24 - The Borgias

Summary

Beginning in 1492, two years before the outbreak of the Italian Wars (1494–1559), Rodrigo Borgia’s papacy was dominated by conflict and a consequent need to focus on temporal matters. While the Borgia popes are prominent among those who used Rome as a power base for securing family dynasties, they were far from alone in that: in a sense they were the pioneers whose eventual failure in Italy illustrated how others might succeed. This chapter reassesses Alexander VI’s papacy in comparison to those of his predecessors and successors, considering four interrelated issues that confronted him: his response to the rise of Girolamo Savonarola in Florence; his management of the defense of the Papal States; expectations of patronage; and European encounters with the New World. It considers to what extent this papacy should be regarded as a turning-point in the history of the popes. Finally, it addresses the Borgia mythology.