Lucrezia Borgia

Non ci sono dati certi sul luogo e sulla data di nascita di Lucrezia Borgia, ma sembra che sia avvenuta il 18 aprile 1480 a Subiaco.
Terzogenita di Rodrigo Borgia, noto come Papa Alessandro VI, unica femmina tra i fratelli Juan, Cesare e Jofrè è probabile che avesse un particolare ascendente sul padre che durante una sua assenza le affidò i compiti di vice-papa e di governatrice di Nepi e Sermoneta.
Lucrezia riceve un'educazione degna del suo casato, già fidanzata al conte Gasparo di Aversa, a 13 anni viene data in sposa a Giovanni Sforza di Pesaro in cambio dell'appoggio che il Cardinale Ascanio Sforza avrebbe dato al padre per ottenere il pontificato.
Giovane sposa, Lucrezia Borgia, vive per qualche anno fra Roma e Gradara, contesa fra il padre, alleato con gli Spagnoli ed il marito alleato con i Francesi, finchè il suo matrimonio, sempre per ragioni prettamente politiche, sollevando notevole clamore per le accuse infamanti che le due parti nel frattempo si sono lanciate, viene annullato il 20 dicembre 1497.
La politica italiana del XV secolo era un intrico di alleanze e tradimenti fra le casate che appoggiavano ora la Francia, ora la Spagna; i matrimoni legavano le famiglie in durature alleanze, pertanto a 18 anni Lucrezia convola a nuove nozze con Alfonso d'Aragona, Duca di Bisceglie, dopo che la famiglia Borgia ha troncato con la spada la relazione tra Lucrezia e Pedro Calderon, uomo di fiducia del padre.
Purtroppo, anche questo nuovo matrimonio celebrato il 21 luglio 1498 in Vaticano, è destinato a finire in breve tempo, in un intrico di congiure familiari e tradimenti, Alfonso d'Aragona dopo due anni viene assassinato, si sussurra, su incarico del fratello di Lucrezia, Cesare detto il Valentino.
Nell'agosto del 1500 Lucrezia Borgia è di nuovo sola e suo padre, il papa, per consolarla, la nomina governatrice di Nepi, dove viene informata che la famiglia ha deciso di darla in sposa ad Alfonso d’Este di Ferrara, primogenito del Duca Ercole I.
Lucrezia ha solo 21 anni, un figlio di cui non si conosce con certezza la paternità, pesanti accuse di dissolutezza e chiacchiere di incesto con il fratello.
La famiglia d'Este insorge contro questo progetto di matrimonio e solo la sua ricchissima dote fa concludere il contratto: accompagnata da un grande corteo il 2 febbraio 1502 Lucrezia Borgia entra a Ferrara.
La sua condotta, nei diciassette anni successivi, risulta molto più tranquilla, rispetto agli anni romani. Dedita a pratiche religiose, a ritiri spirituali ed a esercizi di penitenza, intreccia rapporti con esponenti di altre case regnanti, con artisti e letterati di primo piano della sua epoca e si rivela una moglie prudente, paziente con il suocero Duca Ercole e attenta madre di sette figli nati tra il 1505 e il 1519, anno in cui morì di parto il 24 giugno a soli 39 anni.

Lucrezia Borgia was born on April 18, 1480, in Subiaco, near Rome. She was the daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (c. 1431–1503), who would later become Pope Alexander VI, and one of his mistresses, Vannozza Cattanei, who was also the mother of Lucrezia's two older brothers, Cesare and Giovanni. Lucrezia reportedly spoke and wrote several languages, among them Italian, French, Latin, and Greek.
Lucrezia Borgia was married for the first time before entering her teenage years. She was engaged to one nobleman and then another before her father had the engaements dissolved so that he could arrange for her to be married to Giovanni Sforza, 15 years her senior, who was Lord of Pesaro and Count of Catignola. Lucrezia’s father, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, was named Pope Alexander VI in 1492, and Lucrezia was married a year later.
Four years later, Lucrezia's marriage became less politically advantageous, and Pope Alexander VI sought to have it annulled under the pretense of the relationship never having been consummated. While annulment negotiations were ongoing between the Borgias and the Sforzas, Lucrezia rested in a nearby convent. She had clearly consummated a relationship with some individual, however, because when annulment was officially granted on December 27, 1497, Lucrezia was six months pregnant.
Reports of her pregnancy were initially refuted, but in March 1498 a son, Giovanni, was born in secret (he wouldn’t be publically revealed until three years later). The child's paternity was never established, and Rome's gossips later wondered whether he was the product of incest, or whether Lucrezia was truly his mother. Two papal decrees were issued on the matter, the first stating that Giovanni was the illegitimate son of Cesare and the next stating that he was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander.
In July 1498, Lucrezia married Alfonso of Aragon, the 17-year-old Duke of Bisceglie and son of the late king of Naples, and they had a child together. Unfortunately for Alfonso, by 1500, Pope Alexander and Lucrezia’s brother Cesare sought a new alliance with France, and Lucrezia's marriage to Alfonso was a major obstacle.
On July 15, 1500, Alfonso was stabbed several times, but he survived. On August 18, his luck ran out, when, as is generally believed, Cesare’s hired men to strangle Alfonso to death as he lay recovering from his previous stab wounds.
After Alfonso’s death, Lucrezia's father arranged for her to be married to Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, in early 1502. Lucrezia's new husband was initially hesitant because of the Borgia reputation. The couple soon moved out of Rome to Ferrara, escaping the endless scheming of her father and brother, and the pair had several children (many of whom died young). With this marriage, Lucrezia managed to rise above her family’s reputation, and she thrived in her new surroundings.
In 1503, Lucrezia’s father, Pope Alexander, died, and with him many of Cesare's remaining plots died as well. Lucrezia's life became more stable, and when Alfonso’s father died in 1505, Lucrezia and Alfonso became the reigning duke and duchess of Ferrara. Over the next several years, Lucrezia gained a reputation as a patron of the arts, and she presided over a famed and flourishing artistic community.
In 1512, Lucrezia withdrew from public life and turned to religion. It is speculated that her withdrawal was in response to the news that Rodrigo, her son by Alfonso of Aragon, had died. On June 24, 1519, ten days after giving birth to a stillborn girl, Lucrezia Borgia died at the age of 39.