Editing Pope Alexander VI (section)

== Personal life ==

Of Alexander's many mistresses, one of his favourites was [[Vannozza dei Cattanei]], born in 1442, and who was married to three different men. The relationship began in 1470, and she had four children whom the pope openly acknowledged as his own: [[Cesare Borgia|Cesare]] (born 1475), [[Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandía|Giovanni]], afterwards duke of [[Gandia]] (commonly known as Juan, born 1474 or 1476), [[Lucrezia Borgia|Lucrezia]] (born 1480), and [[Gioffre Borgia|Gioffre]] (Goffredo in Italian, born 1481 or 1482).

Rodrigo only legitimized his children after becoming pope. He had pretended that his four children with Vannozza were his niece and nephews and that they were fathered by Vannozza's husbands.<ref>&nbsp;Darcy, J.B. "What You Don't Know About the Borgia Pope: Alexander VI (1492–1503).(FEATURE ARTICLE)(Biography)." Catholic Insight 19.8 (2011): n. pag. Print.</ref> [[G. J. Meyer]] argued that the birth dates of the four children in comparison with Alexander's known whereabouts preclude him from having fathered any of them. His "acknowledgement" merely consisted of addressing them as "beloved son / daughter" in correspondence (while applying the same address to, e.g., [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] and [[Isabella I of Castile]] in the same letter).<ref name=Meyer>{{cite book|title=[[The Borgias: The Hidden History]]|author=[[G. J. Meyer]]|chapter=Background: The paternity question: An apology|year=2014|publisher= Bantam|pages=239–247|isbn=978-0-345-52692-2}}</ref>

Another mistress was the beautiful [[Giulia Farnese]] ("''Giulia la Bella''"), wife of [[Orsino Orsini]]. Giulia was mother of [[Laura Orsini]], born in 1492, probably daughter of Alexander. However, he still loved Vannozza and his children by her. Caring for them proved the determining factor of his whole career. He lavished vast sums on them. Vannozza lived in the Palace of a late Cardinal, or in a large, palatial villa. The children lived between their mother's home and the Papal Palace itself.<ref name="Villari">{{harvp|Villari|1911}}</ref>

<gallery widths="141" heights="200">
File:Miracle of the Knight of Cologne (detail).jpg|[[Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandia|Giovanni Borgia]], 2nd Duke of Gandia.
File:Cesareborgia.jpg|''[[Portrait of a Gentleman (Melone)|Portrait of a Gentleman]]'' ([[Cesare Borgia]])
File:Dosso DOSSI , Battista DOSSI (attributed to) - Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara - Google Art Project.jpg|Presumed portrait of Lucrezia Borgia (attributed to [[Dosso Dossi]], c. 1519, [[National Gallery of Victoria]]<ref>[https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/media_release/ngv-solves-mystery-of-renaissance-portrait/ "NGV Solves Mystery of Renaissance Portrait"] (26 November 2008), NGV. Retrieved 4 June 2020.</ref>)
File:Goffredo Borgia.jpg|[[Gioffre Borgia]] (1482–1517) Prince of Squillace.
</gallery>

Six other children, [[Girolama Borgia|Girolama]], Isabella, [[Pier Luigi de Borgia, 1st duke of Gandía|Pedro-Luiz]], [[Giovanni Borgia (Infans Romanus)|Giovanni the "Infans Romanus"]], Rodrigo and Bernardo, were of uncertain maternal parentage. His daughter Isabella was the great-great-grandmother of [[Pope Innocent X]], who was therefore descended in a direct line from Alexander.<ref>{{harvp|Williams|2004|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-mq7ctwMNdoC&pg=PA70 p. 70]}}</ref>

<gallery widths="141" heights="200">
File:DomenichinounicornPalFarnese.jpg|[[Giulia Farnese]] as – ''[[A Virgin with a Unicorn]]'', by [[Domenichino]], c. 1604–05, from [[Palazzo Farnese]]
File:ErcoleIId'Este.jpg|[[Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara]]
File:San Francisco de Borja.jpg|[[Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía]]
File:Luisa Francisca de Guzmán y Medina Sidonia atribuible a Alonso Cano.png|[[Luisa de Guzmán]], Queen consort of Portugal
File:Alexander VI guilia.jpg|Alexander VI kneeling in front of the [[Madonna (art)|Madonna]], said to be a likeness of Giulia Farnese.{{#tag:ref|Doubtful, but possible. On a similar claim: "Without any solid evidence Giulia is said to have been the model for Pinturicchio's 'Virgin and Child' surrounded by angels in the Borgia Apartments of the Vatican."<ref>{{harvp|de la Bédoyère|1958|p=94}}</ref>|group=Note}}
</gallery>