Borgia. The First Italian Mafia

The Vatican, money, and power. The Italian Renaissance — an era of chaos and beauty, endless conspiracies and murders, but at the same time a time of great scholars, philosophers, and titans of art. The names of Rodrigo Borgia and his illegitimate children — Cesare and Lucrezia, were known throughout Europe in their time. Blood, monstrous debauchery, incest, unprecedented corruption, sophisticated poisonings of rivals, and cruelty — are far from all the deeds attributed to the legendary dynasty. However, despite this, the Borgia family gifted Europe not only great thinkers, sculptors, and artists but also provided the Catholic world with two popes and more than ten cardinals. How many poisons were in the arsenal of Pope Alexander VI? What really happened at the Chestnut Banquet? Whose wife was Vannozza dei Cattanei supposed to be? How many mistresses did Cesare have? Did Lucrezia have a child by her own father? Who ordered the murder of Giovanni? Is it true that the wife of Giuffre Borgia slept with his brother? Before you is the story of the first Italian mafia — the Borgia dynasty, the most scandalous and controversial, that shaped the destinies of Italy.