FAMILY AFFAIRS
Lucretia's marriage with Giovanni Sforza confirmed the political
alliance which Alexander VI had made with Ludovico il Moro. The Regent
of Milan wanted to invite Charles VIII of France into Italy to make war
upon King Ferdinand of Naples, so that he himself might ultimately gain
possession of the duchy, for he was consumed with ambition and
impatience to drive his sickly nephew, Giangaleazzo, from the throne.
The latter, however, was the consort of Isabella of Aragon, a daughter
of Alfonso of Calabria and the grandson of Ferdinand himself.
The alliance of Venice, Ludovico, the Pope, and some of the other
Italian nobles had become known in Rome as early as April 25th. This
league, clearly, was opposed to Naples; and its court, therefore, was
thrown into the greatest consternation.
Nevertheless, King Ferdinand congratulated the Lord of Pesaro upon his
marriage. He looked upon him as a kinsman, and Sforza had likewise been
accepted by the house of Aragon. June 15, 1493, the king wrote to him
from Capua as follows:
ILLUSTRIOUS COUSIN AND OUR DEAREST FRIEND: We have
received your letter of the twenty-second of last month, in which
you inform us of your marriage with the illustrious Donna Lucretia,
the niece of his Holiness our Master. We are much pleased, both
because we always have and still do feel the greatest love for
yourself and your house, and also because we believe that nothing
could be of greater advantage to you than this marriage. Therefore
we wish you the best of fortune, and we pray God, with you, that
this alliance may increase your own power and fame and that of your
State.[27]
Eight days earlier the same king had sent his ambassador to Spain a
letter, in which he asked the protection of Ferdinand and Isabella
against the machinations of the Pope, whose ways he described as
"loathsome"; in this he was referring, not to his political actions, but
to his personal conduct. Giulia Farnese, whom Infessura noticed among
the wedding guests and described as "the Pope's concubine," caused
endless gossip about herself and his Holiness. This young woman
surrendered herself to an old man of sixty-two whom she was also
compelled to honor as the head of the Church. There is no doubt whatever
about her years of adultery, but we can not understand the cause of her
passion; for however powerful the demoniac nature of Alexander VI may
have been, it must by this time have lost much of its magnetic strength.
Perhaps this young and empty-headed creature, after she had once
transgressed and the feeling of shame had passed, was fascinated by the
spectacle of the sacred master of the world, before whom all men
prostrated themselves, lying at her feet--the feet of a weak child.
There is also the suspicion that the cupidity of the Farnese was the
cause of the criminal relations, for Giulia's sins were rewarded by
nothing less than the bestowal of the cardinal's purple on her brother
Alessandro. The Pope had already designated him, among others, for the
honor, but the nomination was delayed by the opposition of the Sacred
College, over which Giuliano della Rovere presided. King Ferdinand also
encouraged this opposition, and on the very day on which Lucretia's
marriage to Pesaro was celebrated he placed his army at the disposal of
the cardinals who refused to sanction the appointment.
Her consort, Sforza, was now a great man in Rome, and intimate with all
the Borgias. June 16th he was seen by the side of the Duke of Gandia,
decked in costly robes glittering with precious stones, as if "they were
two kings," riding out to meet the Spanish ambassador. Gandia was
preparing for his journey to Spain. He had been betrothed to Doña Maria
Enriquez, a beautiful lady of Valencia, shortly before his father
ascended the papal throne; there is a brief of Alexander's dated October
6, 1492, in which he grants his son and his spouse the right to obtain
absolution from any confessor whatsoever. The high birth of Doña Maria
shows what brilliant connections the bastard Giovanni Borgia was able to
make as a grandee of Spain, for she was the daughter of Don Enrigo
Enriquez, High-Treasurer of Leon, and Doña Maria de Luna, who was
closely connected with the royal house of Aragon. Don Giovanni left
Rome, August 4, 1493, to board a Spanish galley in Civitavecchia.
According to the report of the Ferrarese agent, he took with him an
incredible number of trinkets, with whose manufacture the goldsmiths of
Rome had busied themselves for months.
Of Alexander's sons there now remained in Rome, Cæsar, who was to be
made a cardinal, and Giuffrè, who was destined to be a prince in Naples,
for the quarrel between the Pope and King Ferdinand had been settled
through the intermediation of Spain. She caused Alexander to break with
France, and to sever his connection with Ludovico il Moro. This
surprising change was immediately confirmed by the marriage of Don
Giuffrè, a boy of scarcely thirteen, and Donna Sancia, a natural
daughter of Duke Alfonso of Calabria. August 16, 1493, the marriage was
performed by proxy in the Vatican, and the wedding took place later in
Naples.
Cæsar himself became cardinal, September 20, 1493, the stain of his
birth having been removed by the Cardinals Pallavicini and Orsini, who
had been charged with legitimating him. February 25, 1493, Gianandrea
Boccaccio wrote to Ferrara regarding the legitimating of Cæsar,
ironically saying, "They wish to remove the blot of being a natural son,
and very rightly; because he is legitimate, having been born in the
house while the woman's husband was living. This much is certain: the
husband was sometimes in the city and at others traveling about in the
territory of the Church and in her interest." The ambassador, however,
never mentions the name of this man, which, however, Infessura says was
Domenico d'Arignano.
Ippolito d'Este and Alessandro Farnese were made cardinals the same day.
To his sister's adultery this young libertine owed his advancement in
the Church, a fact so notorious that the wits of the Roman populace
called him the "petticoat cardinal." The jubilant kinsmen of Giulia
Farnese saw in her only the instrument of their advancement. Girolama
Farnese, Giulia 's sister, wrote to her husband, Puccio, from Casignano,
October 21, 1493, "You will have received letters from Florence before
mine reaches you and have learned what benefices have fallen to Lorenzo,
and all that Giulia has secured for him, and you will be greatly
pleased."[28]
Even the Republic of Florence sought to profit by Alexander's relations
with Giulia; for Puccio, her brother-in-law, was sent to Rome as
plenipotentiary. The Florentines had despatched this famous jurist to
the papal city immediately after Alexander's accession to the throne, to
swear allegiance, and later he was her agent for a year in Faenza, where
he conducted the government for Astorre Manfredi, who was a minor. At
the beginning of the year 1494 he went as ambassador to Rome, where he
died in August.[29]
His brother, Lorenzo Pucci, subsequently attained to eminence in the
Church under Leo X, becoming a powerful cardinal.
The Farnese and their numerous kin were now in high favor with the Pope
and all the Borgias. In October, 1493, they invited Alexander and Cæsar
to a family reunion at the castle of Capodimonte, where Madonna
Giovanella, Giulia's mother, was to prepare a banquet. Whether or not
this really took place we are ignorant, although we do know that
Alexander was in Viterbo the last of October.
In 1492 Giulia gave birth to a daughter, who was named Laura. The child
officially passed as that of her husband, Orsini, although in reality
the Pope was its father. The Farnese and the Pucci knew the secret and
shamelessly endeavored to profit by it. Giulia cared so little for the
world's opinion that she occupied the palace of S. Maria in Portico, as
if she were a blood relation of Lucretia. Alexander himself had put her
there as a lady of honor to his daughter. Her husband, Orsini,
preferred, or was compelled, to live in his castle of Bassanello, or to
stay on one of the estates which the Pope had presented to him, the
husband of Madonna Giulia, "Christ's bride," as the satirists called
her, instead of remaining in Rome to be a troublesome witness of his
shame.
A remarkable letter of Lorenzo Pucci to his brother Giannozzo, written
the 23d and 24th of December, 1493, from Rome, discloses these and other
family secrets. He shows us the most private scenes in Lucretia's
palace. Lorenzo had been invited by Cardinal Farnese to go with him to
Rome to witness the Christmas festivities. He accompanied him from
Viterbo to Rignano, where the barons of the Savelli house, kinsmen of
the cardinal, formally received them, after which they continued their
journey on horseback to Rome. Lorenzo repeated to his brother the
confidential conversation which he had enjoyed with the cardinal on the
way. Even as early as this there was talk of finding a suitable husband
for Giulia's little daughter. The cardinal unfolded his idea to Lorenzo.
Piero de' Medici wished to give his own daughter to the youthful Astorre
Manfredi of Faenza, but Farnese desired to bring about an alliance
between Astorre and Giulia's daughter. He hoped to be able to convince
Piero that this union would be advantageous for both himself and the
Republic of Florence, and would strengthen his relations with the Holy
See. The affair would be handled so that it would appear that it was
entirely due to the wishes of the Pope and of Piero. In this the
cardinal counted on the consent of both Alexander and Giulia, and on the
influence of Madonna Adriana.
Lorenzo Pucci replied to the cardinal's confidence as follows:
"Monsignor, I certainly think that our Master (the Pope) will give a
daughter to this gentleman (Astorre), for I believe that this child is
the Pope's daughter, just as Lucretia is, and your Highness's
niece."[30] In his letter Lorenzo does not say whether the cardinal
made any reply to this audacious statement, which would have brought a
blush to the face of any honorable man. Probably it only caused
Alessandro Farnese a little smile of assent. The bold Pucci repeated his
opinion in the same letter, saying, "She is the child of the Pope, the
niece of the cardinal, and the putative daughter of Signor Orsini, to
whom our Master intends to give three or four more castles near
Bassanello. In addition, the cardinal says that in case his brother
Angelo remains without heir, this child will inherit his property, as
she is very dear to him, and he is already thinking of this; and by this
means the illustrious Piero will obtain the support of the cardinal, who
will be under everlasting obligations to him." Lorenzo did not overlook
himself in these schemes; he openly expressed the wish that his brother
Puccio would come to Rome--as ambassador of the Republic, which he
did--and that he might secure through the influence of Madonna Adriana
and Giulia a number of good places.
Lorenzo continued his letter December 24th, describing a scene in
Lucretia's palace, and his narrative shows her, and especially Giulia,
as plainly as if they stood before us.
GIANNOZZO MINE: Yesterday evening I wrote you as above.
To-day, which is Easter evening, I rode with Monsignor Farnese to
the papal palace to vespers, and before his Eminence entered the
chapel I called at the house S. Maria in Portico to see Madonna
Giulia. She had just finished washing her hair when I entered; she
was sitting by the fire with Madonna Lucretia, the daughter of our
Master, and Madonna Adriana, and they all received me with great
cordiality. Madonna Giulia asked me to sit by her side; she thanked
me for having taken Jeronima (Girolama) home, and said to me that I
must, by all means, bring her there again to please her. Madonna
Adriana asked, 'Is it true that she is not allowed to come here any
more than she was permitted to go to Capodimonte and Marta?' I
replied that I knew nothing about that, and it was enough for me if
I had made Madonna Giulia happy by taking her home, for in her
letters she had requested me to do so, and now they could do as
they pleased. I wanted to leave it to Madonna Giulia, who was alive
to all her opportunities, to meet her as she saw fit, as she wanted
her to see her magnificence just as much as Jeronima (Girolama)
herself wanted to see it. Thereupon Madonna Giulia thanked me
warmly and said I had made her very happy. I then reminded her how
greatly I was beholden to her Highness by what she had done for me,
and that I could not show my gratitude better than by taking
Madonna Jeronima (Girolama) home. She answered that such a trifle
deserved no thanks. She hopes to be of still greater help to me,
and says I shall find her so at the right time. Madonna Adriana
joined in saying I might be certain that it was through neither the
chancellor, Messer Antonio, nor his deputy, but owing to the favor
of Madonna Giulia herself, that I had obtained the benefices.
In order not to contradict, I replied that I knew that, and I again
thanked her Highness. Thereupon Madonna Giulia asked with much
interest after Messer Puccio and said, "We will see to it that some
day he will come here as ambassador; and although, when he was
here, we, in spite of all our endeavors, were unable to effect it,
we could now accomplish it without any difficulty." She assured me
also that the cardinal had mentioned to her the previous evening
the matter we had discussed on the road, and she urged me to write;
she thought if the affair were handled by yourself, the illustrious
Piero would be favorably disposed toward it. Thus far has the
matter progressed. Giulia also wanted me to see the child; she is
now well grown, and, it seems to me, resembles the Pope, _adeo ut
vere ex ejus semine orta dici possit_. Madonna Giulia has grown
somewhat stouter and is a most beautiful creature. She let down
her hair before me and had it dressed; it reached down to her feet;
never have I seen anything like it; she has the most beautiful
hair. She wore a head-dress of fine linen, and over it a sort of
net, light as air, with gold threads interwoven in it. In truth it
shone like the sun! I would have given a great deal if you could
have been present to have informed yourself concerning that which
you have often wanted to know. She wore a lined robe in the
Neapolitan fashion, as did also Madonna Lucretia, who, after a
little while, went out to remove it. She returned shortly in a gown
almost entirely of violet velvet. When vespers were over and the
cardinals were departing, I left them.
The close association with Giulia, to whose adulterous relations with
her father Lucretia was the daily witness, if not a school of vice for
her, at least must have kept her constantly in contact with it. Could a
young creature of only fourteen years remain pure in such an atmosphere?
Must not the immorality in the midst of which she was forced to live
have poisoned her senses, dulled her ideas of morality and virtue, and
finally have penetrated her own character?
FOOTNOTES:
[27] Cod. Aragon, ii, 2.67, ed Trinchera.
[28] Carte Strozziane, filz 343. In the archives of Florence.
[29] Lelia Ursina de Farnesio congratulated him on his appointment,
January 13, 1494. Ibidem.
[30] In the earlier edition of this work I found some difficulty in the
passage: "Chredo che questa puta sia figlia del Papa, como Madonna
Luchretia è nipote di S. R. Signoria." I am now convinced that the è is
an error of the writer or the copyist and should be simply the
conduction e. Lorenzo Pucci's brother Giannozzo was married to Lucrezia
Bini, a Florentine, who is mentioned later in this same letter.