The Borgias (72 page)

  
2.
“I am Sigismondo Malatesta …”:
Ady,
Humanist Pope
, p. 194.

Chapter 9: Sixtus IV: Disturbing the Peace

  
1.
Della Rovere seemed a perfect choice … :
Della Rovere’s career before his election is in Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:242.

  
2.
The selection of Rodrigo Borgia … :
Rodrigo Borgia’s mission to Spain is described in unparalleled detail in De Roo,
Material
, vol. 2, and also receives extensive attention in Ferrara,
Borgia Pope
, p. 71, and in Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 93.

  
3.
Rodrigo moved on to Castile … :
Cloulas,
Borgias
, p. 48, is exceptionally good on Cardinal Rodrigo’s activities in Castile.

  
4.
Having earlier accused Rodrigo … :
For Cardinal Ammannati-Piccolomini’s accusations about and communications with Cardinal Rodrigo, see Ferrara,
Borgia Pope
, p. 65.

  
5.
Still in Milan … :
The alleged plotting of Sforza and Cardinal Riario is discussed in Burckhardt,
Civilization
, p. 75.

Background: War, Italian Style

  
1.
Most of them were … :
For further information about the
condottieri
and their place in Italian history, see Deiss,
Captains of Fortune
; Prescott,
Princes
; and Mallett,
Mercenaries
.

Chapter 10: Innocent VIII: Plumbing the Depths

  
1.
And so was hatched … :
Cronin,
Florentine Renaissance
, p. 254.

  
2.
He summoned Lorenzo to Rome … :
The conflict between Sixtus and the league supporting Florence is told in detail in Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:261.

  
3.
When a hard-pressed Venice … :
The terms on which Venice made peace with the Turks in 1479 are in Norwich,
History of Venice
, p. 357.

  
4.
Lorenzo bet everything … :
An account of Lorenzo’s trip to Naples is in Hibbert,
House of Medici
, p. 152.

  
5.
The withdrawal was hailed … :
The occupation of and subsequent withdrawal from Otranto is in Stinger,
Renaissance in Rome
, p. 114, and Norwich,
History of Venice
, p. 357.

  
6.
A Christian counteroffensive … :
Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:266, offers the opinion that attacks on Constantinople and Greece could have succeeded.

  
7.
He said they could have … :
Venice’s “savage attack” on Ferrara, and the political context, are treated at length ibid., p. 7:268.

  
8.
Rome exploded in an orgy … :
Ibid., p. 7:287.

  
9.
This was Rodrigo’s fourth … :
Interestingly varying accounts of the conclave of 1484 are in ibid., p. 7:287; Pastor,
History of Popes
, p. 5:233; Woodward,
Cesare Borgia
, p. 20; and Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 97.

  
10.
Cibo’s roots contributed … :
Cronin,
Florentine Renaissance
, p. 262; Pastor,
History of Popes
, p. 5:350; and Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:290.

  
11.
Other signs of favor followed … :
De Roo,
Material
, vol. 2, is comprehensive on the benefices granted to Rodrigo Borgia by Innocent among other popes, and he contradicts what is said in Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 102, about the purchase of the duchy of Gandía for Pedro Luis Borgia.

  
12.
The tragedy opened this time … :
The destructive consequences of Alfonso duke of Calabria’s visit to Rome are described in Prescott,
Princes
, p. 72, and Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:293.

  
13.
Thus, when Alfonso later … :
Innocent’s continuing difficulties with Naples are detailed in Pastor,
History of Popes
, p. 5:274.

  
14.
The character of their marriage … :
Caterina’s lament that “you cannot imagine the life I lead” is in Prescott,
Princes
, p. 117.

  
15.
The extent of his commitment … :
The troubles confronting Innocent as 1491 ended are discussed in Pastor,
History of Popes
, p. 5:311, and in Elliott,
Imperial Spain
, p. 90.

PART THREE
:
Alexander
Pope at Last

The great challenge for anyone examining the reign of Alexander VI is to decide which of the vast number of things said about his personal life and conduct during his papacy (including the many examples of which there is no record predating his death) should be regarded as at least possibly if not certainly true. One work is indispensable in this regard: Peter De Roo’s five-volume
Material for a History of Pope Alexander VI
, which offers incomparably more documentation and analysis than any other source. Ferrara,
Borgia Pope
, whose conclusions echo De Roo’s and undoubtedly are to some extent based on them, is useful as a succinct introduction to the key questions.

Chapter 11: The Best Man for the Job

  
1.
I am Pope!:
Ferrara,
Borgia Pope
, p. 109.

  
2.
I! I am Pope!:
The anonymous and influentially slanderous pamphlet in which this version of Alexander’s supposed exclamation first appeared is discussed in De Roo,
Material
, p. 2:336; Pastor,
History of Popes
, p. 6:113; and Hibbert,
Borgias and Enemies
, p. 37.

  
3.
He wrote—and influenced … :
The accusations of simony are in Guicciardini,
History of Italy
, p. 13, and challenged by De la Bedoyere,
Meddlesome Friar
, p. 86; Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 117; and De Roo,
Material
, p. 2:339.

  
4.
And that the 1492 conclave … :
Quoted are words from Guicciardini,
History of Italy
, p. 13.

  
5.
He could be ridiculously … :
Hibbert,
Borgias and Enemies
, p. 61.

  
6.
From the point at which … :
Symonds,
Renaissance in Italy
, p. 312.

  
7.
Even as intransigent … :
Infessura’s words are in Latour,
Borgias
, p. 31.

  
8.
In one of these missives … :
Ferrante’s complaints to Spain about Alexander are in De Roo,
Material
, p. 4:74.

  
9.
“Rest assured,” López replied … :
Ibid., p. 4:76.

  
10.
“He is small and ill-made …”:
Contarini’s description is in Ferrara,
Borgia Pope
, p. 184.

  
11.
At the end of 1493 … :
The Briçonnet mission to the papal court is in De Roo,
Material
, p. 4:163, and Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:359.

Background: Madness and Milan

  
1.
All the Visconti and Sforza … :
Prescott devotes more than fifty pages to the history of Visconti in
Lords
and almost as many to the Sforza dynasty in
Princes
.

  
2.
“Do you not know, you fool …”:
Prescott,
Lords
, p. 299.

Chapter 12: The Coming of the French

  
1.
There survives a unique … :
The Ferrarese ambassador’s description of the adolescent Cesare appears in Gregorovius,
Lucretia Borgia
, p. 57.

  
2.
He was at least … :
Burckhardt,
Civilization
, p. 28.

  
3.
Other support was needed … :
The favors bestowed on various Borgias by kings of Naples are in Woodward,
Cesare Borgia
, p. 59.

  
4.
It was typical of the relaxed view … :
Pastor,
History of Popes
, p. 5:427.

  
5.
They brought with them … :
The revolutionary effects of the new artillery, including its contribution to the quick collapse of Naples, are in Taylor,
Art of War
, pp. 83, 132.

  
6.
His troops marched under standards … :
De la Bedoyere,
Meddlesome Friar
, p. 117.

  
7.
That the arrival of the French … :
The French invasion’s immense consequences for the future of Italy are outlined in Martines,
Power and Imagination
, p. 277.

  
8.
If it is true as alleged … :
Strathern,
Artist, Philosopher
, p. 72, states that Ascanio Sforza persuaded the Colonna to seize Ostia for the French.

  
9.
He told the assembled … :
King Charles’s demands of the Florentines are in Symonds,
Renaissance in Italy
, p. 429.