elected as Pope Calixtus III in 1455, Rod-
rigo adopted the family name of Borgia
and was appointed as a bishop. Under his
uncle’s patronage he studied law at the
University of Bologna and in 1456 was
made a cardinal. He was widely praised
for his ability, energy, and gift for conver-
sation and persuasion. When Pope Inno-
cent VIII died in 1492, Borgia emerged as
a leading candidate to succeed to the Pa-
pacy. He won the election by bribing the
cardinals who met to choose a successor
and promising his rivals high positions in
the Curia, the papal administration.
On reaching the papal throne, Alex-
ander began conducting himself more like
a worldly king than a religious leader, mak-
ing alliances and fighting wars to increase
the power and wealth of his family. In
Rome he dealt with a crime wave by or-
dering criminals hanged in public and
their houses razed. He ordered magnifi-
cent palaces to be built in the city, as well
as the raising of fortifications and the im-
provement of roads and bridges. He in-
vited scholars, musicians, and theater
troupes to the papal court, and organized
magnificent processions and ceremonies.
In the meantime, he bestowed high
church offices on his favored children,
three sons and a daughter by his mistress
Vannozza dei Cattani. He made Cesare
Borgia the archbishop of Valencia and Gio-
vanni Borgia a cardinal as well as the Duke
of Gandia, a realm in Spain. He arranged
the marriage of his daughter Lucrezia to
Giovanni Sforza.
While attempting to lay claim for the
Borgias on papal lands, Alexander was op-
posed by the king of Naples, Ferdinand I,
as well as the powerful Orsini clan of
Rome. Ferdinand organized an alliance
with Florence and Venice, while Alexander
sought the help of Charles VIII, the king
of France, a monarch who had plans for
the conquest of Naples. In 1493, however,
Alexander made peace with Naples, ar-
ranging the marriage of his son Giuffre to
a granddaughter of Ferdinand. In order to
ensure his authority in Rome, Alexander
created twelve new cardinals, and also be-
stowed the title of cardinal on his son Ce-
sare.
On the death of Ferdinand I in 1494,
Alexander allied again with Charles VIII
and invited the French to invade Italy and
conquer Naples. After the French army ar-
rived, however, Alexander began to fear
French domination of Italy and formed a
league against Charles. This alliance de-
feated the French at the Battle of Fornovo.
Alexander afterward sent his papal armies
against the Orsinis, who remained his de-
termined enemies.
Under Alexander’s rule the papal ad-
ministration became a ruthless agency of
blackmail and murder. The church sold
indulgences (remissions and pardonings of
sin) as well as church offices to raise enor-
mous sums of money, and the pope spent
this wealth in supporting Cesare Borgia’s
military campaigns in northern Italy.
While Rome became the scene of rampant
violence, the Vatican itself was used as a
luxurious place of entertainment and
sumptuous orgies. Alexander also had a
great appreciation for art, however, and
brought the most renowned Renaissance
artists of Italy, including Donato Bra-
mante, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and
Raphael,toworkinRome.
The last years of Alexander’s life were
spent in fighting a conspiracy among the
Orsini and Colonna families against him.
To defeat his opponents, Alexander swept
members of the Orsini clan into dungeons
while Cesare lured two of the plotters to a
palace in the town of Senigallia, where theAlexander VI