Program Information

Lucrezia Borgia was either one of the most immoral women in history or she was a pawn in the never-ending game of late Italian Renaissance family intrigue. Or maybe she was both.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lucrezia Borgia was either one of the most immoral women in history or she was a pawn in the never-ending game of late Italian Renaissance family intrigue. Or maybe she was both.

Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: At the heart of late Italian Renaissance brilliance, culture, and corruption was the family Borgia. This clan whose members exploited an already decayed Catholic moral structure and who defined the era's worldliness and ambition originated in Spain.

Standing astride this sordid edifice of rot was Rodrigo Borgia who eventually became Pope Alexander VI. His uncle, Alonzo de Borgia, Bishop and later Cardinal of Valencia was his mentor and teacher. Rodrigo's position in ecclesiastical circles, his enormous wealth, and his eventual elevation to the Holy See began with rich church offices given to him by his uncle while Rodrigo was still a teenager.

After studying law at the University of Bologna, Rodrigo Borgia began his climb up the church ladder. He was a Cardinal by the time he was 25 years old and from his position as Vice Chancellor of the entire church he was able to amass a fortune, live a princely lifestyle, patronize artists and the arts, and live a life that could hardly be called godly. His mistress, Vannozza Catanei (Ca ‘tan i), was the daughter of a noble but impoverished Roman family. They had four children whom, eventually, as a high-ranking churchmen, he was able to legitimize. The careers of two of them, Cesare (‘chay sar ray) and Lucrezia, are particularly intriguing.

Cesare, made a Cardinal by his father when he was 18, was originally intended to have a career in the church, but took on a military vocation when his brother died. He became his father's chief captain and marshaled the Vatican armies in an attempt to consolidate family control over Central and North Central Italy. He caught the attention and admiration of a Florentine diplomat assigned to his entourage, Niccolo Machiavelli. Though Cesare’s career was relatively short and his military campaigning limited, Machiavelli cited his swift, violent and ruthless aggression as the model for his seminal examination of political power, The Prince.

Lucrezia was married off to several prominent noblemen to enhance the family’s political, social, and economic standing. Along the way she acquired an unsavory moral reputation which may or may not have been true. Next time: three husbands for Lucrezia.

At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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