Manga / Cesare - Il Creatore che ha distrutto

Cesare - Il Creatore che ha distrutto (Japanese: チェーザレ 破壊の創造者, Chēzare Hakai no Sōzō-sha, lit. "Cesare, Creator of Destruction") is a manga series by Souryo Fuyumi, serialized in the Japanese monthly comic magazine Morning and published in tankōbon format by Kodansha. The series ran in Morning from 2005 to 2021.

Angelo Da Canossa, a young student from Florence, arrives at the prestigious Sapienza university in Pisa. Suddenly surrounded by boys from the greatest families in Italy, the young man is particularly drawn to Cesare Borgia, the brilliant natural son of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia. The era is particularly tense for Italy. Old alliances are crumbling, the Pope is on his deathbed, and Cesare is about to bring Angelo into this world of sharks...

In creating Cesare, Souryo has collaborated with a Dante scholar to bring to life a vivid portrait of Renaissance Italy in great and accurate detail.

A musical adaptation was produced in 2020. All performances were cancelled due to Covid-19 but it was finally performed in January and February of 2023.

Not to be confused with You Higuri's Cantarella, another manga about Cesare's youth, serialized in Princess Comic.

WARNING: Historical facts are not marked as spoilers.

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Tropes in this work:

• Achievements in Ignorance: Lampshaded several times. Angelo would never have dared talk to Cesare, let alone argue with him, if he had known from the beginning how important Cesare is.
• Adipose Rex: As depicted on their historical paintings, King Ferrante of Napoli, Ludovico Sforza of Milan and all the men in the series who will eventually be Pope (Rodrigo Borgia, Giuliano Della Rovere, Giovanni de'Medici) are quite heavy-set.
• All for Nothing: Played with. Cesare spends the 10 first books curating the support of the Medici family (it's the very reason he's in Pisa in the first place),but upon Lorenzo's death, his son Piero decides to break his father's alliances, including the one with the Borgias. However, Giovanni is the one actually voting in the Conclave, and his friendship with Cesare and Rodrigo still matters to him. His vote for Rodrigo is counted after Rodrigo has already secured the necessary 2/3 majority, but it still matters as a mark of friendship to Rodrigo, Angelo, and presumably Cesare as well.
• All Love Is Unrequited: Orsino is very much in love with his wife Giulia, but she thinks of him as a brother and becomes repulsed by him when an infection disfigures him.
• Ambadassador: The role Cesare plays to prepare for his father to prepare for the Conclave, particularly with the Medici family in Florence.
• Analogy Backfire: One of Lorenzo de' Medici's Establishing Character Moments. While in Firenze, Leonardo da Vinci gives Cesare a riddle: a handful of pawns are an army, and a bowl of nuts is as many cannonballs. How is it possible to take out all of the army in a single attack? By throwing the entire bowl at them. Cesare is childishly excited by the solution, but Lorenzo, confronted with the mess of all the spilled walnuts and pawns, asks instead how one can clean such a massacre in a single swoop. Leonardo confesses that he has no solution to that riddle.
• Annoying Younger Sibling:
  • Juan to Cesare. He thinks his brother is whiny and stupid (a view that may or may not have been instilled by their father) and likes Miguel's company better. Occasionally, Lucrezia, although he dotes on her more.
  • During her brief appearance, Princess Anne of France seems to consider her brother Charles, for whom she was regent, to be this now that he's come into his power.
• Apologetic Attacker: When Angelo finds out that Roberto is part of the group that set the Medici factory on fire, the latter assures him that it's a shame he now has to be disposed of.
• Apron Matron: Adriana, the stern governess of Cesare and his siblings, and Giulia's mother-in-law.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Giovanni's final exam at the university consists in a series of theological debates with scholars and ecclesiastics. He is acing it, until Cesare comes to ask him about the religious morality of money-lending. As he comes from a banker family, he struggles to confront his biases without sounding like a complete hypocrite. Ultimate subverted in that it turns out to his favor. The audience was feeling like the professors were being easy on Giovanni, and Cesare actually putting up a fight in the debate allows him to really shine as an orator and theologian.
• Arranged Marriage: Lucrezia is currently betrothed to a young Spanish aristocrat, and many more are discussed for all the siblings once Rodrigo becomes pope, despite the fact that Cesare is a priest.
• Art Imitates Art: When Cesare tells Lucrezia about inequality in the eyes of God, he invokes an image that is a semi identical copy of François Dubois's St Bartholomew's Day Massacre.◊
• Artistic License – History:
  • The real Giovanni de Medici stood firmly against the election of Rodrigo Borgia. This one likes both Rodrigo and Cesare and can't bring himself to follow his brother's orders to vote against him.
  • Henri's deep attachment to his French nationality is a little out of place, as the County of Provence, where his home city of Marseille is, was an independant state tied to the Holy Roman Empire for five centuries and only became part of the French territory in 1487, a mere four years before the start of the story.
  • Discussed in-universe. Angelo brings up the rumor that when threatened with the murder of her children during a siege, Caterina Sforza showed off her genitals from the top of the walls and claimed to be able to produce more. Cesare points out how impractical that would be, and says it is more likely that she just pointed at her womb while retreating.
  • Also discussed in-universe: during a street play in Pisa about courtly love at the time of the crusades, one of the characters calls Saladin a barbarian and Jerusalem Heaven on Earth. Cesare offendedly and loudly corrects that Saladin was a wise ruler and brilliant general, and that Jerusalem is a fortress stuck in the middle of the desert, to the point of annoying the actors.
  • In-universe, but not discussed: during the mock crusade, most of the students are in accurate armor except Cesare, who is wearing modern 15th century armor, which is lighter and offers more coverage. Historical accuracy is important to him, but not as much as winning.
• Attention Whore: Juan seems to be this. With brothers like genius Cesare and war hero Pedro-Luis, he has reasons to want his place in the sun too.
• Audience Surrogate: Angelo's ignorance of the ways of high society and academic life allows the audience to be introduced to the campus life of the university and the importance of its students in the Christian world.
• Author Appeal: Souryo Fuyumi was once famous for her horse art; horses are prominently featured in the series and even become Cesare and Angelo's first bonding point. Their horses Romulus and Remus come up again and again throughout.
• Awesome Moment of Crowning: When Giovanni, newly named into the Curia, returns to Florence to his ailing father, the entire city gathers outside of the Medici's palace to cheer on their own cardinal despite the pouring rain.
• Badass Boast: Cesare oozes those. Expect one in every other chapter.
• Badass Family: The Borgias. Rodrigo rose to the second most important position in the Catholic church, Pedro Luis was such a brilliant war hero that the royal family of Spain assassinated him out of fear, Cesare is a genius and The Man Behind the Man, and Juan and Lucrezia, while still too young to count, are starting to make a name for themselves in Roman society.
• Bastard Bastard: Arguably, Cesare, Juan and Lucrezia. The first is a Manipulative Bastard, the second is a pompous womanizer, and even the sweet youngest giggled when she heard the Pope was on his death bed. See also: Draghignazzo.
• Because I'm Good At It: Why Miguel is so loyal to Cesare. He genuinely believes he was put on this earth to serve him.
• Berserk Button: Cesare is extremely protective of Miguel, and gets into a rather cruel fight with Henri because the latter insulted Miguel's Jewish faith. He later denies it, saying the dispute was about Henri's general brutality and xenophobia towards Spain, but Angelo knows better.
• Beta Couple: Cesare and Angelo meet young weaver girls and become romantically involved with one each. Cesare and Ottavia actually are the beta couple in this situation, as he finds her charming but doesn't think much of her; Angelo seems to genuinely like Emilia, to the point that he spends his last night in Pisa with her rather than with his friends.
• Beware the Nice Ones:
  • Angelo finds Lucrezia so sweet that he can't believe she's Cesare's sister... until she passive-aggressively destroys two ladies who were mocking her.
  • By book 10, beware Angelo himself. While he is still mostly dorky and well-meaning, he has definitely developed a political acumen and works for Cesare as Giovanni's new right-hand man.
• Big Beautiful Woman: Manuela, the prostitute Angelo loses his virginity to. He finds her very heavy to lie with, but definitely pretty.
• Big Brother Bully: Played with. Piero de'Medici likes his brother Giovanni a lot, but Giovanni is rather timid and Piero expects him to follow all of his orders.
• Big Brother Worship: Lucrezia for Cesare. Borders on Big Brother Attraction. Knowing the rumors that followed these two characters in history...
• Big Fancy Castle:
  • The archbishop's palace where Cesare resides in Pisa is an admirable building filled with works of arts. It is utterly dwarfed by the Borgias' palace in Rome.
  • Giuliano Della Rovere is having one built for himself, but according to Ascanio Sforza, he is mistaking "fancy" for "vulgar".
• Big Man on Campus: The heads of each association is this within their own circle. Cesare would be this university-wide if he cared to be, but he chooses to leave that status to Giovanni.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Borgias are practically the poster family for this trope. Mostly averted, so far, though: the most unsettling rumors surrounding them, like the brotherly rivalry or the incest, have yet to take place, as all the children are still very young. It is still hinted at in the fact that Rodrigo seems to have slept with every woman he runs into, notably his daughter figure Giulia.
• Bilingual Bonus : The cover of book 5 features a parchment that reads "Reddite igitur quae sunt Caesaris Caesari et quae sunt dei deo", or "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's".
• Bluff the Imposter: Cesare makes Draghignazzo confess to the factory fire by having Angelo claim that he saw his face that night. Draghignazzo claims it to be impossible as he had covered his face with soot and- oh, wait.
• Bookworm: Angelo. The reason he is apparently so socially inept is that he meets more books than people. He bonds with Silenzio rapidly over this.
• Brainy Brunette: Cesare is dark-haired and nothing short of a genius.
• Brutal Honesty: While Cesare is mostly amiable and diplomatic, he can be quite blunt on the occasion. Miguel is just brutally honest all the time.
• Call-Forward: The series is full of them, the last few Virtus especially. They notably set up Lucrezia's first marriage, Sancia of Aragon's arrival in the family, Cesare leaving priesthood, Charles VIII's Italian conquests, and finally, Vannozza Cattanei gets to express herself in voicing her concerns for her children, notably Juan making enemies and detractors through his recklessness, and Lucrezia gaining a reputation as a Femme Fatale for political moves in which she is merely a pawn.
• Cast Full of Pretty Boys: The portraits of major figures definitely served as inspiration for their likeness, most of the students of the university are charming young Bishōnen, especially Cesare, Miguel and Angelo.
• Chekhov's Gun: During the attack on the factory, one of the arsonists's robe is set on fire at the shoulder. The resulting burn later identifies him as Roberto.
• Chekhov's Gunman:
  • The young Franciscan monk Angelo attempts to help when he collapses in the hallways of the university turns out to be Niccolo Machiavelli, Lorenzo de'Medici's agent in Pisa.
  • The little boy Angelo attempts to give food to during his and Cesare's stride through the poorer area of Pisa, with dreadful consequences, returns a while later, when the factory Cesare funded is complete and running. Angelo gets him a job there, assuring him that he will never have to steal or scavenge again. It is part of what feeds his loyalty to Cesare: his actions, while meant to be self-serving, change many lives for the better.
• Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys:
  • Very much averted. France was arguably the most powerful country in Europe at the time, and Henri and his French association are the most brutish, honor-obsessed, vindictive bullies at the university. Young King Charles VIII, who will eventually pose a problem to the Borgia rule, is presented as a voracious conqueror.
  • Played Straight with Pierre Balue, the student who refuses to fight Angelo during the melee, easy as it would be, and instead chooses to hand over the victory.
• Childhood Friends: Cesare and Miguel. Miguel was brought from his Spanish orphanage to Rome at age 6 to become Cesare's companion, and they quickly bonded, both in desperate need of a friend.
• Child of Two Worlds: A theme central to the Spanish organization. At the time, the Iberian peninsula is still divided between Christian Spain and Muslim Al-andalus, and most, if not all, of Cesare's entourage is Jewish or recently converted; and they serve a Catholic cardinal. Through these differences, they all have a great open-mindedness and a capacity to admire even their enemies.
• Child Prodigy: Cesare was very much a gifted child, which his father quickly recognized. Lucrezia is also one in a way: Cesare tells her she must be a scholar to assist their father like he does, and she instinctively knows how to charm the pants off everyone.
• Les Collaborateurs: Henri accuses Cesare and the rest of the Spaniards to be this in regards to the Muslim invasions and cohabitation. Cesare does not deny it, as he believes that being a Child of Two Worlds is Spain's great cultural strength.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: To an extent, since the manga is in black and white, but the members of the Florentine association tend to be rather delicate young men dressed in the local fashion; the members of the Spanish association wear all black and tend to sport a very stern expression; and expect the members of the French association to be buff brutish hunks.
• The Consigliere: Miguel to Cesare. His brutal honesty sometimes offends Cesare, but they remain friends and Cesare always listens to him. (Whether or not his acts on his advice is another matter.)
• Corrupt the Cutie: Cesare initially uses Angelo as an unwitting pawn to learn more about the Florentine association. Eventually, Angelo himself comes to offer Cesare his services as a spy.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: When Cesare finally meets the assassin who was after him, he brutalizes him to make him say who his employer is. Unfortunately, Miguel kills the man before Cesare could learn the information.
• Creepy Souvenir: After hearing Savonarola preach against... pretty much everyone, but especially Jews, Cesare tells Miguel that one day he'll hang the man and gift his friend the corpse.
• Cultural Posturing: Henri is very proud of his French roots and considers his xenophobic, narrow-minded, already outdated view to be the only possible view.
• Cycle of Revenge: Both Rafaelle Riario and Lorenzo de'Medici are afraid to trigger one if they meet; the Riarios were involved in the coup that killed Lorenzo's brother. Eventually, using Cesare as a go-between, they manage to put it behind them. For now.
• Daddy's Girl: Rodrigo absolutely dotes on Lucrezia, and she loves him very much.
• Death Glare: Cesare is very good at these.
• Decadent Court: The Curia. It is part of the reason why Cesare was to destroy- ahem, reform it so much.
• Deceased Parents Are the Best: Angelo has no relationship with his father, who has remarried since his mother's death and lives in another city. He keeps very good memories of her, though, and was mostly raised by her father.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Lucrezia is said at the ball to be bound to become a sex-symbol, already deliberately attracting a lot of men. She is also twelve years old.
• Desperately Craves Affection: Orsino. Completely isolated because of his disfiguring eye infection, especially from his beloved wife Giulia, he bursts into tears the second Cesare gives him the slightest physical contact.
• Disappeared Dad: Angelo's, as above. Miguel is an orphan from the beginning. Lorenzo de Medici eventually dies, leaving Giovanni and all of his siblings orphans.
• Doting Parent: Rodrigo to Lucrezia and Cesare. He quite clearly despises Juan.
• The Dragon: Cesare is training to be this to his father, and incites Lucrezia to do the same. His own dragon is Miguel, and Rodrigo's current dragon is Savio.
• Due to the Dead: Cesare recites a requiem prayer for Roberto, despite the fact that he just tried to kill him. This prayer could also be intended for Angelo, who is gravely wounded at the moment and might very well die.
• The Dutiful Son: Cesare does his best to be this, but he does already show signs of a rebellious streak, notably by getting into fights when his father wants him to be a responsible clergyman.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Lucrezia is on the cover of the first book with Cesare, despite being scarcely seen for a few more books.
• Early-Installment Weirdness:
  • Giovanni was initially a very proud and confident, if cordial, young man, supposed to be Cesare's more studious and courtly Foil, but with the same potential to be a Magnificent Bastard. He quickly became more of a meek pushover who needs Cesare and Angelo to support him.
  • Miguel is first introduced as the "number three" of the Spanish association. We never meet a number two, and have no reason to believe it would not be him.
  • Cesare introduces his parents as a monster and a whore. While the intent to begin with their reputation is clear, later-chapters Cesare would hate anyone to accuse his mother of being a whore.
• Early Personality Signs: Cesare remembers that when he was a young child sharing a room with his brother, he would let Juan cry so that their mother would come to their room, and enjoy her presence without having to ask for it - already a little manipulator.
• Eating the Eye Candy: During their escapade in the streets of Pisa, Angelo and Cesare accidentally barge into a tent where a troop of dancers are changing. Angelo is mortified, Cesare no more than pleasantly surprised.
• Ephebophile: Rafaelle Riario seems to have a crush on Cesare. The Musical makes it wholesome, but in the manga, Cesare is trying his best to hide how creeped out he is, and Miguel takes his sweet time enjoying Cesare's discomfort before rescuing him.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • During his first university lecture, Angelo completely ignores the social rules on campus, speaking over Giovanni, and delivers a passionate humanist speech.
  • On his first appearance, Cesare manages to calm Remus when no one else could, and explains how a good horse will only ever accept accept a rider he judges worthy of him, not unlike the people will only ever accept a ruler they judge worthy of them. This theory is straight out of The Prince, a book on political theory that glorifies Cesare.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Cesare has fond memories of his mother Vannozza Cattanei, though he hasn't seen her in years. He wants to silence every one who attack her for his and his sibling's birth status.
• Everyone Is Related: A few examples make you tilt when you think about them, such as the Medici siblings being related to the Orsini family through their mother Lady Clarice, and thus to Adriana, Orsino and Giulia; or Caterina Sforza being Cardinal Ascanio's cousin as well as Archibishop Rafaelle's aunt by marriage.
• Evil Uncle: Ludovico "il Moro" of Milan in the eyes of his niece, Caterina Sforza. She despises him and considers her younger brother to be the rightful heir.
• Extremely Short Timespan: Covers only October-or-so 1491-August 1492.
• Facial Horror: Poor Orsino suffers from an eye infection that disfigured him, causing a huge edema that makes him look positively like Quasimodo. Everyone avoids him, terrified of contamination, and he believes himself abandoned by God.
• Fainting: After their second fight following the melee, both Henri and Cesare faint from exhaustion and overheating. Cesare vomits as well.
• Faint in Shock: After the rather violent bullfight between Cesare and Henri, Giovanni, who did not even witness the fight, sees blood and faints.
• Family Relationship Switcheroo: On official records, Cesare is Rodrigo's nephew. His true birth is an Open Secret, though.
• Famous Ancestor: Callixtus III, the first Borgia pope who introduced Rodrigo into the Curia.
• Father, I Want to Marry My Brother: Lucrezia considers herself the only woman who could ever be a good match for Cesare. Everyone is rather dismissive of it; Adriana only criticizes it because she should not say such things while engaged to another man.
• Fille Fatale: Cute little Lucrezia is very good at getting her way. No doubt her future will be filled with sulfurous rumors...
• Feuding Families: The Riarios/Della Roveres and the Medici, since the Pazzi conspiracy that resulted in the death of Lorenzo's brother 20 years prior to the story.
• Flirty Stepsiblings: We're way past that. Let's see, Rodrigo once had an affair with his cousin Adriana, whose son eventually married Giulia, who grew from daughter figure to mistress to Rodrigo, and who seems to have a bit of a flirt going on with his son Juan.
• Foil:
  • Giovanni to Cesare. Both are very intelligent young men from powerful families, both clergymen, respected heads of their respective student associations, and their debates are the greatest animation during class. Initially, Giovanni was hinted to be as sneaky as Cesare. However, Giovanni is a meek pushover; Cesare is a major player with resounding authority. Giovanni is more of an artistic soul ; Cesare is a politically astute Magnificent Bastard. Giovanni describes himself as plain ; Cesare is strikingly handsome. Giovanni's concerns are petty and worldly; Cesare is always looking at the bigger picture. Giovanni is extremely sheltered and initially very egocentric; Cesare makes himself aware of the evils of the world and knows his men. Finally, Giovanni is genuine in his friendship towards Cesare, despite being often annoyed by his antics; Cesare humors him for political reasons, but does enjoy teasing him.
  • On the other end of the spectrum, Henri to Cesare. Both are proud, strong-headed, hot-blooded, highly respected by their classmates, very attached to their origins, they have similar interests in warfare and horse breeding; but unlike Henri, Cesare is able to reflect on himself and others, to see past his own delusions of grandeur to learn about others and respect them. Henri is so obsessed with himself and the values he was raised in that he will run face-first into a wall before questioning himself. In a way, Cesare is the balance between Giovanni and Henri.
  • Draghignazzo to Miguel. Both are The Dragon to the head of their association, and Draghignazzo tells Miguel they aren't so different, with one being illegitimate and the other Jewish, depending respectively on the Medici and the Borgias to survive. Unlike Draghignazzo, though, Miguel is a Brutally Honest consigliere, and the closest thing Cesare has to an actual friend; while Draghignazzo just flatters Giovanni to better manipulate him into doing his will, and Giovanni laters blames himself for not being a better friend to Draghignazzo. It is quite clear that Miguel would follow Cesare to the end of the world, while Draghignazzo betrayed the Medici at the first hint of their power fading.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Cesare is the Responsible Sibling to Juan's (and sometimes Lucrezia's) Foolish Sibling.
• Foregone Conclusion: Anyone who knows a bit of history knows that Rodrigo will becomes Pope, Della Rovere after him, and Giovanni eventually. They also know that the death of Lorenzo marks the beginning of the end (for a few generations) for the Medici, that Giovanni's elder brother Piero will be known to history as "The Unfortunate", and that the Borgias will indeed kill Savonarola eventually.
• Forgot Flanders Could Do That: Giovanni was initially proud and confident, Cesare's more studious and courtly foil, but became more of a meek pushover over the chapters. His final exam at the university, and especially his final debate with Cesare, reminds us that he is still, in fact, a very intelligent young man and a wonderful orator, and Cesare's equal at least in academic terms.
• Formerly Fit: While it might be blamed on Early-Installment Weirdness, as it likely is for Giovanni, Rodrigo Borgia is a lot thinner when we first see him in an old portrait at Cesare's house than he currently is.
• Freudian Excuse: For Juan's Attention Whore behavior. When in his duchy of Gandia, he only ever hears about his eldest brother Pedro Luis, the previous duke and a war hero. When in Rome, he only ever hears about how brilliant Cesare is. He knows he can't compare to either, especially in his father's eyes, and it leaves him quite bitter.
• Genki Girl: Sancia of Aragon, who is bright, peppy, and sports ye old Renaissance Sailor Moon pigtails.
• The Ghost: Vannozza Cattanei only appears in a single two-frame flashback, and concludes the series in a letter to Cesare.
• Given Name Reveal: Miguel is introduced to Angelo under his Italian name, Micheletto da Corella, but Cesare only ever calls him Miguel (his actual Spanish name), and he later bids Angelo to do it as well.
• Give the Baby a Father: When Vannozza Cattanei became pregnant with Cesare, Rodrigo arranged her to be married off to a Roman aristocrat. He, as a cardinal, could not have claimed the child to be his or married her. On official records, this man is father to Cesare and his younger siblings. However, he was always a very proactive father, and Cesare never even thinks of his mother's husband.
  • He does the same in the last book when Giulia becomes pregnant with his child, insisting that the child is Orsino's and refusing, as Pope, to become involved in the baby's life as he did with his older bastards.
• Gratuitous English: Perhaps more Early-Installment Weirdness, but in the beginning the heads of each student association are referred to as their "Number one", and it even got carried over to the musical.
• Gratuitous Italian: Frequent in the English translation.
• Gratuitous Spanish: Cesare and all of his entourage are Spanish; they will occasionally speak the language to one another, especially when plotting. Angelo eventually learns Spanish, symbolizing his allegiance to Cesare and attracting Rodrigo'as attention.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Angelo is blond and wears his name well. Most of the Medici siblings are also blond, and Giovanni is at least a well-meaning guy.
• Happily Adopted: Miguel was adopted more as a pet for Cesare than a child for the Borgias, but he is still happy with it and very grateful to where it has led him.
• Heroic Bastard: Alright, Cesare is a Magnificent Bastard, but what does he actually do that is evil? If anything, he uses his family's power to boost the trade in Pisa, giving work and a roof to many paupers, and reconcile feuding families, preventing conflicts in Italy. He can be quite the asshole, that is very much clear, and acts more out of ambition than of the kindness of his heart, but he is not the bad guy of the series.
• Historical Beauty Upgrade: Averted, for most part. All of the historical characters were modeled after contemporary depictions of them. Now, as for whether those portraits were meant to be realistic or flattering... That is a whole other business.
• Historical Domain Character: Nearly the entire cast. Angelo is the only main character who was invented.
• Hit So Hard, the Calendar Felt It: We meet Christopher Columbus right before he leaves on the journey that will lead him to America. At one point, the Spaniards celebrate the successful end of the Reconquista. These two events in 1492, on top the invention of the printing press and the fall of Constantinople, are generally said to mark the switch from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance.
• Hollywood Healing:
  • Averted. When Angelo is stabbed to protect Cesare, it takes him weeks of being bedridden and the care of Cesare's physicians to eventually recover. Similarly, when Cesare breaks Henri's nose during their bullfight, it stays broken and heals very crookedly.
  • Played Straight when most-likely-Henri is stabbed in the back via knife throw in book 1. It is never mentioned again However, the knife had to go through a hard mask before hitting his back, so the wound must not have been very deep, if there even was one.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Despite being overbearing at first, Manuela is a very kind woman, who seems to enjoy chatting with Angelo, and she gets a lot less eager and gentler when he confesses his virginity. She even offers to teach him tricks to pleasure his future girlfriend pro bono.
• Inadequate Inheritor: Piero de'Medici for his father Lorenzo. Piero decides to burn all of the bridges his father ever built to side with the aristocracy, which Lorenzo knew never to rely upon. He also chooses to abandon his father's alliances, plunging all of Italy in insecurity.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Between Cesare and Lorenzo de'Medici.
• In-Universe Nickname: As in Real Life, The Moor for Ludovico Sforza, and The Tigress of Forli for his niece Caterina.
• It Runs in the Family: All the Borgias seem to be Magnificent Bastards.
• It Was a Gift: During their escapade into the fair of Pisa, Angelo and Cesare stumble upon a little box that can only be opened via a secret puzzle. Angelo buys it for Cesare. When it is broken in a fight later, Cesare is furious. Angelo ends up getting him a new one, coming with a little plaque that reads a Latin quote about the pros and cons of curiosity. In return, Cesare later gets him a dagger.
• I Was Quite a Looker: Manuela. She says men used to line up for her favors, as she was pretty, "back then". Angelo later learns that she is nearly forty years old.
• Kick the Dog: When stumbling upon a group of starving homeless people, Angelo gives a little boy a loaf of bread. The adults steal it from him and attack Angelo, and the boy gets nothing.
• King Incognito: Cesare ropes Angelo into escorting him to spend a day incognito at the fair in Pisa. Subverted in that Cesare did not really want to be incognito, he wanted to be recognized by the assassin that was after him, but far enough from his guards that the man would show himself.
• King On His Death Bed: The current Pope, Innocent VIII, is ill and fading throughout the whole series; he finally passes away early in book 12, causing the new conclave.
• Kavorka Man: Rodrigo is quite the womanizer, despite his advancing age and rather coarse features.
• Kissing Cousins: Rodrigo and Adriana, who are amicable exes.
• The Lady's Favor: Ottavia and Emilia both come to cheer on Cesare and Angelo during the melee.
• Like a Daughter to Me: Giulia to Rodrigo. Then they made it weird.
• Like Brother and Sister: Invoked by Rodrigo about himself and Adriana. She counters by invoking the trope above.
• Like Parent, Like Child:
  • Cesare is as cunning, clever and ambitious as his father.
  • Angelo's grandfather turns out to be as kind and as passionate a humanist as he is.
• Like Parent, Unlike Child: Alas, none of Lorenzo de'Medici's children can live up to him. Giovanni is clever but a pushover, and dedicated to the Church, and Piero, his heir, is a fool who refuses to even look at the big picture. The others are young children.
• Lonely Rich Kid: Cesare was this as a child, mixed with Intelligence Equals Isolation. In the end, Miguel was brought from Valencia to be a comrade Cesare would not need to dumb down for.
• The Magnificent: Trope Namer Lorenzo de'Medici is a major figure during the first 11 books.
• Manchild: Giovanni, every once in a while. He initially expects everyone around him to bend backwards to obey him, acts like a little child when Draghignazzo berates him. While he's able to trade blows with Giuliano Della Rovere, the experience leaves him so scared he can barely walk, and he hides (literally) from Rodrigo Borgia after his brother betrayed him. This is still better than the time he tried to evade a political responsibility by faking a tummyache. He's also bawling, snot and all, upon hearing of his father's passing and it takes Rodrigo intervening to convince him to stay in Rome and fulfill his duties. Then again, he's only seventeen, so it makes some sense he would be more child than man.
• The Man Behind the Man: Cesare, for the entire factory arc. All of the Florentines are in awe of Giovanni's excellent management of the project, but Angelo knows that Cesare is the one making all the decisions.
• Manipulative Bastard: Ultimately, Cesare just uses all of his friends. All the members of the Spanish associations are his personal guard more than fellow students; Miguel is his protector, and has killed for him; Giovanni is a pawn to serve as a link between the Borgias and the Medici, and Angelo is a spy. Miguel is acutely aware of this and warns Angelo not to put Ceare on a pedestal. Cesare seems to sincerely regret his treatment of Angelo when his schemes lead to Angelo getting stabbed for him. By this time, however, Angelo is ready to knowingly accept his place in Cesare's service.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!":
  • Angelo's first interaction in class causes a small one, as he countered (quite magistrally) Giovanni's argument, when he should be backing him up as a Fiorentine underling.
  • The beginning of the bullfight between Cesare and Henri is all fun and games, with Henri falling head first into every one of Cesare's jokes, until he pulls out a dagger. Cesare manages to turn the tables back, but his bodyguards and fellow students aren't laughing anymore.
• May–December Romance: Between Giulia, who is about twenty, and Rodrigo, who is his early sixties.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Angelo, literally Angel. A little on the nose with this one, huh? Lampshaded in the musical. His last name is also meaningful — it's the name of the castle where the Holy Roman Emperor had to beg for forgiveness from the Pope in the historical episode discussed in vol. 7.
  • Dragho, the beginning of Draghignazzo, means Dragon. Accurate for The Dragon to Giovanni, one can suppose. This is also the name of a demon in the works of Dante Alighieri, who is mentioned here though he isn't as present as he is in The Musical.
• Minored In Ass Kicking: Cesare is mostly a scholar and an ecclesiastic, but he can hold his own in a fight. As long as Miguel is not to far behind in case he needs backup, or course.
• Mirror Character: Cesare's relationship with Angelo mirrors Dante's relationship with Heinrich VII, in many ways. Both Dante and Cesare were on the papal side of the "Pope vs. Emperor" conflict by default, until witnessing the church's corruption made them both seek another path. Dante says Heinrich entered his life like a light, going to far as to put Heinrich in an important part of Heaven in the Paradiso. Heinrich was buried by Dante in Pisa when he died, and after Angelo is stabbed defending Cesare, he asks Cesare to bury him if he dies.
• Missing Mom: Angelo's died when he was a young child. Cesare hasn't seen his in a long time, and she has only ever appeared in flashbacks. Miguel is an orphan. Giovanni's mother died a few years prior to the story.
• Momma's Boy: Piero de'Medici. Despite his father trying to make it clear to him that his mother's family is too far and too despising of them commoners, Piero intends to fully rest upon them; he seems to share her contempt for the poor of Florence.
• Moody Mount: Remus, the first horse Angelo ever rides. A fierce Arabic thoroughbred that no one in the Florentine association can stay on, not even Giovanni who owns him. The horse was actually a gift from Cesare (probably from the same stable as his own horse Romulus), and Cesare offers Angelo to teach him how to ride him. Although both Giovanni and Cesare initially mistrust Angelo for reasons related to Remus (Cesare mistakes him for a horse thief, and Giovanni's ego is piqued when Angelo accidentally implies that he's not skilled enough to ride Remus), eventually, they both decide to let him keep it when he leaves Pisa, showing how much he's grown on both of them.
• Motor Mouth:
  • Pietro, the sanguine citizen of Pisa who first meets Cesare at the Festival, and then appears again during the Melee and Giovanni's final examination. He's so loud and opinionated that his fellow Pisans have to repeatedly hold him back or even punch his mouth shut.
  • Giovanni Gonzaga, during the negociations between Casare and Cardinal Gherardi, can't help but loudly react at everything and keeps saying the quiet parts out loud, to his brother's dismay.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Miguel towards Cesare. Although, while he will follow Cesare, he will also yell at him when he does something stupid.
• Named After Someone Famous: Cesare, after Julius Caesar of course. Rodrigo Borgia also names himself after Alexander the Great.
• Nephewism: Cesare is always referred to as Rodrigo's nephew.
• Nepotism: Cesare has a ridiculously impressive resume as a clergyman for a boy of sixteen. Most of it is due to his father's influence. Rodrigo himself was brought into the Curia by his uncle Calixtus III, and Della Rovere by his uncle Sixtus IV.
• Never Found the Body: Averted. It seems that whenever someone is killed in Pisa, their body is eventually brought to shore by the river.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: During the Conclave, Giovanni decides to follow his heart and his father's advice, voting for Rodrigo against Piero's orders and thus saving his family and city from the status of open enemies of the Pope. However, Piero immediately makes of fool of himself again, all but demanding Lucrezia's hand for his brother Giulio. This angers her actual fiancé's family, and Rodrigo banishes Giovanni from Rome to save him from retaliation.
• Non-Action Guy: Giovanni is one of the few students of the university who don't take part in the reconstruction of the crusade. Rodrigo wishes Cesare was one and had stayed with Giovanni: a bishop like him should not fight in mock battles, in his opinion.
• Not So Above It All:
  • Often centered around Cesare: while he is a clergyman and a Magnificent Bastard, he is also, at times, just a sixteen-year-old boy.
  • When he meets Leonardo da Vinci, the master invites him to play a little logic game to invite him to think outside of the box. Cesare want to play again, now that he knows the trick, and Da Vici comments that he managed to miracle of turning him back into a child.
  • During his escapade in the streets of Pisa, he runs on rooftops, spits nuts into a gentleman's hat, interrupts a play with his historical correction comments, plays fair games, gets frustrated by a puzzle he can't figure out, innocently tries to pay for things with gold, and flirts with a bunch of weavers.
  • He seems to know a lot about the prostitutes his friends frequent.
• Older Than They Look: Angelo claims to find Manuela very pretty, despite her being over 25. Cesare assures him she's way over 35.
• One-Steve Limit:
  • Averted with Giovanni de'Medici and Giovanni Gonzaga, but Played Straight for the three other "Johns" in the series: Giovanni Michiel is on a Last-Name Basis, Juan Borgia goes by his Spanish name, and the other Juan Borgia goes by his nickname, Silenzio.
  • One of Giovanni's brothers is called Giuliano, like Giuliano Della Rovere.
  • Cesare points out in amusement that Michelangelo's name is a compound of Miguel's and Angelo's.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Pedro Luis, Rodrigo's first born son, passed away prior to the beginning of the story.
• The Paragon:
  • On his first lecture, the professor says that Angelo's reasoning is worthy of the uomo universalis, the peak Renaissance man. Obviously, this attracts everyone's attention.
  • Cesare, at one point, when asked if he acts for Italy or Spain, claims to be acting as a Roman, descendant of the Empire. This (semi) universalism grants him Machiavelli's respect.
• Parental Abandonment: Angelo was raised by his grandfather; although his father is still alive, he barely knows him.
• Parental Favoritism: Rodrigo favors Cesare, the genius, and Lucrezia, his little princess, thinks back proudly on his first-born Pedro Luis, but despises Juan and thinks him stupid.
• Parental Sexuality Squick: Despite his genre-savviness, Cesare is understandably put out when he learns about his father's affair with Giulia from Orsino.
• Parental Substitute:
  • Angelo was raised by his grandfather.
  • Rodrigo takes Giovanni under his wing when he arrives in Rome, and Giovanni even ends up calling him his "Roman father". Unfortunately, his brother demands he support Rodrigo's rival during the conclave, which he can't bring himself to do.
  • Averted: when a young Miguel asks a young Cesare if Adriana is like a mother to him, Cesare protests vehemently that his mother is the only mother he will ever love.
• Pet the Dog: Early books Giovanni can be quite unsufferable, but he does acknowledge that Angelo is doing excellent work overseeing the construction site and is entitled to some pride about it - even coming to his defense about it.
• Plot-Triggering Death: Obviously, Pope Innocent VIII's, for the conclave arc.
• Posthumous Character:
  • Anna, Angelo's mother and Clarice Orsini, Giovanni's, are given descriptions and flashbacks that say a lot about their personalities.
  • Pedro Luis Borgia, duke of Gandia, war hero of the Reconquista and older half-brother to Cesare.
• Private Tutor: Francesco, Cesare's private tutor, Rodrigo's trusted man who joined the orders despite being married at the time.
• Professional Sex Ed: Alvaro, Felipe and the other Spaniards bring Angelo to their favorite brothel when Cesare is out of town, where he is taught a thing or two by Manuela.
• Proper Lady: What Adriana and Giulia are trying to make out of Lucrezia. In spite of this, she remains something of a free spirit. Adriana despairs with her, but Giulia believes that it actually adds to her charm.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Bernardo, the head of the Lombardian association, is more than willing to put up a fight during the melee reconstruction, but not to specifically harm the Spanish students as Henri demands.
• Refuge in Audacity:
  • Lucrezia is reaching an age at which she should really wear her hair styled, lest she wants to look like a girl of little virtue. However, she wears long hair so naturally and the men around her find her so charming for it that there is little consequence to her impropriety.
  • How Giuliano Della Rovere gained so much influence in the Curia: despite his humble origins, he's loud, confident, angry, and scares the meeker cardinals.
• Regal Ringlets: Worn by all of the long-haired men, except Draghignazzo and Silencio.
• The Savage South:
  • Cesare points out that Henri comes from Marseille in the south of France to explain why he's so aggressive.
  • Played with in Spain : the series is set during the late stages of the Reconquista, in which the Catholic northern kingdoms conquered the Muslim southern emirate. This trope is in action for all of Europe, but while the Spaniards celebrate the advancement of the Reconquista, most of them, especially Cesare, respect Al-Andalus and the Muslims.
• Scenery Porn: The level of detail in the representation of Pisa, Rome or Florence is mind-blowing.
• Secretly Dying: Lorenzo de'Medici. During the Riario/Medici reconciliation dinner, Cesare, who has been made aware of this by Machiavelli, distracts Rafaelle with spilled wine and sends him away before he can see Lorenzo have a seizure.
• Sensory Overload: The decor inside of Giuliano Della Rovere's palace, according to Ascanio Sforza. He describes it as incredibly vulgar.
• Sexless Marriage: Orsino and Giulia's. She is repulsed by the infection that disfigured him, and has an affair with Rodrigo on top of it.
• Shown Their Work: Much like Riyoko Ikeda on The Rose of Versailles before her, Souryo Fuyumi has been working with several expert historians to make her work as authentic, detailed and accurate as possible.
• Strong Family Resemblance:
  • Between Cesare and Lucrezia, which is blatant through their Shared Family Quirks. Add fifty-some years and some bulk to Cesare, and you should not land too far from Rodrigo either.
  • All of the Medici brothers, but especially Giovanni, clearly got their looks from their mother Lady Clarice.
• Talking Is a Free Action: Cesare and Henri's bullfight is essentially a debate on Cultural Posturing occasionally intercut with a punch. As Cesare points out, words are useless on someone like Henri. This is, of course, exaggerated in The Musical — they sing the fight. During their second fight, after the melee, they completely drop the arguments and simply lash out at each other with swords.
• These Hands Have Killed: Not that Miguel is too affected by this at this point, but he does despair that every time Angelo sees him, he ends up having to kill someone.
• This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Cesare and Giovanni are alone (together) to lead the Christmas mass, because most of Cesare's entourage is not Christian (Alvaro and Felipe, who are converts, give the ceremony varying levels of disrespect), Angelo is bedridden, and Giovanni's closest right-hand men are both dead.
• Those Two Guys: Alvaro and Felipe of the Spanish association. Averted for Roberto and Draghignazzo, who, while they are Giovanni's closest lieutenants and are involved in the same scheme, don't seem to really like each other.

• Woman Scorned: Adriana clearly despises Vannozza Cattanei, and is scorned on behalf of her son at how Rodrigo sleeps with his wife. When Rodrigo pushes Giulia away upon ascending to the throne of Saint Peter, she can be seen smirking at her situation.
• Worthy Opponent:
  • On Lorenzo's death bed, he and Savonarola admit to have begrudging respect for each other, despite their philosophies that could not be any different.
  • Cesare and the Spaniards consider the Muslims of Al-Andalus to be this.
• Young and in Charge: Cesare became bishop of Pamplona when he was only eight years old through a good dose of Nepotism. The locals weren't happy about it, but Cesare intends to prove to them that he is more than the sum of his years.
• Young Future Famous People: Some characters are already well-established when we meet them, such as Leonardo Da Vinci or Christopher Columbus (although he has still to land in America), but Michelangelo is still an apprentice and Machiavelli is a young student with an Ascended Fanboy crush on Cesare. Of course, Cesare and his younger siblings, even Miguel all count as this, as the story so far predates the conclave that put their family in power. Giovanni and his little brother Giulio are also future popes Leo X and Clement VII respectively.

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