The Borgia: Blood and Beauty

Take a journey through Renaissance Italy and learn about the infamous Borgia family. Discover how power, greed, violence and nepotism spawned a dramatic rise from their Spanish roots to occupying the highest positions in Renaissance society. Explore the life of the voracious & ambitious Rodrigo Borgia (better known to history as Pope Alexander VI) who was the central figure of the dynasty. Discuss the steps of his two papal offspring who rose to power and fame—the beautiful Lucrezia Borgia who was much bedeviled by slanderous innuendo of being a poisoner and her brother, Cesare, who served as the model for Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince.