Nikki K

Cesare Borgia was born in Rome on September 13th, 1475; the son of Cardinal Rodrigo de Lanzol y Borgia, soon to become Pope Alexander VI, and his mistress Vanozza dei Cattanei. He was made Bishop of Pamplona at the age of 15. Following school in Perugia and Pisa where Cesare studied law, along with his father's elevation to Pope, Cesare was made Cardinal three years later. After his brother Juan's death, Cesare became the first person in history to resign the cardinalate. On the same day the French King Louis XII named Cesare Duke of Valentinois, and this title, along with his former position as Cardinal of Valencia, explains the nickname "Valentino". Cesare's military career was founded upon his father's ability to distribute patronage, along with his alliance with France (reinforced by his marriage with Charlotte d'Albret, sister of John III of Navarre), in the course of the Italian Wars. At the time of his father's death in 1503, Cesare's dominons in the Romagna disintegrated without continued Papal support. In order to smooth the way to his election as pope, Giuliano Della Rovere - later Pope Julius II - made an agreement with Cesare, promising to make him captain of the papal troops again. After the conclave, Cesare surrendered the Castel Sant' Angelo and came to live with Della Rovere in the Vatican. The pope toyed with the idea of using Cesare to stem the Venetians in the Romagna, for he could still attract loyalty not only from the Spanish but also, to some degree, from the people of the province. However, the Venetians claimed that all they were doing was taking the lands of their common enemy, Cesare Boriga. Hence, Julius II asked Cesare for the countersigns of the fortresses that he held (Cesena, Bertinoro and Forlì). In return Cesare received a brief saying that he could go where he liked once the cities had been surrendered. He went to Naples and begun to try to recruit troops but when the Spanish monarchs heard of this they ordered their viceroy Gonsalvo to arrest Cesare. Exiled to Spain in 1504, he was imprisoned in the Castle of La Mota, Medina del Campo, from which he escaped and joined his brother-in-law King John III of Navarre. Subsequently, Cesare was killed in 1507 while fighting for the Navarrese king in the city of Viana, Spain.

In "The Prince", Machiavelli uses Cesare Borgia as an example to elucidate the dangers of acquiring a principality by virtue of another. Cesare also inspired many novels and was portrayed in many movies and television series based on the Borgia's rise and fall. For instance most recently:


François Arnaud (born 5 July 1985 in Québéc, Canada) is a French Canadian stage and film actor who trained at the Conservatoire d'Art Dramatique de Montréal in 2007. He is best known for his performances as "Cesare Borgia" in Showtime's TV series The Borgias and as "Antonin" in the critically acclaimed French Canadian movie J'ai tué ma mère. In 2009, he had a part in Sophie Lorain's Les Grandes Chaleurs. In Québéc, François is known for his role as "Théo" in the TV series Yamaska.

BL.Arinna_1982

tftnt, Nina and can you add me, please?

Nikki K

Sure. You closed the old thread, right? You'll be added in a sec.

BL.Arinna_1982

Yes, I just closed it.

Nikki K

Excellent.

So let's continue. Where were we?

BL.Arinna_1982

We were discussing should or shouldn't trust a Borgia.

Nikki K

Never of course. Just nod politely and then run.

BL.Arinna_1982

What if they catch us?

Nikki K

We'll throw ourselves into the sea to drown, to quote Della Rovere's daughter.

No seriously as long as The Doctor is with us we have nothing to fear.

BL.Arinna_1982

So we could just call him and he'd save us from Cesare and everybody else?

Nikki K

Well especially Machiavelli and his Daleks but you get my point.

BL.Arinna_1982

Now I feel safe.



Source: Wormstache world

Nikki K

It's good to have that TARDIS nearby at all times.

BL.Arinna_1982

You're right. It could be quite handy.



Source: the borgias ITALIA

Nikki K

Oh the precursor of the porridge scene.
At least he still got all his fingers. More than Marcantonio Colonna can say for himself. I'm still a bit on the "why??" side of things remembering that they killed him in the season finale. Apart from Richard Southgate playing a great villain which makes his departure a bit of a pity, I don't think Marcantonio actually died then but married Della Rovere's niece Lucrezia when the latter became pope ...