Lucrezia borgia grandchildren
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The very name Borgia is associated with sex, cruelty, power and immorality – and Lucrezia Borgia has not escaped these associations. Often called a poisoner, adulteress and villain, the truth about this notorious duchess is much less concrete and somewhat more complex. Here are 10 facts about the most infamous women in Renaissance Italy.
1. She was illegitimate
Born on 18 April 1480, Lucrezia Borgia was the daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo de Borgia (who would later go on to be Pope Alexander VI) and his chief mistress, Vannozza dei Cattanei. Importantly – and unlike some of her half-siblings – Rodrigo acknowledged her as his child.
This meant she was permitted an education, and not merely a convent one. Lucrezia grew up in Rome, surrounded by intellectuals and members of the court. She was fluent in Spanish, Catalan, Italian, French, Latin and Greek by the time she was a teenager.
Suzannah Lipscomb's latest work unearths the lives of women in 16th and 17th century through a series of court sources that few have looked through. Dan talks to her about the ways i
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Lucrezia Borgia
b. 1480, Subiaco, Italy; d. 1519, Ferrara, Italy
Lucrezia Borgia has been characterized in art, literature, and film as depraved, extravagant, guilty of incest and murder; however, scholars assert that there is in fact insufficient proof of Lucrezia’s alleged bad acts or her active involvement in the crimes of her notorious family. She was the illegitimate daughter of Vannozza dei Cattanei and Rodrigo Borgia—who later became Pope Alexander VI—and sister of Cesare Borgia. Politically ambitious, corrupt, and licentious, Alexander and Cesare ruthlessly advanced themselves through bribery, nepotism, murder, and the strategic marriage alliances of Cesare and Lucrezia. Her first marriage, to Giovanni Sforza, ended in annulment when the Borgia family no longer needed the Sforzas, while her second marriage, to Alfonso of Aragon, ended with his death, probably at the hands of Cesare. In contrast to the depiction of Lucrezia as the hapless pawn of her father and brother, it has been suggested that she was often left in charge of the papal court during her father’s absence
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Lucrezia Borgia
Spanish-Italian duchess-consort of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio (1480–1519)
This article is about the historical person. For other uses, see Lucrezia Borgia (disambiguation).
Lucrezia Borgia[a] (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto.
Her family arranged several marriages for her that advanced their own political position, including Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro and Gradara, Count of Cotignola; Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglie and Prince of Salerno; and Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. Alfonso of Aragon was an illegitimate son of the King of Naples, and tradition has it that Lucrezia's brother, Cesare Borgia, may have had him murdered, after his political value waned.
Notorious tales about her family cast Lucrezia as a femme fatale, a controversial role in which she has been latter portrayed in many artworks, novels, and films.
Early life
See also: House of Borgia
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