LUCRETIA LEAVES ROME
By the end of the year 1493 Alexander had amply provided for all his
children. Cæsar was a cardinal, Giovanni was a duke in Spain, and
Giuffrè was soon to become a Neapolitan prince. The last, the Pope's
youngest son, was united in marriage, May 7, 1494, in Naples, to Donna
Sancia the same day on which his father-in-law, Alfonso, ascending the
throne as the successor of King Ferdinand, was crowned by the papal
legate, Giovanni Borgia. Don Giuffrè remained in Naples and became
Prince of Squillace. Giovanni also received great fiefs in that kingdom,
where he called himself Duke of Suessa and Prince of Teano.
For some time longer Lucretia's spouse remained in Rome, where the Pope
had taken him into his pay in accordance with an agreement with Ludovico
il Moro under whom Sforza served. His position at Alexander's court,
however, soon became ambiguous. His uncles had married him to Lucretia
to make the Pope a confederate and accomplice in their schemes which
were directed toward the overthrow of the reigning family of Naples.
Alexander, however, clung closely to the Aragonese dynasty; he invested
King Alfonso with the title to the kingdom of Naples, and declared
himself opposed to the expedition of Charles VIII.
Sforza thereby was thrown into no slight perplexity, and early in April,
1494, he informed his uncle Ludovico of his dubious position in the
following letter:
Yesterday his Holiness said to me in the presence of Monsignor
(Cardinal Ascanio), "Well, Giovanni Sforza! What have you to say to
me?" I answered, "Holy Father, every one in Rome believes that your
Holiness has entered into an agreement with the King of Naples, who
is an enemy of the State of Milan. If this is so, I am in an
awkward position, as I am in the pay of your Holiness and also in
that of the State I have named. If things continue as they are, I
do not know how I can serve one party without falling out with the
other, and at the same time I do not wish to offend. I ask that
your Holiness may be pleased to define my position so that I may
not become an enemy of my own blood, and not act contrary to the
obligations into which I have entered by virtue of my agreement
with your Holiness and the illustrious State of Milan." He replied,
saying that I took too much interest in his affairs, and that I
should choose in whose pay I would remain according to my contract.
And then he commanded the above-named monsignor to write to your
Excellency what you will learn from his lordship's letter. My lord,
if I had foreseen in what a position I was to be placed I would
sooner have eaten the straw under my body than have entered into
such an agreement. I cast myself in your arms. I beg your
Excellency not to desert me, but to give me help, favor, and advice
how to resolve the difficulty in which I am placed, so that I may
remain a good servant of your Excellency. Preserve for me the
position and the little nest which, thanks to the mercy of Milan,
my ancestors left me, and I and my men of war will ever remain at
the service of your Excellency.
GIOVANNI SFORZA.
ROME, _April, 1494_.
The letter plainly discloses other and deeper concerns of the writer;
such, for example, as the future possession of his domain of Pesaro. The
Pope's plans to destroy all the little tyrannies and fiefs in the States
of the Church had already been clearly revealed.[31]
Shortly after this, April 23d, Cardinal della Rovere slipped away from
Ostia and into France to urge Charles VIII to invade Italy, not to
attack Naples, but to bring this simoniacal pope before a council and
depose him.
At the beginning of July Ascanio Sforza, now openly at strife with
Alexander, also left the city. He went to Genazzano and joined the
Colonna, who were in the pay of France. Charles VIII was already
preparing to invade Italy. The Pope and King Alfonso met at Vicovaro
near Tivoli, July 14th.
In the meantime important changes had taken place in Lucretia's palace.
Her husband had hurriedly left Rome, as he could do as a captain of the
Church, in which capacity he had to join the Neapolitan army, now being
formed in Romagna under the command of the Duke Ferrante of Calabria. By
his nuptial contract he was bound to take his bride with him to Pesaro.
She was accompanied by her mother, Vannozza, Giulia Farnese, and Madonna
Adriana. Alexander himself, through fear of the plague, which had
appeared, commanded them to depart. The Mantuan ambassador in Rome
reported this to the Marchese Gonzaga, May 6th, and also wrote him on
the fifteenth as follows: "The illustrious Lord Giovanni will certainly
set out Monday or Tuesday accompanied by all three ladies, who, by the
Pope's order, will remain in Pesaro until August, when they will
return."[32]
Sforza's departure must have taken place early in June, for on the
eleventh of that month a letter from Ascanio was sent to his brother in
Milan informing him that the lord of Pesaro with his wife and Madonna
Giulia, the Pope's mistress, together with the mother of the Duke of
Gandia, and Giuffrè, had set out from Rome for Pesaro, and that his
Holiness had begged Madonna Giulia to come back soon.[33]
Alexander had returned to Rome from Vicovaro, July 18th, and on the 24th
he wrote his daughter the following letter:
Alexander VI, Pope; by his own hand.
DONNA LUCRETIA, DEAREST DAUGHTER: For several days we have
had no letter from you. Your neglect to write us often and tell us
how you and Don Giovanni, our beloved son, are, causes us great
surprise. In future be more heedful and more diligent. Madonna
Adriana and Giulia have reached Capodimonte, where they found the
latter's brother dead. His death caused the cardinal and Giulia
such distress that both fell sick of the fever. We have sent Pietro
Caranza to look after them, and have provided physicians and
everything necessary. We pray to God and the glorious Madonna that
they will soon be restored. Of a truth Don Giovanni and yourself
have displayed very little thought for me in this departure of
Madonna Adriana and Giulia, since you allowed them to leave without
our permission; for you should have remembered--it was your
duty--that such a sudden departure without our knowledge would
cause us the greatest displeasure. And if you say that they did so
because Cardinal Farnese commanded it, you ought to have asked
yourself whether it would please the Pope. However, it is done; but
another time we will be more careful, and will look about to see
where our interest lies. We are, thanks to God and the glorious
Virgin, very well. We have had an interview with the illustrious
King Alfonso, who showed us no less love and obedience than he
would have shown had he been our own son. I cannot tell you with
what satisfaction and contentment we took leave of each other. You
may be certain that his Majesty stands ready to place his own
person and every thing he has in the world at our service.
We hope that all differences and quarrels in regard to the Colonna
will be completely laid aside in three or four days. At present I
have nothing more to say than to warn you to be careful of your
health and constantly to pray to the Madonna. Given in Rome in S.
Peter's, July 24, 1494.[34]
This letter is the first of the few extant written by Alexander to his
daughter. His reproof was due to the sudden departure of his
mistress--contrary to his original instructions--from Pesaro before
August. From there Giulia went to Capodimonte to look after her sick
brother Angiolo. According to a Venetian letter written by Marino
Sanuto, she had left Rome chiefly for the purpose of attending the
wedding of one of her kinsmen, and the writer describes her in this
place as "the Pope's favorite, a young woman of great beauty and
understanding, gracious and gentle."
Alexander's letter shows us that his mistress remained in communication
with him after her departure from Rome.
FOOTNOTES:
[31] This letter is printed in Atti e Memorie Modenesi, i. 433.
[32] Despatch of Giorgio Brognolo to the Marchese, Rome, May 6 and 15,
1494. Archives of Mantua.
[33] Despatch of Jacomo Trotti to Duke Ercole, Milan, June 11, 1494. May
1st the women were still in Rome, for on that date Madonna Adriana wrote
a letter from there to the Marchesa of Mantua recommending a friend to
her. The letter is in the Mantuan archives.
[34] The letter is published in Ugolino's Storia dei Conti e Duchi
d'Urbino, II. Document No. 13. I saw the original in the state archives
of Florence; only the address is in Alexander's hand, the rest is
written by the Chancellor Juan Lopez, who signs himself Jo. Datarius.