Borgia

Borgia - the Italian-Spanish aristocratic family which reached great power in the period of the Italian Renaissance. The Borgia family gave the Catholic world two dozen cardinals and two Popes (Calixtus III, 1455 - 1458; Alexander VI, 1492 - 1503). Pope Alexander VI considerably expanded borders of the territories controlled by the Vatican and turned it into the centralized state. He was also known as a patron of the arts. Many architectural works in Rome were performed on his initiative. At the same time the name of Borgia became a synonym of dissoluteness, perfidy, and corruption. The elevation of his relatives by any means was a more important task for Alexander VI than the reform of the Church and consolidation of its moral authority. Political opponents of Alexander VI branded him as "a debauchery monster." Italy was filled with rumours about incestuous relationships of his daughter Lucrecia not only with the father, but also with her three brothers. Alexander VI also had a reputation as "Satan's druggist" - a maniacal murderer by poisoning. Contemporaries suspected that the Pope poisoned rich cardinals when he needed money. By tradition the property of cardinals after their death was returned to the papal treasury. Now, historians believe not everything attributed to Alexander Borgia was true, but it is hardly possible to separate the real events and the myth.