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CESARE BORGIA

Cesare Borgia was the natural son of Pope Alexander VI, and of a Roman lady named Vanozza. He was born in
1478 and died in 1507. He was raised to the rank of cardinal in 1492, but afterwards divested himself of the office, and was made Duc de Valentinois by Louis XII. In 1499 he married a daughter of King John of Navarre, and accompanied Louis XII to Italy. He then, at the head of a body of mercenaries, carried on a series of petty wars, made himself master of the Romagna, attempted Bologna and Florence, and had seized Urbino when Alexander VI died in 1503. He was now attacked by a severe disease, at a moment when his whole activity and presence of mind were needed. He found means, indeed, to get the treasures of his father into his possession, and assembled his troops in Rome; but enemies rose against him on all sides, one of the most bitter of whom was the new pope, Julius II. Cesare Borgia was arrested and carried to Spain. He at length made his escape to his brother-in-law the King of Navarre, and was killed before the castle of Viana on March the 12th, 1507. He was charged with the murder of his elder brother, of the husband of his sister Lucretia Borgia, and the stiletto or secret poisoning was freely used against those who stood in his way. With all his crimes he was a patron of art and literature.
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