Author Description

Lucrezia Borgia (in Valencian: Lucrècia Borja; in Spanish: Lucrecia de Borja; in Latin: Lucretia Borgia; Subiaco, 18 April 1480 - Ferrara, 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of Spanish origin. The illegitimate third-born daughter of Pope Alexander VI (born Rodrigo Borgia) and Vannozza Cattaneo, she was one of the most controversial female figures of the Italian Renaissance.The figure of Lucrezia has taken on different nuances over the centuries. For some historiography, mainly the nineteenth-century, the Borgias ended up personifying the symbol of the ruthless Machiavellian politics and the sexual corruption attributed to the Renaissance popes. The same reputation of Lucrezia was enforced after the accusation of incest, addressed by Giovanni Sforza to his wife's family, to which was later added the fame of poisoners, due in particular to the homonymous tragedy of Victor Hugo, musicated later by Gaetano Donizetti: in this way the figure of Lucrezia was associated to that of femme fatale participant of the crimes committed by her family.