{"id":3119,"date":"2026-08-09T00:41:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T22:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/?p=3119"},"modified":"2026-08-09T00:41:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T22:41:44","slug":"pope-alexander-vi-borgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/pope-alexander-vi-borgia\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexander VI, the Borgia Pope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"775\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Pope_Alexander_Vi-775x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Pope Alexander VI by Cristofano dell'Altissimo\" class=\"wp-image-758\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Pope_Alexander_Vi-775x1024.jpg 775w, https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Pope_Alexander_Vi-227x300.jpg 227w, https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Pope_Alexander_Vi-768x1015.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Pope_Alexander_Vi.jpg 780w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 775px) 100vw, 775px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Alexander VI<\/strong> (X\u00e1tiva, 1 January 1431 \u2014 Rome, 18 August 1503) was the 214th pope of the Catholic Church between 1492 and 1503. His birth name, in Valencian, was Roderic Llan\u00e7ol i de Borja (known in Spanish as Rodrigo de Borja and in Italian as Rodrigo Borgia). He was the great-grandfather of <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/who-was-saint-francis-borgia\/\" title=\"Who was Saint Francis Borgia?\">Saint Francis Borgia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contenidos<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a7e4d36ea223\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #e41725;color:#e41725\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #e41725;color:#e41725\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a7e4d36ea223\"  aria-label=\"Alternar\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/pope-alexander-vi-borgia\/#The_second_pope_of_the_Borgia_family\" >The second pope of the Borgia family<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/pope-alexander-vi-borgia\/#Papacy\" >Papacy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/pope-alexander-vi-borgia\/#Patron_of_the_Arts\" >Patron of the Arts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/pope-alexander-vi-borgia\/#Duchy_of_Gandia\" >Duchy of Gandia<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/pope-alexander-vi-borgia\/#Death_of_Alexander_VI\" >Death of Alexander VI<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_second_pope_of_the_Borgia_family\"><\/span>The second pope of the Borgia family<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rodrigo was the nephew of Pope Callixtus III,<\/strong> which greatly facilitated his rise through the hierarchy of the Catholic Church to become a cardinal-deacon, as well as holding numerous positions of great importance, where he gained the political influence that led him to be elected pope as Alexander VI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Papacy\"><\/span>Papacy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As he had demonstrated during his ecclesiastical career to be a great administrator \u2014 running the affairs of the Roman chancery during the thirty-five years he served as vice-chancellor of the Church \u2014 he accumulated numerous positions and titles, consolidating himself as a figure of power and influence within the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Furthermore, from a very young age, Rodrigo Borgia was clear that his goal was to sit on the \u201cThrone of Saint Peter\u201d and worked from then on towards that objective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As pope, he triggered and became involved in dozens of political situations, embroiled in intrigues and in a multitude of relationships among international powers in order to consolidate himself within the Italian nobility alongside his children, <strong>Juan, C\u00e9sar, Lucrecia and Jofre<\/strong>, who served his machinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alexander VI was the one who granted Isabella and Ferdinand the title of <strong>Catholic Monarchs<\/strong> in a bull dated 4 May&nbsp;1493, taking the Hispanic Monarchy as his most powerful ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alexander VI\u2019s ambition was to bring about his family\u2019s dominance over the entire Italian peninsula, aiming to achieve this through alliances and political marriages between his family and Italian dynasties, which, together with the papacy, would give him control over the entire peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Italy, the rise of a Spanish pope generated a certain degree of disdain and placed the Borgia family in the sights of many powerful enemies. For this reason, the intrigues and power dynamics that brought the Borgia family to the top ensured the beginning of their decline, as all the power the Borgias had obtained revolved around Alexander VI being the pope; consequently, the network of territories that the Borgias had brought to their feet collapsed upon his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Patron_of_the_Arts\"><\/span>Patron of the Arts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alexander VI was known for his patronage of and passion for the arts. He asked&nbsp;Pinturicchio&nbsp;to lavishly paint a suite of rooms in the&nbsp;Apostolic Palace&nbsp;in the Vatican, which today are known as the&nbsp;Borgia Apartments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"721\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Borgia_Apartment_001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-759\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Borgia_Apartment_001.jpg 721w, https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Borgia_Apartment_001-270x300.jpg 270w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 721px) 100vw, 721px\" \/><figcaption><meta charset=\"utf-8\">Borgia Apartments, <meta charset=\"utf-8\">Pinturicchio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the arts, he also encouraged the development of education. In 1495, he issued a papal bull approving the creation of the&nbsp;University of Aberdeen, and, at the request of the Archbishop of Valencia,&nbsp;issued the bull establishing the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uv.es\/\" title=\"https:\/\/www.uv.es\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University of Valencia<\/a>&nbsp;in 1501.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Duchy_of_Gandia\"><\/span>Duchy of Gandia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Created by the Catholic Monarchs on 20 December 1485 in favour of Pedro Luis de Borja \u2014 the same year the duchy was acquired by Rodrigo de Borja after paying a debt the king had with Valencia, where Gandia was the <em>pledge<\/em> \u2014 it was one of Spain\u2019s most important nobility titles, and was granted First Class Grandeeship in 1520 by Emperor Charles V.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alexander VI named his son Juan de Borja y Cattenei Duke of Gandia, as Pedro Luis died aged just 23, and Juan married <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/maria-enriquez-luna-regent-duchess-gandia\/\" title=\"Mar\u00eda Enr\u00edquez de Luna, Regent Duchess of Gandia\">Mar\u00eda Enr\u00edquez de Luna<\/a>, who acted as regent of the duchy with great success. They are the grandparents of <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/who-was-saint-francis-borgia\/\" title=\"Who was Saint Francis Borgia?\">Francis Borgia<\/a>, patron saint of Gandia, whose <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/ano-jubilar-de-san-francisco-de-borja-2021\/\" title=\"Jubilee Year of Saint Francis Borgia 2021\">jubilee year<\/a> is being celebrated this year, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was the one who elevated the <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/collegiate-church-santa-maria-gandia\/\" title=\"Collegiate Church of Santa Mar\u00eda de Gandia\">Church of Santa Mar\u00eda de Gandia<\/a> to the category of Collegiate Church at the request of Mar\u00eda Enr\u00edquez de Luna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" src=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/unnamed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-763\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/unnamed.jpg 512w, https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/unnamed-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>ALEXANDER VI PONT. MAX. SUPLICE ILL. MARIA HENR. DUCE GAND. HUJUS ECCL. COLLEGIUM INSTITUIT ANNO POST JESU NATALE MILLESIMO QUINGENTESIMO.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Death_of_Alexander_VI\"><\/span>Death of Alexander VI<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On 6 August 1503, Alexander VI and his son C\u00e9sar Borgia held a banquet at the residence of a cardinal; all the diners fell gravely ill days later. C\u00e9sar was able to overcome the illness, but Pope Alexander passed away at 72 years of age<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was buried, alongside Callixtus III, his uncle, in St Peter\u2019s Basilica in Rome. Years later, he was transferred to the Church of Santa Mar\u00eda de Montserrat de los Espa\u00f1oles in Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/5f15f228be06c.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/5f15f228be06c.jpeg\" alt=\"The Great Captain before\u00a0Pope\u00a0Alexander VI\u00a0dragging the defeated\u00a0Menaldo Guerra. Zacar\u00edas Gonz\u00e1lez Vel\u00e1zquez.\" class=\"wp-image-760\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/5f15f228be06c.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/5f15f228be06c-300x211.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/5f15f228be06c-768x540.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The Great Captain before&nbsp;Pope&nbsp;Alexander VI&nbsp;dragging the defeated&nbsp;Menaldo Guerra. Zacar\u00edas Gonz\u00e1lez Vel\u00e1zquez.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"817\" src=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kmska_Titiaan_-_Jacopo_Pesaro_bisschop_van_Paphos_voorgesteld_door_paus_Alexander_VI_Borgia_aan_de_heilige_Petrus_-_28-02-2010_13-56-55-1024x817.jpg\" alt=\"The Great Captain before\u00a0Pope\u00a0Alexander VI\u00a0dragging the defeated\u00a0Menaldo Guerra. Zacar\u00edas Gonz\u00e1lez Vel\u00e1zquez.\" class=\"wp-image-761\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kmska_Titiaan_-_Jacopo_Pesaro_bisschop_van_Paphos_voorgesteld_door_paus_Alexander_VI_Borgia_aan_de_heilige_Petrus_-_28-02-2010_13-56-55-1024x817.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kmska_Titiaan_-_Jacopo_Pesaro_bisschop_van_Paphos_voorgesteld_door_paus_Alexander_VI_Borgia_aan_de_heilige_Petrus_-_28-02-2010_13-56-55-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kmska_Titiaan_-_Jacopo_Pesaro_bisschop_van_Paphos_voorgesteld_door_paus_Alexander_VI_Borgia_aan_de_heilige_Petrus_-_28-02-2010_13-56-55-768x613.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kmska_Titiaan_-_Jacopo_Pesaro_bisschop_van_Paphos_voorgesteld_door_paus_Alexander_VI_Borgia_aan_de_heilige_Petrus_-_28-02-2010_13-56-55.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><meta charset=\"utf-8\">Alexander VI and Jacopo Pesaro before Saint Peter,&nbsp;Titian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alexander VI or Roderic Llan\u00e7ol i de Borja (known in Spanish as Rodrigo de Borja) was pope of the Catholic Church and the great-grandfather of Saint Francis Borgia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"borgia26_language":"en","borgia26_translation_group":"alejandro-vi-papa-borgia","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,121,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultura","category-ilustres","category-los-borgia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3119"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3159,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3119\/revisions\/3159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}