Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia Borgia
  • Duchess of Bisceglie
  • Princess of Salerno
  • Countess of Cotignola
Portrait by Dosso Dossi which is purported to depict Lucrezia, c.1518
Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio
Tenure25 January 1505 – 24 June 1519
Lady consort of Pesaro and Gradara
Tenure12 June 1493 – 20 December 1497
Born18 April 1480
Subiaco, Papal States
Died24 June 1519(1519-06-24) (aged 39)
Ferrara, Duchy of Ferrara
Burial
Spouse
(m. 1493; ann. 1497)
    (m. 1498; died 1500)
      (m. 1501)
      Issue
      Detail
      HouseBorgia
      FatherPope Alexander VI
      MotherVannozza dei Cattanei

      Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto.

      Her family arranged several marriages for her that advanced their own political positions, including to Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro and Gradara, Count of Cotignola; Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglie and Prince of Salerno; and Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. Alfonso of Aragon was an illegitimate son of the King of Naples, and tradition has it that Lucrezia's brother Cesare may have had him murdered after his political value waned.

      Notorious tales about her family have cast Lucrezia as a femme fatale, a controversial role in which she has been portrayed in many artworks, novels, and films.