History UsefulNotes / TheBorgias

Despite being Spanish (and therefore, to the xenophobic Italians, a terrifying and probably heretic foreigner), Rodrigo got to, and stayed in, a powerful position in the church. He was made a cardinal while in his 20s, by [[{{Nepotism}} his uncle]], '''Pope Callixtus III (Alfonso Borgia)'''. He served decades as vice-chancellor of the Vatican, second-in-command to a number of popes, a position which he kept even through the reigns of popes who were his family's enemies. Now, the time had come for him, and his family, to take center stage.

* The ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series gives them a hefty HistoricalVillainUpgrade by making them leading figures of the Templar Order that's bound to suppress humanity's free will, though here they mainly seem concerned to control Italy. The BigBad of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' (and ''Film/AssassinsCreedLineage'') turns out to be Rodrigo/Alexander VI (played by Creator/ManuelTadros), and an AxCrazy Cesare takes that role in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'' (and the BrotherSisterIncest with Lucrezia is alluded to, of course).

This is where the story usually ([[Manga/CesareIlCreatoreCheHaDistrutto but not always]]) begins. Once he was crowned Pope, Alexander brought his young mistress, '''Giulia Farnese''', into the Vatican. He also brought his four children by his previous mistress, '''Vanozza dei Cattanei'''.

[[caption-width-right:250: A portrait of a gentleman, traditionally said to be Cesare, though no definite portrait of him survives.]]

%%[[caption-width-right:250:some caption text]]

Born in 1475. The oldest of the four children of Rodrigo, he was chosen and trained to be his father's heir. Of course, this meant he had to be a priest. The {{Nepotism}} started early -- at the age of 8, he was made a General Secretary of the church, and at 16, he became Bishop of Pamplona. Soon after his father became pope, Cesare was made a cardinal. He was never suited to the priesthood, however. He could have just shrugged his shoulders and gone along with the money and power it brought him (like Giulia's brother Alessandro Farnese, who was made a cardinal by Rodrigo at the same time, and later became Pope Paul III, using the office to give away church properties to his family all while writing a book about fine wine). But Cesare was different from that. In 1498, his father finally gave him permission to resign from being a cardinal -- something no one else in history, to this day, has done.

* ''Manga/CesareIlCreatoreCheHaDistrutto'' is a manga series about Cesare in school in 1491-92, and it ends with the conclave and Rodrigo's becoming pope. We see Cesare and Miguel [[TheWatson through the eyes of]] Angelo, a Florentine commoner in their class, who befriends them despite their difference in rank and origin.

* 1981's ''The Borgias'', produced by Creator/TheBBC. One in a series of failures by the BBC to create "the new ''Series/IClaudius''".
* 2011 gave us [[DuelingWorks both]] ''Series/TheBorgias'' and ''Series/{{Borgia}}'', two TV series about them. Both start with Rodrigo's ascent to the papacy, but only ''Borgia'' completed the story through Cesare's death -- [[spoiler: or, his supposed death]].

* 2011 gave us ''Series/TheBorgias'' and ''Series/{{Borgia}}'', two TV series about them. Both start with Rodrigo's ascent to the papacy, but only ''Borgia'' completed the story through Cesare's death -- [[spoiler: or, his supposed death]].

* The video game series ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' gives them a hefty HistoricalVillainUpgrade by making them leading figures of the Templar Order that's bound to suppress humanity's free will, though here they mainly seem concerned to control Italy. The BigBad of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' (and ''Film/AssassinsCreedLineage'') turns out to be Rodrigo/Alexander VI (played by Creator/ManuelTadros), and an AxCrazy Cesare takes that role in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'' (and the BrotherSisterIncest with Lucrezia is alluded to, of course).
* ''Manga/CesareIlCreatoreCheHaDistrutto'' is a manga series about Cesare in school in 1491-92, and it ends with the conclave and Rodrigo's becoming pope. We see Cesare and Miguel [[TheWatson through the eyes of]] Angelo, a Florentine commoner in their class, who befriends them despite their difference in rank and origin.
* ''Manga/{{Cantarella}}'' is another, more fantastically-slanted manga about Cesare. In it, Rodrigo sells not his own soul, but Cesare's, to the devil in exchange for the papacy.
* ''Manga/OneWingedMichelangelo'' features Cesare quite prominently, and quite positively, in one story arc. Michelotto is by his side, and the length of their friendship is acknowledged. Lucrezia is the MatureYoungerSibling, keeping BunnyEarsLawyer Cesare from wandering off.

* The 1953 French-Italian film ''Lucrèce Borgia'' (from the French pronunciation of Lucrezia's name). Starred Martine Carol as Lucrezia and Creator/PedroArmendariz as Cesare.

The House of Borgia were a noble family from UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} who were key figures in UsefulNotes/{{Ital|y}}ian politics during the early [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance Renaissance]], particularly Rodrigo Borgia (a cardinal who was elected [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope]] in 1492 as UsefulNotes/PopeAlexanderVI) and his children.

[[folder:Juan/Giovanni]]

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!!Rodrigo / Pope Alexander VI

!! Cesare

!! Juan/Giovanni

!! Lucrezia

!! Gioffre

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: A very popular one for the Renaissance, alongside people like Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli and Creator/LeonardoDaVinci.

* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The Sensitive Guy to his [[TheSociopath Cesare]] [[TestosteronePoisoning Borgia]]'s manly man. Several adaptations play up Rodrigo's possible genuine faith and cerebral interests in contrast to Cesare's direct brutality. However, historically, Cesare was also quite brilliant, and his brutality was shown rarely, yet pointedly -- it's what he's known for because he did it so well.

This is where the story usually ([[Manga/CesareIlCreatoreCheHaDistrutto but not always]]) begins. Once he was crowned Pope, Alexander brought his young mistress, '''Giulia Farnese''', into the Vatican. He also brought his four children by his previous mistress, '''Vanozza dei Cattanei'''. They were:

Born in 1475. The oldest of the four, he was chosen and trained to be his father's heir. Of course, this meant he had to be a priest. The {{Nepotism}} started early -- at the age of 8, he was made a General Secretary of the church, and at 16, he became Bishop of Pamplona. Soon after his father became pope, Cesare was made a cardinal. He was never suited to the priesthood, however. He could have just shrugged his shoulders and gone along with the money and power it brought him (like Giulia's brother Alessandro Farnese, who was made a cardinal by Rodrigo at the same time, and later became Pope Paul III, using the office to give away church properties to his family all while writing a book about fine wine). But Cesare was different from that. In 1498, his father finally gave him permission to resign from being a cardinal -- something no one else in history, to this day, has done.

!! Juan

Sometimes italianized as "Giovanni". His date of birth is unknown, leading some historians ([[Series/{{Borgia}} and works]] to believe he might have been older than Cesare. While Cesare was assigned to the Church, Juan had no such limitations placed on him. He inherited a dukedom from Rodrigo's older son, his half-brother Pedro-Luis (from an unknown mother), who was something of a war hero for Spain and was killed in battle. As Duke of Gandia, he was married to a noblewoman from Spain's royal family. His father made him captain of the papal forces, but he was not a capable soldier and ended up humiliated. He was murdered in 1498, stabbed nine times and thrown in the river. The murder was never solved. Many over the centuries have pinned the blame on Cesare, but for many reasons, it is highly unlikely that Cesare was the guilty party. Some member of the Orsini family, one of the Borgias' many enemies, was most likely behind it -- Juan had many enemies among the Orsini personally (and sexually) as well.

Born in 1480. Rather than the vicious murderer she's usually depicted as, most historical sources say that she was sweet, charming, and beautiful. She was also intelligent -- even historians who want to see her in a negative light have to admit that, from the letters between her and Cesare when they were teenagers, they were both smart enough to make those [[ImprobableAge teenaged doctors and generals in anime]] look realistic.

The youngest of the four, he was married to Sancia d'Aragon (sister of Alfonso, see above), an illegitimate daughter of the King of Naples, soon after his father became pope.

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* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Rodrigo was ugly on most contemporary (or later) paintings representing him, something the likes of Creator/JeremyIrons or Manuel Tadros are not. On the other hand, contemporary accounts suggest that he was actually an attractive man in his prime. His children, especially Cesare and Lucrezia, had their beauty praised quite often as well.

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rodrigoborgia.jpg]]

Sometimes called Giovanni. His date of birth is unknown, leading some historians ([[Series/{{Borgia}} and works]] to believe he might have been older than Cesare. While Cesare was assigned to the Church, Juan had no such limitations placed on him. He inherited a dukedom from Rodrigo's older son, his half-brother Pedro-Luis (from an unknown mother), who was something of a war hero for Spain and was killed in battle. As Duke of Gandia, he was married to a noblewoman from Spain's royal family. His father made him captain of the papal forces, but he was not a capable soldier and ended up humiliated. He was murdered in 1498, stabbed nine times and thrown in the river. The murder was never solved. Many over the centuries have pinned the blame on Cesare, but for many reasons, it is highly unlikely that Cesare was the guilty party. Some member of the Orsini family, one of the Borgias' many enemies, was most likely behind it -- Juan had many enemies among the Orsini personally (and sexually) as well.

* The video game series ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' gives them a hefty HistoricalVillainUpgrade by making them leading figures of the Templar Order that's bound to suppress humanity's free will, though here they mainly seem concerned to control Italy. The BigBad of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' (and ''Film/AssassinsCreedLineage'') turns out to be Rodrigo/Alexander VI, and an AxCrazy Cesare takes that role in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'' (and the BrotherSisterIncest with Lucrezia is alluded to, of course).

The Borgias were a noble family from Spain who were key figures in Italian politics during the early Renaissance -- particularly Rodrigo Borgia (UsefulNotes/PopeAlexanderVI, who has his own page) and his children.

In 1492, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia was elected and crowned as UsefulNotes/PopeAlexanderVI. Despite being Spanish (and therefore, to the xenophobic Italians, a terrifying and probably heretic foreigner), Rodrigo got to, and stayed in, a powerful position in the church. He was made a cardinal while in his 20s, by [[{{Nepotism}} his uncle]], '''Pope Callixtus III (Alfonso Borgia)'''. He served decades as vice-chancellor of the Vatican, second-in-command to a number of popes, a position which he kept even through the reigns of popes who were his family's enemies. Now, the time had come for him, and his family, to take center stage.

* ''Manga/OneWingedMichelangelo'' features Cesare quite prominently, and quite positively, in one story arc. Michelotto is by his side, and the length of their friendship is acknowledged. Lucrezia is the MatureYoungerSibling, keeping BunnyEarsLawyer Cesare from wandering off.

* ''Manga/{{Cantarella}}'' is another, more fantastically-slanted manga about Cesare. In it, Rodrigo sells not his own soul, but Cesare's, to the devil in exchange for the papacy.

In 1492, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia was elected and crowned as UsefulNotes/PopeAlexanderVI. Despite being Spanish (and therefore, to the xenophobic Italians, a terrifying and probably heretic foreigner), Rodrigo got to, and stayed in a powerful position in the church. He was made a cardinal while in his 20s, by [[{{Nepotism}} his uncle]], Pope Callixtus III (Alfonso Borgia). He served decades as vice-chancellor of the Vatican, second-in-command to a number of popes, a position which he kept even through the reigns of popes who were his family's enemies. Now, the time had come for him, and his family, to take center stage.

In 1492, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia was elected and crowned as UsefulNotes/PopeAlexanderVI. Despite being Spanish (and therefore, to the xenophobic Italians, a terrifying and probably heretic foreigner), Rodrigo got to, and stayed in a powerful position in the church. He was made a cardinal while in his 20's, by [[{{Nepotism}} his uncle]], Pope Callixtus III (Alfonso Borgia). He served decades as vice-chancellor of the Vatican, second-in-command to a number of popes, a position which he kept even through the reigns of popes who were his family's enemies. Now, the time had come for him, and his family, to take center stage.

!!! Miguel da Corella

!!! Giovanni Sforza

!!! Alfonso d'Aragon

!!! Alfonso d'Este

!!! Pedro Calderon

!!! Sancia d'Aragon

Gioffre's older wife -- when they were married, he was about 12, and she was about 16. She is said to have found him less than satisfying, and she had affairs with both Cesare and Juan. At Lucrezia's wedding to Alfonso, a private party, Cesare danced with her eight times. It is from her private writings that we get the detail of Cesare dancing in a ballet costumed as a unicorn at that party.