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio 15 June 1505 – 24 June 1519 | Vacant
Title next held by
Renée of France |
| ||
| ||
|
Categories:
- 1480 births
- 1519 deaths
- House of Borgia
- House of Sforza
- House of Trastamara
- People from the Province of Rome
- Italian people of Spanish descent
- Duchesses of Ferrara
- Duchesses of Modena
- Duchesses of Reggio
- Women and the papacy
- Illegitimate children of popes
- History of Italy
- Renaissance
- Italian Roman Catholics
- 15th-century Italian people
- 16th-century Italian nobility
- Deaths in childbirth
- Pope Alexander VI
No comments:
Post a Comment