The Borgias

by Paul Strathern

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  * During the sixteenth century, Beluga sturgeon were fished from the River Po, and their roe was used for making caviar.

  † Isabella d’Este was used to getting her own way. When Leonardo da Vinci passed through Mantua after leaving Milan, she had insisted he paint her portrait. Leonardo had drawn an initial sketch, before continuing on his journey. For years afterwards she pestered Leonardo, his patrons, as well as her powerful friends, insisting that they induce him to complete the task she had imposed upon him. Leonardo, who could be equally obdurate when he chose, managed to elude her wishes, becoming increasingly irritated at her persistent letters.

  * This suggestive story, circulated by Burchard and others, may have the appearance of exaggeration. On the other hand, there is no denying that it is characteristic.

  * Such maladies were a regular occurrence all over this region, probably stemming from the high summer humidity of the Po Valley and its susceptibility to malaria and other purely local ailments. Lucrezia, fresh from Rome, would not have developed any immunity to such local diseases, although Rome too regularly suffered from its own malarial outbreaks during the summer months.

  * Federigo also happened to be the son of Isabella d’Este, who would do everything in her power to prevent this match.

  * As indicated in the prologue to this work, the next steps would be the unification of Italy, followed by the establishment of a new Roman Empire. The politics of realizing such a dream would have been long, complex and fraught with difficulties. However, as Machiavelli makes plain many times in The Prince, the longing for a united Italy and the re-establishment of a great Roman Empire was a growing dream during this period. Indeed, it was arguably the main idea behind Machiavelli’s notorious masterpiece.

  CHAPTER 16

  CESARE SURVIVES

  MACHIAVELLI WAS THE FLORENTINE envoy with Borgia’s court in Imola during this period. As such, he was in close contact with Borgia and able to study him closely. Machiavelli’s conclusions were far from being as pessimistic as the circumstances seemed to warrant. Shrewdly, he took account of what he considered to be the two most salient facts: the character of Borgia himself and the implications of the wider political picture. On 23 October he wrote to Soderini in Florence:

  The territory of this lord [Cesare Borgia] has been governed largely by his good fortune; the main factor here being the general opinion that the King of France will support him with troops and the Pope will send the money to pay for them. And another factor is the delay of his enemies in launching a final attack on him. In my opinion it is far too late now to do him any harm, because he has sent soldiers to protect all his important cities and made sure that they are fully provisioned to withstand a siege.

  Machiavelli may have overestimated Borgia’s control of his defences, but he had certainly not overestimated the man. Admittedly, the French forces of Louis XII remained a week’s march away in Milan, but there were still opportunities at hand. It was now that Borgia reaped the rewards of his policy towards the citizens of his new dukedom. As already mentioned, the general lawlessness and consequent uncultivated countryside that had prevailed in the Romagna for centuries meant that few men could support themselves and their families by farming the land. Hence a large portion of the male citizenry were used to hiring themselves out as mercenaries. So when Borgia despatched Corella on a recruiting drive, he was quickly able to hire 1,000 infantry, all keen to fight for their new duke. Similarly, Borgia himself managed to raise 800 infantry from the Val da Lamone, just south of Imola: a region that was famous for the calibre of its fighting men. At the same time, he sent urgent despatches to the French at Milan, requesting to hire 500 Gascons (generally reckoned as the finest soldiers in the French army) and some 1,500 men from the famed Swiss infantry.

  By now Alexander VI had begun raising funds so that his son could pay for all these measures. The Pope’s methods were characteristic. One example will suffice. Fortunately for Alexander VI, the wealthy Bishop of Cortona had recently died. Regardless of the Bishop’s will, Alexander VI ‘seized all the bishop’s goods, even selling the wheat that was found in Cortona; he also sold the diocese to a Florentine for 2,000 ducats’. By such means, the Pope had soon raised 18,000 ducats, which were immediately despatched to Cesare Borgia at Imola. So great was the Pope’s relief at the miraculous resolution of his son’s predicament that he even promised there would soon be more funds to follow.

  Yet the situation in the Romagna was not Alexander VI’s only pressing problem at this juncture. The Pope found himself becoming ever more embroiled in the threatening clash between the French and the Spanish over the partition of Naples. With his usual diplomatic deviousness, Alexander VI appealed to Venice for support: ‘it would be bad for both of us if Spain took over Naples, but still worse if it fell totally into the hands of the French’. Alexander VI wished to appear as a strong ally of the Venetians, in order to prevent them from interfering with his son’s campaigns in the Romagna. His concern regarding the French and the Spanish in Naples was genuine enough: he was determined to ally himself with whoever might emerge as the victor. But which one was it to be? On the other hand, he wished to appear to the Venetians as being more generally concerned for the good of the entire Italian peninsula. Indeed, such is the complexity of his diplomatic machinations at this point that it is difficult to discern precisely what he was doing. He wanted the French to support Cesare Borgia in the Romagna, but was against them in the matter of Naples. Similarly, his natural inclination towards the Spanish in Naples was tempered by his wish to see them return to Spain. At the same time, his mixed feelings towards Venice were evident. The Pope was an impressive tactician, and his policies were such that none could be sure precisely where his preferences lay. All that counted was that the Borgias came out on top. And he was undeniably capable of the subtle machinations necessary to make such an outcome possible. On the other hand, the necessary power to realize this outcome lay in the hands of the ever-unpredictable Cesare Borgia.

  Back in Imola, Cesare Borgia continued with his own version of subtle diplomacy towards the conspirators, who still posed a threat to the Romagna. Paolo Orsini had predictably been tempted by Borgia’s letter promising protection of the Orsini lands and a reconciliation for his family with the Pope. On 24 October Machiavelli’s latest despatch from Imola to his master in Florence reported: ‘Paolo Orsini is in Cesena this evening, and is expected here tomorrow morning to speak to the duke [Borgia].’ When finally they met, Borgia ‘used every device of diplomacy to reassure Paolo Orsini, giving him gifts of money, clothes and horses’.

  Orsini was quickly won over; so much so that he agreed to return and deliver a message from Borgia to his fellow conspirators, offering them, too, the prospect of reconciliation. By now Borgia was well aware that the conspirators were not only divided amongst themselves, but also to an extent individually incapacitated or incapable of taking to the field against him. Vitellozzo, for instance, was once again laid low with syphilis; while Guidobaldo da Montefeltro had been stricken with gout in Urbino.

  By now the mild weather of October had given way to the rain and mud of November, rendering any concerted military action on either side out of the question. Despite this, French soldiers now began arriving at Imola from Milan, marching down the Via Emelia, which, owing to its Ancient Roman foundations, was less liable than the country roads and passes to descend into an impassable bog of mud. Back in Rome Alexander VI reinforced his son’s peacemaking policy by staging a generous reconciliation with his old friend Cardinal Giambattista Orsini. Alexander VI and Cardinal Orsini had similar characters and had long enjoyed banqueting together. They soon reverted to their ‘customary diversions’, which involved feasts lasting long into the night, where they were entertained by courtesans, for, in the opinion of the Pope, ‘without them there was no feast worth having’. Alexander VI may have been seventy-two years old, but he was quite capable of keeping up with his younger boon compani
on, who was himself well into his fifties. Such entertainments frequently lasted until after dawn. Alexander VI and Cardinal Orsini also came to a private agreement. According to Burchard, Alexander VI ‘had told the Cardinal that he would resign the papacy in his favour, on condition that he undertook to protect and defend the Duke [Cesare Borgia]’.

  Vitellozzo had been the next of the conspirators to cave in, conveying via Paolo Orsini that he, too, was willing to sign an agreement with Borgia, so that they could resume their alliance. In return, Borgia agreed to resume his payments to his two condottieri, so that they could pay their mercenaries. When Duke Guidobaldo in Urbino heard that his two friends had deserted the cause, he at once took fright and fled the city in fear of his life. Despite his crippling gout, he travelled on a mule, disguised as a monk. But such was his physical and mental condition that he had only travelled seven miles down the road before he suffered a nervous collapse. Fortunately for him, he was taken in by a loyal subject, who sheltered him secretly in his home.

  Cesare Borgia was well aware that Guidobaldo da Montefeltro remained a popular figure amongst the citizens of Urbino, and equally conscious that these same citizens no longer trusted him after his treacherous lightning coup against the city the previous June. Consequently on 6 December Borgia sent to Urbino his new ally Paolo Orsini, accompanied by the wise and popular Antonio di Monte Sansovino, the new governor of the Romagna. These two were warily welcomed by the population, who were won over when Orsini read out a proclamation granting pardon to all citizens who had recently defied the authority of the Duke of Romagna. Later Sansovino proclaimed the civil rights of all the people of Urbino. On top of this, any of Borgia’s soldiers occupying the city who transgressed against the rights of the citizens were to be reported to the civil authorities, who would punish the offenders with a public execution. These civic proclamations were guaranteed by Cesare Borgia himself.

  Cesare Borgia made sure that this news quickly spread throughout his Romagna territories. Gradually, even the most obdurate of Borgia’s new citizens were being won over by their new ruler. They were beginning to trust him. An era, unprecedented since Roman times, was coming into being in the Romagna. Further evidence of this can be seen in a work which was painstakingly created by the Duke’s chief engineer. During this period, whilst Borgia’s court was in Imola, Leonardo da Vinci drew a highly detailed map of the city. This was not only a work of precise cartography, but also a work of art. The map was from the bird’s-eye perspective common to all modern maps. This was a novelty during the period. Larger territorial maps from this period may have been commonplace, but smaller-scale maps, especially of such exactitude, were not. Each dwelling, from hovels to mansions to the larger fortress, as well as each street and alleyway within the city walls, were all meticulously detailed. How could he have achieved such a feat? Especially without the aid of a tower or mountain or nearby elevation? It is now known that Leonardo invented his own hodometer, resembling a barrowless wheelbarrow, whose studded vertical wheel clicked off its circuits on a horizontal wheel mounted above it. Together with this, and the aid of focal points to ensure interrelated accuracies of direction, he and his team of assistants completed their bird’s-eye picture of the city to an exactitude which even matches the most modern maps of the contemporary city’s old quarter.

  This was almost certainly the forerunner of a larger scheme which Borgia intended for each of the cities in his Romagna territory. As a project it can be compared to the Domesday Book which William the Conqueror drew up to cover all of England. But where the Domesday Book consisted of lists and inventories, the project begun by Leonardo would have been a more visually oriented representation. Its obvious purpose would have been for taxation, and the mapping of houses and property. However, it also speaks of a much more sophisticated – and perhaps even enlightened – attitude towards civil government. Leonardo was helping Borgia to lay the foundations for the most modern state in Italy. Cesare Borgia may have been an impetuous, even murderous and certainly devious character; but when it came to his new state he was as obsessively protective of it as he was of his own close family.

  In an unexpected move, the hiding Guidolbaldo da Montefeltro was now offered asylum by Vitellozzo at his home in Città di Castello. This was unmistakably Borgia’s doing, but Guidobaldo decide to accept the offer nonetheless, if only to preserve his life. The price Borgia extracted for this act of clemency was that Guidobaldo da Montefeltro formally renounce his rights to the city and territories of Urbino. Whether or not Guidobaldo did in fact accept this last condition, a proclamation to that effect was now issued by Borgia. This ensured that the citizens of Urbino cooperated wholeheartedly with Sansovino without feeling that they were betraying any allegiance to their former ruler – whom they knew to be a weak character at the best of times. More and more people all over the Romagna were being won over by Borgia’s rule, though some, with longer memories, still feared that he might yet revert to his older ways, placing them under the rule of his brutal and detested Spanish commander Ramiro de Lorqua.

  By now all but one of the conspirators had come to separate agreements with Borgia. Finally, Bentivoglio of Bologna despatched an ingratiating letter to Borgia. Overjoyed that the northern border of his territory was now completely protected, Borgia replied generously, forgiving Bentivoglio for his ‘mistake’. To reinforce their rapprochement, Bentivoglio undertook to supply Borgia during the coming year with 200 men-at-arms and 200 light cavalry. In return, Borgia promised he would supply Bentivoglio with a force half this size if at any time during the next eight years his territory came under threat. In return for this guarantee, Bentivoglio was to pay him a fee of 12,000 ducats a year. In order to cement his alliance with all the other former conspirators, Borgia now suggested that they should meet up, together with their forces, outside the coastal town of Sinigalia at the end of December. Sinigalia was officially an outpost of Urbino territory, which had been given as a fiefdom to the twelve-year-old Francesco della Rovere, whose mother was a sister of Guidobaldo of Urbino. As the della Rovere family remained bitter enemies of the Borgias, and Guidobaldo had ‘signed away’ his territory, Borgia appeared to relish the prospect of taking this lightly guarded city with his combined forces – which now included the French, his own troops, and would soon include the combined armies of the former conspirators. Alexander VI, who was aware of Cesare’s plan to march on Sinigalia, understood that his son would then march his army south, to add Ancona to his territories. Only after this would he join up with the forces of Louis XII for the coming campaign against the Spanish in Naples. The Pope now raised a further 15,000 ducats for Cesare, whose army was by this time costing the vast sum of 2,000 ducats a day to maintain.

  Only Machiavelli retained his suspicions about what Borgia had in mind. Earlier, Machiavelli had written a despatch to Soderini in Florence concerning Borgia’s attitude towards the conspirators, remarking: ‘I fail to understand how such injuries can expect to find forgiveness.’ And now Bentivoglio, too, began to have his misgivings, excusing himself from the ‘reconciliation’ at Sinigalia, choosing instead to remain in Bologna.

  As the winter nights drew in, Borgia reverted to his old habits. Machiavelli reported: ‘He does not emerge from his chamber until around midnight . . . This lord is very secretive and I do not believe that what he is going to do is known to anybody.’ Borgia was seldom seen during daylight hours, and conducted all his business under cover of night. Stories circulated that he had taken once more to wearing a black mask, supposedly to cover the syphilitic ‘blooms’ which had returned to disfigure his face. Once again, this appears to be part of the legend, at least where the effects of syphilis are concerned. Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches of Cesare Borgia, drawn around this time, show no sign of any disfigurement. And even if these were intended as merely loose preliminary sketches for a full-scale portrait – which they may well have been – it is highly unlikely that an artist of Leonardo’s visual integrity would not have hint
ed at such marks. Especially when the three sketches in question cover Borgia’s face from three different angles: profile, three-quarter profile and full-face on. However, reports of his erratic conduct were certainly not part of the legend. Borgia’s behaviour, seldom predictable at the best of times, now began to exhibit severe mood swings. This aspect of his personality was never far below the surface, but appears now to have become an unmistakable characteristic as the strain of his position continued to mount. Machiavelli’s observations seemed more pertinent than ever. No one could even begin to guess what Borgia was up to, or what he might do next. Back in Rome, Alexander VI seems to have been developing his own similar concerns with regard to his son.

  Then suddenly, on 10 December, Borgia decided to leave Imola. In the midst of a snowstorm he and his troops began marching south-west down the Via Emelia in the direction of the coast. The general situation at Imola had been deteriorating for some time. As Machiavelli had reported from Imola just days earlier, Borgia’s troops had stripped the city bare, ‘devouring everything down to the very pebbles’. Meanwhile: