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Opera in a prologue and two acts by Donizetti to a libretto by Romani after Hugo (1833, Milan).
| Biography: Lucrezia Borgia |
Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519) was Duchess of Ferrara, a renowned poisoner and political schemerwho, in actuality, was a pawn in the intrigues of her father and brother.
Lucrezia Borgia was born into the Renaissance world of Italy (1320-1520), a time when artists, sculptors, architects, scientists, and others rose to prominence. She was also born into one of the most notorious families in world history. Reputed to be evil, violent, and politically conniving, the Borgias were interested in claiming as much control of Italy as they could. And they were very successful.
Their prosperity was facilitated by the fact that Italy was not a unified nation but rather a collection of papal states, republics, duchies, and kingdoms organized around an urban center and the surrounding countryside, each with its own ruler. Although these individual states were powerful, their rulers were more inclined to fight each other than to band together against such enemy countries as France or Spain.
Italy desperately needed to unify and strengthen itself. Having lost much of its sea trade to France, Spain, and England, the Mediterranean was no longer the main site of commercial activity. Through the right political maneuvers, influential alliances could be formed and a great deal of power gained. It was a time of political turmoil and lethal intrigue; many political problems were solved by killing the person seen as the source of irritation. The males in the Borgia family followed the trend.
Lucrezia Borgia was the daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, later to become Pope Alexander VI, and his mistress Vannozza Cattanei, who was also the mother of Lucrezia's two older brothers, Cesare and Giovanni. The job of raising Lucrezia, however, was given to Rodrigo's cousin, the widow Adriana daMila. While living in a palace in Rome, Lucrezia was educated at the Convent of St. Sixtus on Via Appia. Described as being slender, she was of medium height, with light-blue/green eyes and golden hair, which she later bleached to maintain its goldenness. A painting by Pinturicchio, "Disputation of Saint Catherine, " is said to be modeled after her, depicting a slender young woman with wavy, blonde hair cascading down her back.
The young girl was no more than 11 when she was first affected by the political ambitions of her father, Rodrigo, and her brother, Cesare. Desiring an alliance with Spain, they arranged a marriage contract between Lucrezia and the lord of Val d'Agora in Valencia; her dowry was set at 100, 000 ducats. But two months later, the contract was mysteriously annulled without explanation. Historians assume that Rodrigo, who had instigated the annulment, had formed a new alliance involving his dynastic ambitions; he then arranged a marriage contract with another Spaniard, 15-year-old Don Gaspare, son of Count Averse in the Kingdom of Naples. This too was annulled that same year. The vacillating Rodrigo had decided it was more important to be aligned with the Sforza family of Milan.
The groom-to-be was the conceited, well-educated Giovanni Sforza, a 27-year-old with a fierce temper. He, too, stood to profit. Prior to his marriage to Lucrezia, Giovanni was only the lord of an insignificant Adriatic fishing town. Afterward, he would be a close relation to one of Italy's most powerful families. Having been elevated from cardinal to Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo, the prospective father-in-law, had become even more powerful. During the Italian Renaissance, the papacy was treated as a lucrative and powerful prize for any family that could gain control of it. Marrying the pope's daughter would strengthen Giovanni's hold on his inheritance over the state of Pesaro. In addition, Giovanni's uncle, Ludovico Sforza, the ruler of Milan, took note of Giovanni after his engagement and offered him a lucrative command in the Milanese army. Through his generosity, Ludovico hoped to gain an ally in the Borgia camp.
The 13-year-old Lucrezia was married to Giovanni Sforza on June 12, 1493, in a sumptuous wedding with a retinue of 500 ladies. The wedding feast featured poetry readings and comedy performances, followed by gifts of jewels, gold and silver objects, brocade, rings, and gold table settings. The pope and other religious leaders reportedly threw food into the ladies' low-cut bodices, but bawdy behavior was not unusual in that time.
By the time she was 17, Lucrezia was said to be tired of her husband, claiming he often neglected her. Giovanni had his own grievances. Reportedly weary of the political intrigue of the Vatican and the arrogance of Lucrezia's brothers, he may also have heard that Cesare Borgia was considering ways to eliminate him. Now preferring a closer alliance with Naples than Milan, Lucrezia's father and brother made plans to have the marriage annulled, claiming that Giovanni was impotent, that the marriage had never been consummated. Giovanni implored his uncle to intercede, but Ludovico, who had brought about the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII of France - an invasion that almost toppled Rodrigo from the papacy - was unwilling to do anything that would further provoke the pope. Sensing danger, Giovanni fled to Pesaro in the spring of 1497; Lucrezia withdrew to the Convent of San Sisto in Rome.
During the annulment process, statements from both camps served to hold the litigants up for social ridicule. Indignant over the charges of his impotency, Giovanni insinuated that Lucrezia's father and brother wanted Lucrezia for themselves. These accusations led to rumors about possible incestuous behavior that haunted Lucrezia throughout her life. In return for the right to keep the sizable dowry his wife had brought to the marriage, Giovanni reluctantly capitulated and signed a confession of impotency.
Cesare and Rodrigo then chose 17-year-old Alfonso of Aragon, the Duke of Bisceglie and son of the late king of Naples, as Lucrezia's next husband; Rodrigo sent his trusted Spanish chamberlain Pedro Caldes to carry out the marriage negotiations. But by the time her first marriage was officially annulled on December 27, 1497, Lucrezia was six months pregnant. This created more grist for the Italian rumor mill. Some speculated that Pedro Caldes was the child's father, others pointed to Rodrigo or Cesare. As a result of this scandal, Pedro was stabbed to death and thrown into the Tiber River along with one of Lucrezia's maids. Three months later, she gave birth to her son Giovanni, who was later legitimized by Rodrigo. Some scholars believe that Giovanni was actually a brother of Lucrezia's, although his parentage will probably never be known.
Alfonso of Aragon was reputed to be a handsome youth, with fine manners. The proxy wedding occurred on June 29, 1498, with the actual wedding on July 21. A wedding feast, similar to that of Lucrezia's first marriage, was celebrated with plays and masquerades, but the marriage was brief. Only a year later, political changes were once again stirring. Sensing that his alliance with the Borgias was no longer needed, Alfonso fled from Rome but was persuaded by Lucrezia to rejoin her and the pope at Nepi, where she was invested as governor of Spoleto. Lucrezia was again pregnant, and on November 1, 1499, gave birth to a son, naming him Rodrigo after her father.
On the evening of July 15, 1500, while returning home to the Vatican, Alfonso was attacked by hired killers and stabbed in the head, right arm, and leg. Lucrezia cared for him, called for doctors, and arranged for armed guards both day and night; she even prepared his food, fearing that someone might poison him. But on August 18, as Alfonso was still recovering, Cesare reputedly came to him and whispered in his ear that "what was not finished at breakfast would be complete by dinner." Returning to Alfonso's room later that day, Cesare ordered everyone out and directed his strongman to strangle Lucrezia's young husband. Alfonso's executioner later confessed that Rodrigo had ordered the murder, but few believed his story.
Left a widow at the age of 20, Lucrezia spent most of her time weeping over the loss of her husband. Tired of watching her mourn, her father and brother sent her to Nepi in the Etruscan Hills. On her return to Rome in November 1500, she began assisting her father as a sort of papal secretary, often opening and responding to his mail when he was not in residence.
Italian society continued to feast on Borgia gossip at Lucrezia's expense. There were rumors that she frequently danced until late at night with her brother Cesare at his infamous parties at the Vatican. Whether or not she deserved this speculation is debatable, since many contemporaries commented on her reserve and piety. Some historians have suggested that she and Pope Alexander were guests at dinners her brother hosted but left before revelries began. Others feel she may have been an innocent victim of the hatred directed toward her father and brother.
Casting about for new alliances, Cesare and Rodrigo's attention now turned to the 24-year-old widower Alfonso d'Este, eldest son of Ercole d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. Cesare wanted to conquer the Romagna region, and therefore needed an alliance with the duchy of Ferrara - an important military power strategically placed between the Romagna and the Venetian Republic. Not surprisingly, neither Alfonso d'Este nor his father was too happy at the prospect of a wife whose first husband had been ridiculed as impotent and whose second husband had been murdered. In addition, the d'Este family was the oldest ruling family in Italy and considered the Borgia family upstarts, not in the same class.
But politics once again determined Lucrezia's married life. While the main powers of Italy, fearing the control it would give Rodrigo's papacy, roared in opposition, King Louis XII of France advised his ally, Ercole, to consent to the marriage. Further prodding came from another quarter. Rodrigo, as Pope Alexander VI, threatened to depose Ercole if he did not consent to the marriage. Ercole finally agreed, but in return he demanded a large dowry; reduction of his annual tribute to the Church; the position of archpriest of St. Peter's for his son, Cardinal Ippolito d'Este; and receipt of the cities of Cento and Pieve, along with the harbor of Cesenatico.
Lucrezia was eager for the marriage, for she regarded Rome as a prison and thought she would have a better chance of leading her own life away from her ambitious father and brother. She wrote often to her future father-in-law, who at one time was considering marrying her if Alfonso did not. Since this was clearly an arranged marriage, Ercole's envoys checked at court to ensure that Lucrezia's trousseau would bring to this third marriage as much as the dowry of 100, 000 ducats accompanying her first marriage. With one dress alone costing 15, 000 ducats, the envoys were assured that the total value of the trousseau would easily equal 100, 000 ducats. In addition, Lucrezia would be taking along jewels, furniture, and a table service of silver and gold.
On December 30, 1501, the proxy marriage was held at the Vatican, and in early January, Lucrezia left Rome on her approximately 220-mile trip to Ferrara, adorned in her colors of yellow and brown, with 150 mules carrying her baggage carts. She and her retinue of 1, 000 were entertained at every city along the way. As the bridal party approached Ferrara, a disguised Alfonso rode out to catch a glimpse of Lucrezia; he was so pleased that he spent several hours in conversation with her, then returned home for the official welcome.
On February 2, 1502, the actual wedding ceremony was held with both Lucrezia and Alfonso in full regalia. Lucrezia wore black velvet with a cape of gold brocade trimmed with ermine, a net of gold and diamonds on her hair, and a necklace of rubies and pearls. Alfonso was dressed in red velvet, with even his horse attired in crimson and gold. Lucrezia had married a man who not only was interested in artillery, tournaments, dogs and horses, but who also played the viol and made pottery. He was also known for his cruelty, stinginess, and eccentricity.
The people of Ferrara adored Lucrezia, praising her for her beauty and "inner grace of personality." Avoiding political machinations, she became a notable patron of the arts. Content to socialize with artists, courtiers, poets, and citizens of the Renaissance court, she helped make Ferrara a center for artists and writers. A lock of golden hair, given by her to the poet Pietro Bembo, can today be found in the Ambrosian Library in Milan, along with letters she wrote to him in the gallant manner of the day.
In 1503, Rodrigo died, along with many of Cesare's plans. Since Lucrezia had not yet borne any children for Alfonso, the king of France suggested to Ercole that he should seek an annulment of the marriage. The idea was discarded because both Ercole and his son Alfonso were by this time fond of Lucrezia; in addition, they did not want to repay her dowry. Finally, some stability appeared in Lucrezia's life. When Ercole died in 1505, she and Alfonso became the reigning duke and duchess of Ferrara. She requested that Giovanni, her illegitimate son, come live with her. When he was old enough to come to court, he was always introduced as her brother.
Lucrezia had several children by Alfonso d'Este. Although two died in infancy, one was stillborn, and there were at least two miscarriages, the couple had five children who survived infancy: Ercole II (b. 1508), Ippolito (b. 1509), Alessandro (b. 1514), Eleanora (b. 1515), and Francesco (b. 1516). Of these, only Ercole and Ippolito survived into adulthood.
In 1512, Lucrezia began to lead a retired life, perhaps caused by news of the death of Rodrigo, her son by Alfonso of Aragon. Though separated from her son, she had made sure he was well taken care of, selecting his governess, his tutor, and the stewards to oversee his duchy of Bisceglie (which he had inherited from his father). She began to spend more time in her apartments or in nearby convents, becoming withdrawn and ill-humored. Turning more and more to religion, piety, and charitable works, she took to wearing a hairshirt under her embroidered gowns as a form of penance. As the years progressed, her body thickened, and she was said to age greatly. She was also plagued by spells of melancholy. On June 14, 1519, while giving birth to a stillborn girl, she developed a debilitating fever. She died ten days later at the age of 39. A few days before her death, she wrote a letter to Pope Leo X asking his blessing and commending her husband and children to him.
Lucrezia Borgia was often accused of being frivolous and heartless, yet an examination of her life reveals that such assessments were not always deserved. Indeed, much of the innuendo about her illegitimate child and alleged incestuous behavior may have been in retaliation for the evil deeds committed by her father Rodrigo and brother Cesare (who also murdered their brother Giovanni). Many historians view her as a political pawn whose marriages were used to further the ambitions of both her father and her brother. Lucrezia was very much a product of her times, accepting these ambitions and their consequences for the good of the family.
Further Reading
Chamberlain, E. R. The Fall of the House of Borgia. Dial Press, 1974.
Cloulas, Ivan. The Borgias. Translated by Gilda Roberts. Watts, 1989.
Fusero, Clemente. The Borgias. Translated by Peter Green. Praeger, 1972.
Guicciardini, Francesco. The History of Italy. Translated by Sidney Alexander. Macmillan, 1969.
Latour, Anny. The Borgias. Translated by Neil Mann. Abelard-Schuman, 1966.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Lucrezia Borgia |
Bibliography
See biography by S. Bradford (2004).
| History Dictionary: Borgia, Lucrezia |
A sister of the Italian politician Cesare Borgia and, like him, famous for her treachery.
| Wikipedia: Lucrezia Borgia |
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| Lucrezia Borgia | |
|---|---|
| Lady of Pesaro and Gradara Duchess of Bisceglie and Princess of Salerno Duchess of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio |
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![Supposed portrait of Lucrezia Borgia assumed to be by Dosso Dossi [1]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lucrezia_borgia.jpg) |
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| Supposed portrait of Lucrezia Borgia assumed to be by Dosso Dossi [1] | |
| Spouse | Giovanni Sforza Alfonso of Aragon Alfonso d'Este |
| Issue | |
| Giovanni Borgia Rodrigo Borgia of Aragon Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara Ippolito II d'Este Alessandro d'Este Leonora d'Este Francesco d'Este, Marchese di Massalombarda Isabella Maria d'Este |
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| Noble family | Borgia |
| Father | Rodrigo Borgia |
| Mother | Vannozza dei Cattanei |
| Born | 18 April 1480 Subiaco, Italy |
| Died | 24 June 1519 (aged 39) Ferrara |
Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 - 24 June 1519) was the daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia.[2]
Lucrezia's family later came to epitomize the ruthless Machiavellian politics and sexual corruption alleged to be characteristic of the Renaissance Papacy. Lucrezia was cast as a femme fatale, a role she has been portrayed as in many artworks, novels, and films.
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.[3][4][5][6][7] This painting may be the only surviving formal portrait of Lucrezia Borgia. However, doubts have been cast on that claim.[8] Several other paintings, such as Bartolomeo Veneziano's fanciful portrait, have also been said to depict her but none have been accepted by scholars at present. She is described as having heavy blonde hair which fell past her knees, a beautiful complexion, hazel eyes which constantly changed colour, a full, high bosom, and a natural grace which made her appear to "walk on air"[9]; these were the physical attributes that were highly appreciated in Italy during that period.
Very little is known of Lucrezia as a historical personage, and her complicity in the political machinations of her brothers and father cannot be determined at this time. Her father and/or brother certainly arranged several marriages for her to important or powerful men in order to advance their own political ambitions. Lucrezia was married to Giovanni Sforza (Lord of Pesaro), Alfonso of Aragon (Duke of Bisceglie), and Alfonso d'Este (Duke of Ferrara). Tradition has it that Alfonso of Aragon was an illegitimate son of the King of Naples and that Cesare may have had him murdered after his political value waned.
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Lucrezia Borgia was born at Subiaco, near Rome. By the time she was thirteen, she had been betrothed twice, but her father called off both engagements.
After Rodrigo became Pope Alexander VI, he had Lucrezia marry Giovanni Sforza to establish an alliance with that powerful Milanese family. The wedding was a scandalous event but was not much more extravagant than many other Renaissance celebrations.
Before long, the Borgia family no longer needed the Sforzas, and the presence of Giovanni Sforza in the papal court was superfluous. The Pope needed new, more advantageous political alliances, so he may have covertly ordered the execution of Giovanni. The generally accepted version is that Lucrezia was informed of this by her brother Cesare, and she warned her husband, who fled Rome.
Possibly Pope Alexander VI never made such an order, and it was a plot on the part of Cesare and Lucrezia to drive her boring husband away. Regardless, Alexander and Cesare were pleased with the chance to arrange another advantageous marriage for Lucrezia. But before that could occur, they needed to get rid of Giovanni Sforza.
Alexander asked Giovanni's uncle, Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, to persuade Giovanni to agree to a divorce. Giovanni refused and accused Lucrezia of paternal and fraternal incest. Since the marriage had supposedly not been consummated, the Pope said that the marriage was not valid, and offered Giovanni Lucrezia's dowry to agree. The Sforza family threatened to withdraw their protection of Giovanni if he refused Alexander's offer. Having no choice, Giovanni Sforza signed confessions of impotence and documents of annulment before witnesses.
There has been speculation that during the prolonged process of the annulment, Lucrezia consummated a relationship with someone, probably Alexander's messenger Perotto. The result was that she was actually pregnant when her marriage was annulled for non-consummation, and this is one of the facts her detractors have cited to support their derogatory view of her character. The child, named Giovanni but known to historians as the Roman Infante, was born in secret (1498) before Lucrezia's marriage to Alfonso of Aragon.
Some believe the child was her brother Cesare's, but that Perotto, due to his fondness for Lucrezia, claimed that it was his. During her pregnancy, she stayed away from Rome at a convent, so no one would know, and Perotto would bring her messages from her father in Rome. According to this theory, Lucrezia was worried that if news of her pregnancy reached the citizens of Rome, they would surely know it was Cesare's child. Cesare, at the time, was a Cardinal of the Holy Church; if he had been sharing an illicit sexual relationship with his sister during her marriage to Giovanni, it would have to be concealed from everyone, especially their father (the Pope).
In 1501, two papal bulls were issued concerning the child, Giovanni Borgia. In the first, he was recognized as Cesare's child from an affair before his marriage. The second, contradictory, bull recognized him as the son of Alexander VI. Lucrezia's name is not mentioned in either, and rumours that she was his mother have never been proven. The second bull was kept secret for many years, and Giovanni was assumed to be Cesare's son. This is supported by the fact that in 1502, he became Duke of Camerino, one of Cesare's recent conquests, hence the natural inheritance of the Duke of Romagna's oldest son. However, some time after Alexander's death, Giovanni went to stay with Lucrezia in Ferrara, where he was accepted as her half-brother.
At his first meeting with Alfonso, before the marriage took place, Cesare was very impressed by his good looks and nature. This soon changed to jealousy and hatred. It was said that Cesare did not like Alfonso because Lucrezia was very happy with him and had, since her marriage to him, stopped giving Cesare as much attention. Also, Cesare himself had a bout of syphilis and many scars remained on his face, even after recovery. This made him very conscious of his appearance, and so he started wearing masks and dressing in black. His condition is said to have made him hate Alfonso of Aragon all the more, and once when the Prince was visiting them in Rome, Cesare's men had attacked him during the night. To retaliate, Alfonso's men shot arrows at Cesare one day while he strolled in the garden. This infuriated Cesare, and he had his servant(s) strangle Alfonso while in the recovery room. Lucrezia and Alfonso had only one child, Rodrigo, who predeceased his mother in August 1512 at the age of thirteen.
While the reason for Alfonso's murder could have been jealousy, it did have a political background. Just like Lucrezia's first marriage, the second one soon became a useless alliance and a reason for embarrassment for the Pope and his son. Cesare had just allied himself with King Louis XII of France, who claimed the duchy of Naples, which was in the hands of Alfonso's family at the time. Whatever the reasons for his murder, Lucrezia was genuinely fond of her husband and broken–hearted upon his death.
After the death of her second husband, Lucrezia's father, Pope Alexander VI, wanted to arrange a third marriage. She then married Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. She gave her third husband a number of children and proved to be a respectable and accomplished Renaissance duchess, effectively rising above her questionable past and surviving the fall of the Borgias following her father's death.
Neither partner was faithful: Lucrezia enjoyed a long relationship with her bisexual brother-in-law, Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua [10][11] as well as a love affair with the poet Pietro Bembo. Francesco's wife was the cultured intellectual Isabella d'Este, the sister of Alfonso, to whom Lucrezia had made overtures of friendship to no avail. The affair between Francesco and Lucrezia 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 contracted syphilis and had to perforce end sexual relations with Lucrezia.[12]
Lucrezia Borgia died in Ferrara on 24 June 1519 from complications after giving birth to her eighth child. She was buried in the convent of Corpus Domini.[13]
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"[14][15]) and claimed to have managed to steal a lock of her hair ("the prettiest and fairest imaginable."[15]) held on display[16][17][18].
Lucrezia was mother to seven or eight known children:
At least one biographer (Mario 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 is the ancestress of many notable people, including American Civil War general P.G.T. Beauregard[19] and actress Brooke Shields.[20] She is a collateral relative of most of the royal families of modern Europe including that of the United Kingdom.
Several rumours have persisted throughout the years, primarily speculating as to the nature of the extravagant parties thrown by the Borgia family. Many of these concern allegations of incest, poisoning, and murder on her part; however, no historical basis for these rumors has ever been brought forward, beyond allegations made by the rivals of the Borgias.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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