The man who occupied the throne of the Pope, Alexander VI Borgia, remained in history as the most corrupt person in the entire two-thousand-year history of the Papacy. His whole life is a chain of debauchery, unscrupulousness and intrigue. A vow of celibacy and a clean, unburdened relationship with men or women is a must for every Catholic monk, and he, who should be an example for every Catholic, had lovers, including the heroine of this story, Julia Farnese.
Alexander Borgia with all his actions brought closer the time of the Reformation.
At home
Don Rodrigo Borgia became a cardinal at the age of 25 due to the fact that he was the nephew of Pope Calixtus III. He was handsome, handsome, with a sharp look and a beautiful mouth. A brilliant conversationalist and a great speaker, he easily won hearts. And he attracted women like a magnet, and the young Cardinal San Niccolo did not see the need to give up pleasures.
In Rome
Having arrived in Rome, Cardinal San Niccolo managed to consolidate his position for many years, although he was a foreigner, a native of Spain. Four popes visited the Holy See, and our cardinal was in favor with everyone and remained vice chancellor. In the Vatican, his influence was constantly growing. He had no allies; he was surrounded only by servants. At the same time, Rodrigo Borgia showed neither confusion nor fear, and managed to protect his interests in the distant future.
Hobbies
The fair sex worried not only himself, but also his predecessors. Katarina Sforza became the wife of the son of Pope Styxtus VI. So on the Holy See in connection with the ladies and the recognition of their children looked through the fingers. Rodrigo had a constant passion, which gave him two sons and a daughter. The prelate did not at all care about secrecy or disguising his pleasures, and they chatted about them at all the crossroads of Rome. His future love, Julia Farnese, was still in diapers.
Acquaintance with a young lover
The aged 56-year-old cardinal met in the house of Orsini a charming girl, whom everyone called La Bella. Her real name was Julia Farnese. The age difference was forty years. The cardinal fell in love with a golden-haired beauty.
He knew how to desire and achieve what he wanted. Immediately after marriage to a young Orsini, Julia Farnese became his lover.
Elevation
And at this time Pope Innocent VIII died. After 9 days, the mourning for him ended, and the conclave was secluded, walled up in the voting room. Three days later, like thunder from heaven, the news came that Rodrigo Borgia was unanimously elected, now Pope Alexander VI.
It was a shock to everyone. The
Pope's mistress brought to her brother Alessandro Farnese in 1493 a purple cardinal. The star Farnese began to rise precisely from this time. The Dukes of Parma are far from their most brilliant future. Two and a half centuries of their greatness and splendor will pass. The Farnese clan ends at the pinnacle of fame - Isabella, the last of their kind, will die in 1758 in the
Queen of Spain.Life of the beautiful Julia
She was born in Rome almost 250 years ago. Her father was a sovereign seigneur, whose estate was forty kilometers from Rome. In the family of Messier Farnese there were three sons and two daughters. When Julia Farnese married the cross-eyed Orsino Orsini in 1489, they gave her a considerable dowry.
In terms of modern money, it amounted to half a million US dollars. Orsini was just the stepson of a cousin of Cardinal
Rodrigo Borgia. There is no exact information about the acquaintance of beautiful Julia with the future Pope. One option has already been proposed. There is a chance that they met in a confession, but there is another opinion: Orsini's mother agreed to their relationship back in 1493, that is, when the girl was not yet seventeen years old, and allowed her to settle in a palace built near the Vatican where lover Rodrigo could freely come at any time.
In the same year, her sibling became a cardinal, and subsequently he will rise even higher and become Pope Paul III. Julia gave birth to a daughter, Laura, whose father, of course, named her lover. In 1494, she left Rome, which made her extremely angry with the Pope to stay with her dying brother. When she returned back to Rome, she was captured by the French who attacked Italy. Dad made a huge ransom for her. Their amicable separation occurred around 1500. Julia, widowed by this time, left for the city bestowed by the Orsini family Alexander.
Julia Farnese married again. Her biography tells that she perfectly managed her city, in 1505 she married her daughter Laura to a close relative of Pope Julius II. Descendants of Laura married the royal houses of Portugal and Spain. Julia herself died in the house of her brother cardinal at the age of 50.