The Middle Ages are called gloomy for a reason. The story of the connection between Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) and his mistress Rosa Vannozza dei Cattanei can be a vivid illustration of the mores of that era.
Can the head of the Catholic Church have a mistress? The question seems strange, since Catholic priests are known to take celibacy - a vow of celibacy. But the Middle Ages are called gloomy for that, that in the XV-XVI centuries even the Pope did not hide from anyone his true appearance. The people were intimidated: no one would dare to vote against such a high-ranking person, no matter what he did.
At birth, the future pope was given the name Rodrigo Borgia. He was born in 1431 in Spain. He inherited a penchant for debauchery from his mother. His mother was so eager for men that the husband did not recognize the newborn baby as his son. So the boy got his mother's surname. Under this name he earned a high position and notoriety.
Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia)
From an early age, the handsome young man enjoyed extraordinary success with women. A variety of mistresses turned out to be in his bed - young and old, and rich, and poor, and noble, and commoners.
He dreamed of becoming a lawyer, but fate gave him much more radiant prospects. The promising nephew was summoned to Rome by his uncle, Pope Calixtus III. The young man happily went to the capital of Italy. The head of the Catholic Church warmed his beloved nephew and, so to speak, introduced him to the case.
What was the reason for such a warm welcome? Some argue that the churchman needed a devoted person, with whose hands one could do the darkest things. For example, add deadly poison to enemies, which Rodrigo did successfully and repeatedly.
A vowed painting by Jacopo Pesaro. Pope Alexander VI presents Jacopo to the Apostle Peter / Titian Vecellio, 1509
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Others say that the uncle's love for his handsome, dark-haired nephew was by no means a platonic feeling. Most likely, both versions are correct, because history has known few people more terrible and depraved than Rodrigo Borgia.
He showed his poisonous abilities not only for the "needs" of his uncle. Borgia fell in love with a beautiful Valencian woman named Elena. She, although outwardly she was fabulously pretty, was by no means beautiful in soul. At one time, she poisoned her own husband. The thoroughly vicious Rodrigo, of course, could not embarrass anyone's bad reputation. The loving handsome man did not remember the faces and names of many women with whom he had to share a bed.
He calmly had an affair with the killer. Communication with Elena was interrupted because Borgia laid eyes on the young and beautiful Rose - Elena's daughter. Historians argue about the age at which she met Rodrigo. But, in any case, she turned from fifteen (at that time quite the age of love) to twenty years. She was eleven years younger than her lover.
The quiet brown-eyed Rose with curly hair and gentle gaze only outwardly resembled a gentle lamb. She was smart, cunning and vindictive. Caught in the arms of the insatiable Rodrigo, she asked her lover to fulfill her old dream - to kill her mother, whom Rosa could not forgive her father's death.
It was not the first time to kill the people of the Borgia, and he gladly agreed to help his beloved. Rodrigo, during a joint dinner, poured poison into the dish of his disgusted mistress. By the morning, Elena, suddenly feeling very ill, passed away.
Rose of Vannozza dei Cattanei
Oddly enough, Rodrigo, who changed women like gloves, got used to the beautiful Rose with his heart. God knows why. But, leaving the embrace of this or that Italian beauty, he always returned to Rose. She was not jealous, because she knew that the Borgia would not leave her.
The years passed. Pope Calixtus III passed away. Before his death, he managed to present his beloved nephew with the post of cardinal. So Rodrigo Borgia became the closest person of the popes. And during his tenure as a cardinal, five were replaced. And for everyone, this confessor was the closest person. Perhaps due to a piquant circumstance: the cardinal carried out the most delicate assignments of the heads of the Catholic Church.
Of course, his "bosses" knew very well about the monstrous orgies in which the vicious cardinal participated almost every night. The fact that there was no courtesan who did not visit his bed. But they turned a blind eye to this. Why? First, in Italy at that time there was no cleric who did not have a sexual relationship with someone. Everyone spat on celibacy: morals were nowhere more licentious. Secondly, it is difficult to imagine a person more comfortable with the ecclesiastical authority than Rodrigo Borgia.
And the plans of the ambitious native of Spain went further and further. And he was ready to wait. Patience did not fail him. In 1492, he became Pope Alexander VI. And what about Rose? Borgia has long settled her in a luxurious palace in Venice, assigned a whole staff of servants to her. A beautiful Italian woman calmly gave birth to children from a priest, there were already four of them: Giovanni, Cesare, Lucrezia and Joffre.
The morals of that time fell so low that Borgia, neither being a cardinal nor in the office of pope, did not think to hide the fact that he had illegitimate children. Before meeting Rosa, he already had three of them.
The newly-born dad felt a kind of responsibility towards Rosa and the children. He never left them: he kept and even raised the offspring. Moreover, Borgia also took care of the fate of Rosa - with enviable consistency he gave her in marriage to cover up sin. At the same time, her children from dad bore the surname Borgia. These are the morals. Apparently, the head of the church was offended by the act of his father, who refused to give him his last name.
How many years the connection between the clergyman and Rose lasted is not known exactly. In any case, no less than twelve, for from 1474 to 1486 he married Vannozzi four times. To all the lawful companions of her life, the priest, of course, paid considerable sums for covering up sin. The mortality rate was high: the Rose couple died often. And the fault was not at all the repeatedly and successfully tested cardinal poison.
The ardent Vannozzi gave birth to two more sons - this time from legitimate husbands. Gradually, the priest's love for the Italian beauty faded away. The older Rose was replaced by younger and more beautiful ones. But the former lovers remained in the warmest relationship.
Borgia family / Dante Gabriel Rossetti
The dad's strange sense of responsibility to the children from Rose made him even give them a good education. Moreover, in 1481, Rodrigo declared them to be his nephews. Such a high status allowed the descendants of the Borgia to calmly pursue a career, officially being listed in the relatives of the head of the church. Of course, all of Italy knew about the true origin of the young Borgia, but dad did not care about public opinion.
His fatherly love grew day by day. When the children grew up, Alexander VI took them away from their mother. Rose, who was entirely dependent on the favors of the pope, could not resist his will in any way.
Alexander VI brought up children to match himself. When his daughter Lucrezia grew up, he saw that she was turning into an even more adorable girl than her mother Rosa at the same age. And dad could not restrain himself and entered into an incestuous relationship with his daughter.
Lucrezia Borgia
Soon the older brothers followed the same path. The love of her sister, who never refused to anyone, they could not share. Cesare's men stabbed Giovanni to death. Burning dad had no edge. He consoled himself only in the arms of Lucretia. Several years later, Cesare was also killed.
Rose was finally "removed from business." She lived far from her children and raised sons whom she did not bear from the Borgia. Gradually, she became a matron - seemingly respectable and very pious.
Vannozzi was in constant grudge against her own children, especially Lucretia, who did not invite her to any of her weddings. Yes, Alexander VI built relationships with his daughter on the same principle as with his mother - he gave her in marriage to cover up his sin.
Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, with her son Ercole accepts the blessing of Saint Maurelius
Rome during the "reign" of Alexander VI turned into a real repository of debauchery. Orgies were conducted by the Pope and Lucrezia, who actually reigned in the papal palace, giving orders to the cardinals. The end of the holiday was put by the poisoning of the pope in 1503 - he accidentally drank the poison he had prepared for his enemy.
Rose left this world in 1518. The heyday of the terrible dynasty ended in 1519 with the death of the last monster - thirty-nine-year-old Lucrezia Borgia.
Maria Konyukova