Borgia

Borgia, powerful Italian family descended from the Borjan of Valencia in Spain. Alfonso de Borja (1378–1458) became Pope Calixtus III. By bribery, his nephew Rodrigo Borgia (1431–1503) became Pope Alexander VI in 1492 and worked to enrich his family by crushing the Italian princes. His son, Cesare Borgia (1476–1507), used war, duplicity, and murder to seize much of central Italy. Alexander's notorious daughter, Lucrezia Borgia (1480–1519), was probably a pawn in her family's schemes. As duchess of Ferrara, she generously patronized the arts and learning.