MARCUS VAN HELLER THE HOUSE OF BORGIA GREENLEAF CLASSIC, SAN DIEGO, USA Foreword

The amazing history of the Borgia family in Rome during the Renaissance is interesting primarily as a study of the dark sides of human life. They attributed all sorts of sins, blasphemy, incest, murder. Many of these sins were probably invented by political opponents of the all-powerful clan. But as you know, there is no smoke without fire ...

Who are these Borgia? Three of them went down in history:

Rodrigo, elected as Pope Alexander VI, and two of his many illegitimate children, Cesare and Lucretia. (The leaders of the Catholic Church take a vow of celibacy). But the family went uphill even earlier, when in 1455 one of the Borgia, the Bishop of Valencia Alonso, became the Pope of Rome. He was already in his old age and died three years later, but managed to appoint his 25-year-old pleu-miner Rodrigo as cardinal, who later himself became pope and went down in history as the most corrupt and depraved of them.

Young Rodrigo, arriving in Rome, turned out to be an energetic, ambitious, cruel and power-hungry man, who, thanks to his intrigues, became a rich and influential cardinal. His numerous mistresses helped him - the cardinal enjoyed great success with women. Daddies came and went, and Cardinal Borgia grew stronger, richer, and more lustful. He did not forget about his illegitimate children, especially from the beloved mistress Giovanna dei Cattani, who had four recognized children from Rodrigo: Giovanni, Cesare, Lucretia and Jifredo. The first, born in 1474, became the duke of Gandia. The second, born in 1476, was the cardinal's favorite, and ten years later his father secured for him the position of treasurer of the Cartagena Cathedral. In 1480, Lucretia was born, a golden-haired girl, who later acquired an incredibly bad reputation, possibly undeserved. Two years later, Gifredo was born.

In 1492, Pope Innocent VIII died. His place was taken by the 61-year-old Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who took the name of Alexander VI. A black page began in the history of the papal throne. Was he such a monster? The rapist of his own daughter, a terrible sinner, a libertine, a murderer? If this man was such, he skillfully covered his tracks. One sin is certain, because Father Rodrigo loved to brag about him: he had children from his many numerous mistresses. It would probably not be unnatural if the person in question were not a Catholic priest, a cardinal, and finally a pope. However, at that time it was not something exceptional: there was hardly any duke, count, baron or church leader who did not have concubines and children from them. Another thing is that he did not know the sense of proportion, being captured by the blackest instincts. He differed from contemporaries only in quantity, not in the quality of sins.

As for the children of Rodrigo Borgia, here immorality goes beyond boundaries. His beloved Cesare became famous throughout Europe for his sexual orgies, robbery and terror against unwanted people. At 17, contrary to all church traditions, he became a cardinal, and this louder and bloody instincts ignited him even more. He hated his older brother, Giovanni, who had more land holdings. In 1497, the Duke of Gandia disappeared. His body was cut with a throat cut in the Tiber, Molva considered Cesare the murderer, jealous of his brother to his sister. Cesare became the strongest and most hated man in Rome. When he needed money, Cesare simply extorted them from some cardinal or aristocrat, using the name of his father. He left bloody footprints all over Italy.

As for Lucretia, incestuous links with her father and brothers are attributed to her as the most terrible sin. These accusations, of course, cannot be supported by the facts.There is no doubt one! father used her body to expand his power and influence. When Lucretia was barely eleven years old, he betrothed her to a Spanish nobleman, but soon found his daughter a more profitable groom. In 1493, a rich Italian aristocrat became the husband of Lucretia. A few years later, his place was taken by the duke, who was soon killed by a man hired by Cesare (according to rumors, the latter could not accept the fact that his sister shares a marriage bed with another).

In 1503, Pope Alexander VI died. And the hated Cesare was soon thrown into prison, from where he fled, but in 1507 he was killed. Lucretia also lived happily with her new husband - the Duke of Ferrara, doing music and poetry. The famous poet Ariosto and the artist Titian worked at her court. Lucretia remains a mystery of the Borgia family. We will never know if she really was the insidious organizer of the murder of unwanted people, while remaining a brilliant and gifted woman. She died in 1519 - the last of the notorious Borgia house.

The novel by American writer Marcus van Heller, which is brought to the attention of the reader, is an artistic fiction of the author based on authentic historical events. Written in a lively, exciting manner, he undoubtedly reads with interest, although sometimes too frank descriptions of the erotic adventures of his heroes can shock someone. Be that as it may, this work represents to us the Renaissance not at its best. O. A. Tikhonov, Candidate of Historical Sciences

Chapter 1

When Lucretia was only ten years old, Cardinal Rodrigo at times barely restrained his passion for this beautiful creature. And now, when his daughter was eleven, he saw in her already a ripening woman with seductive breasts and buttocks, strong and rounded, like cannonballs.

Of course, Rodrigo understood that his burning feelings overwhelmed common sense. It is unlikely that his daughter, brought up in a deeply religious spirit, has at least the slightest idea of ​​the lustful labyrinths of male passions.

And yet, around her, there was a subtlest erotic aura, which he could not explain either with his imagination or with her youth ...

The Cardinal was sitting on a log in the courtyard of his house near the Cathedral of St. Peter, and next to him Lucretia was playing with his brother. Cesare was pushing the swing, and she, sitting on the board, as on a horse, demanded that he swing it harder.

On the face of Cardinal Rodrigo, a paternal smile froze, and any outsider would be touched by the sight of this busiest, most important cardinal in Rome, resting with his children.

But now the cardinal’s eyes saw only his daughter’s spread legs and breasts illuminated by the sun. They fell out of his tight shirt and seemed to rush to his eyes. He noticed that she did not wear underwear.

- Higher, higher! - screamed Lucretia brother. Even her voice was like that of a woman - gentle, caressing, warm.

The girl fidgeted backwards, forcing the swing to soar higher and higher. The movements of flickering buttocks excited the Cardinal. He saw lovely, milky hips down to a dark speck in the crotch. Oh, those hips! He suddenly felt her gaze: for sure, her eyes, with their eyelashes slightly down and a slight smile, were looking slyly at him. He flinched. Little naughty!

“Lucretia, honey,” he said. - You did not put on underwear?

- No, Dad. Today is so warm.

- Not in this case. It is simply indecent to be naked under thin clothes. She can't hide your body.

He liked such a conversation, on the one hand, she was a father, because he, after all, instructed his little girl for her own good; on the other - exciting, like any conversation with a desired, untouched still woman.

“I thought it didn’t matter,” said Lucretia capriciously.“No one sees me but you and Cesare.”

“Parenthood and fatherhood, my dear, do not turn men into marble statues.”

Lord, yes, instinct has already awakened in it ...