[Nikki K]

Yes, it's true. You are correct. According to Eric Ives's biography of Anne, she was at the court of Margaret of Austria (remember in the Joanne Whalley thread, that was the step-granddaughter of Margaret of Burgundy, the little girl in the gif series that Joanne had on her lab) in Mechelen (the Burgundian Netherlands, now Belgium) where she served as a maid of honour to Margaret, who was Regent of the Habsburg Netherlands. She was 13 at the time, after two years she left for French court where she met both Claude de France and Renée de France.

And yes that is true, Alex. Alfonso D'Este was married to Anna Maria Sforza but she died in childbirth. I actually mentioned that in one of my CL fics once. Also on 'Borgia' they showed their wedding though obviously this was historically incorrect – they were married in 1477 and most certainly not with Rodrigo officiating. In any event – they showed the wedding and a banquet in episode 2x04 "Pax Vobiscum" with Alfonso D'Este played by English actor Andrew Hawley and Anna Maria Sforza played by Italian actress Barbara Ronchi.

The French knight Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard called Lucrezia "a pearl on this Earth".

True or False?

[PhoenixRising]

True. That took some research.

Thanks, Nina!


Lucrezia was allowed to take her child by Alfonso of Aragon with her to Ferrara following her marriage to Alfonso d'Estes.

True or False?

[Nikki K]

False.

Giulia's sister Beatrice was abbess of the nunnery San Bernardino in Viterbo.

True or False?

[PhoenixRising]

False? I didn't find any sister named Beatrice. It says that she had three brothers and a sister, Girolama.


Rodrigo had a relative who was a previous Pope.

True or False?

[Lucresiare]

I think it is false. However, they had a saint in the family

Lucrezia and Cesare had a half sister

[PhoenixRising]

True? I'm pretty sure that Rodrigo had a number of illegitimate children. He and Giulia had a daughter, so I guess that's her.

That was actually true, Barbara. Rodrigo's maternal uncle was Alfons de Borja, who was Pope Callixtus III.

Juan's son was also named Juan, and married a woman named Juana.

True or False?

[Nikki K]

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising (View Post) False? I didn't find any sister named Beatrice. It says that she had three brothers and a sister, Girolama.

No, Alex, that was correct. Giulia had three brothers and two sisters. Girolama was the older one, born in 1466, and Beatrice the younger one born in 1469. You can read up on the siblings here in Printke, G. (2014): Mätressenwirtschaft. – Morrisville, NC. 110pp. See Pages 14-15.

Rodrigo never claimed Laura, Giulia's daughter. And it is possible that she may have been indeed her first husband's child after all. She certainly inherited all of his estates and married one of Della Rovere's nephews.

It is true though that Lucrezia and Cesare had two half sisters –*Isabella Borgia, married Matuzzi and Girolama Borgia, married Cesarini. Both older and from a different mother. There have been speculations that indeed Pedro Luis, Isabella and Girolama had the same mother and that she was a Venitian courtesan but there is nothing in official documents.

Also true, Juan's son's first marriage was to Juana de Aragón y Gurrea.

On the night of his murder, Juan had dinner at his mother's together with Cesare and their cousin Juan de Borja Lanzol, a son of their father's sister.

True of False?

[PhoenixRising]

True. Lucrezia, Gioffre, and Sancia were also there, oddly enough.


Sancia and Alfonso were cousins in real life.

True or False?

[Nikki K]

False. They were brother and sister. Their father was Alfonso II of Naples and their mother was his mistress Trogia Galezza. They had three half siblings from their father's marriage to Ippolita Maria Sforza*–*King Ferdinand II of Naples (he was actually in charge when Charles VIII invaded Naples, they kind of messed all that up a bit name-wise. I guess it was too attractive having their grandfather Ferrante and his cabinet of horrors still around for effect), Isabella of Aragon (she was married to Gian Galeazzo Maria Sforza – whom we saw in season 1 of The Borgias btw as he was being murdered by is uncle Ludovico), and lastly Piero, Prince of Rossano.

It may be noteworthy that Sancia had a really good realtionship to her half-sister Isabella and that after Sancia's death, Isabella fostered Lucrezia's son by her half-brother Alfonso as Sancia had done before.

Ludovico Sforza allied himself with France so that they would attack Naples that at the time was allied with the Papal States under Alexander VI but it backfired on him and Charles VIII took Milan on his way back to France anyway.

True or false?

[PhoenixRising]

False. It's true that Charles VIII of France did decide to turn on Ludovico and attack France, but Ludovico defeated the French and it was King Louis XII who ended up taking Milan after Charles' death and driving Ludovico out.

Originally Posted by Nikki K (View Post) It may be noteworthy that Sancia had a really good realtionship to her half-sister Isabella and that after Sancia's death, Isabella fostered Lucrezia's son by her half-brother Alfonso as Sancia had done before.

Thanks for the info, Nina. And thanks for stopping by to post! I hope you're doing okay.



Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia was never a leading candidate for the papacy after the death of Innocent VIII.

True or False?

[Make Them Laugh]

gonna guess False b/c my Spider sense tells me too...lol

[Mignonette]

Juan was still alive when Cesar & Micheletto threw him into the Tiber on the show.

True or False?

Originally Posted by Make Them Laugh (View Post) gonna guess False b/c my Spider sense tells me too...lol

Spider sense , but it was true. Rodrigo bought his papacy, on the show & IRL

[PhoenixRising]

Uhhh, I think he was still alive, so True.

Originally Posted by Mignonette (View Post) Spider sense , but it was true. Rodrigo bought his papacy, on the show & IRL

Actually, that's false, Lila. Rodrigo was one of the leading candidates and the accusations of simony came later on from those who disagreed with the choice.

Juan's only injuries when he was murdered were stab wounds to his torso.

True or False?

[Mignonette]

False. He had 9 stab wounds, including 1 to his head & at least 1 to his leg. His throat was cut, consistent with a garotte, & he was also beaten. He really pissed off someone, didn't he?

Cesar wore only black, after he married Charlotte d'Albret, as an act of defiance, because he didn't want to marry anyone, but Rodrigo insisted in order to gain an alliance with France.

True or False?

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising (View Post) Uhhh, I think he was still alive, so True. Actually, that's false, Lila. Rodrigo was one of the leading candidates and the accusations of simony came later on from those who disagreed with the choice. Juan's only injuries when he was murdered were stab wounds to his torso. True or False?

Yes, it was true: On the show, Juan died by drowning, cause he was still alive when thrown off the bridge.

Ok, I was thinking of the show when Rodrigo bought the papacy with simony. For some reason, Rodrigo's IRL history has never been that interesting to me, so thank you for letting me know that about him

[PhoenixRising]

That was true, I think? I looked around but I didn't see anything specific.

OMG, I'm sorry, Lila. I should've specified IRL, not on the show. And you're welcome. Yeah, the simony accusation was one of the many myths about the Borgias told by their enemies, but the truth is that Rodrigo had been one of many leading contenders for the Papacy at the time, along with Giuliano della Rovere, who was probably just a sore loser.


Rodrigo Borgia hired Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel.

True or False?