Latest / The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History
The Borgia Papacy: Power, Poison, and Renaissance Rome
While previous episodes have explored the Medici bank in Florence and the Venetian navy, Episode 273 shifts focus to the volatile heart of Catholic Europe: the papal court under Rodrigo Borgia. We examine how Pope Alexander VI used his children—Cesare and Lucrezia—not as scandals, but as strategic instruments of statecraft during a time when the Papal States were crumbling under French and Spanish pressure. The conversation details Cesare’s brutal consolidation of power through the condottiero lifestyle, his marriage alliances, and the controversial use of poison rumors to eliminate rivals…
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