Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI and sister of Cesare Borgia, was used as a political tool by her family through marriage deals rather than assassinations. She had three marriages, the second of which was happy but ended in her husband’s murder by Cesare. Her third marriage redeemed her reputation, and she died a beloved duchess. Despite recent attempts to set the record straight, Lucrezia Borgia remains one of the most notorious members of the Borgia family.
Lucrezia Borgia was a member of the notorious Borgia family who enjoyed widespread political power in Renaissance Italy. She was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and sister of Cesare Borgia, known for his political intrigues and corruption. The family is said to have gained much of its power by poisoning its enemies, and Lucrezia Borgia is believed to have been instrumental in this activity, but there is no concrete historical support for this claim. Lucrezia Borgia was certainly a pawn used by her father and brother to gain political advantage, but this was mostly through marriage deals rather than assassinations.
Lucrezia was born on April 18, 1480. Her family began using her as a political tool early in her life, as she was betrothed twice before marrying at the age of 13 to Giovanni Sforza, lord of Pesaro and heir to a powerful family. According to the marriage contract, Lucrezia Borgia was to remain in Rome for a year after the ceremony, until then the marriage was not to be consummated.
When she finally joined Giovanni in Pesaro, Lucrezia found herself unhappy in the new city, and simultaneously her father began to doubt Giovanni’s ability to increase the power of the Borgias. In 1497 Giovanni and Lucrezia visited Rome, and Lucrezia did not want to return with her husband to Pesaro. Alexander VI accordingly began divorce proceedings. The non-consummation was the foreseen reason for the divorce, and Giovanni was forced to his disappointment to sign documents attesting to his impotence. In his anger, he accused Lucrezia Borgia of incest with her father, a suggestion that soon spread to include two of her brothers, Cesare and Juan.
During her divorce, Lucrezia Borgia lived in the convent of San Sisto in Rome, where she fled without telling her family. Rumors have surfaced that Lucrezia’s isolation was the result of a pregnancy she wished to hide, although this theory has never been confirmed. The father of her child is believed to have been Alexander’s messenger, Pedro Calderon. The fact that Calderon was assassinated shortly after this scandal contributed to the rumor.
A Borgia child of dubious origin, named Giovanni, appeared in this period, and in 1501 two bulls or papal decrees were issued concerning his identity. The former claimed that he was Cesare’s illegitimate son from a premarital relationship, and the latter named him Alexander’s son. To this day, no one knows the child’s true parentage.
Lucrezia Borgia was married for the second time in 1498, this time to Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglie. As her first husband, Alfonso was chosen by Lucrezia’s relatives because of the political connections offered by the union. Unlike her first marriage, however, Lucrezia’s marriage to Alfonso was a happy one and the two developed a genuine love for each other. The couple had one son, Rodrigo, who died in 1512 at the age of 13.
Alfonso, like Giovanni before him, eventually became politically useless to the Borgias. Alfonso was attacked by a large group of men on the steps of St. Peter’s one night in 1500. Because of the attack, probably orchestrated by Cesare, he nearly died and was confined to bed. Lucrezia and his sister-in-law looked after Alfonso diligently, but Cesare managed to find him only in his room and finished him off by strangulation. Lucrezia was heartbroken over the death of her second husband.
Lucrezia’s third and last marriage was to Alfonso d’Este, prince and later duke of Ferrara. As Duchess of Ferrara, Lucrezia Borgia won the love of her people and her reputation was effectively redeemed, although people continued to remember the most sensational tales about her after her death. Her exemplary behavior as duchess allowed her to survive the collapse of her family after the death of Pope Alexander VI. Lucrezia and Alfonso had six children, four of whom survived into adulthood. Lucrezia herself died a few days after a difficult pregnancy, on June 24, 1519.
During her marriage to the Duke of Ferrara, Lucrezia Borgia also had an affair with the poet Pietro Bembo, with whom she exchanged letters and poems even beyond the duration of their love relationship. Although she died a pious and beloved duchess, Lucrezia Borgia went down in history as one of the most notorious of the Borgia clan. Many recent historians have tried to set the record straight.
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