The following resource list serves as a backgrounder on the Borgias and their world, providing basic information and dispelling some myths while confirming others. It's also a good place to do your homework before watching the show!
| A Borgia Primer |
Wikipedia. As good a place to start as any. Read up on The House of Borgia, Pope Alexander VI and his two lovely children, Cesare and Lucrezia. The World's First Crime Family. A good overview of the Borgias from courtTV's crimelibrary.com. A Bird's-Eye View of the History of the Borgia Family. A running chronology that includes concurrent events in world history and the arts. In The Pillory: The Tale of the Borgia Pope, by John Bond. Essentially an anti-Catholic tract that uncritically accepts the historicity of the Borgia legend. Still makes for juicy reading, though. Articles about Lucrezia:
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| Other Characters |
Pietro Bembo, poet, scholar and later cardinal. Author of De Aetna and the Neoplatonic dialogue on love, Gli Asolani. So renowned a poet was he that a typeface is named after him. The House of Este. Alfonso d'Este was Duke of Ferrara; his sister Isabella d'Este, the Marchesa of Mantua. Isabella was a formidable patron of the arts, and her court gave rise to many innovations in music, as these zealous fans of hers (boo Lucrezia!) can attest to.
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| Renaissance Italy |
The Italian Renaissance at SparkNotes.com. Especially relevant are its sections on "Rome: The Depths of Corruption and the Rise of the Golden Age" and "Women in the Renaissance". Italian Rulers at thePeerage.com. A listing of royalty and nobility from the Middle Ages to the proclamation of the Italian republic in 1946. The Book of the Courtier, by Baltissare Castiglione. The definitive guide to being a courtier in the 1500s. Pietro Bembo is mentioned frequently in it. Includes a summary of the "Chief Conditions and Qualityes" of both a Courtier and a "Waytyng Gentylwoman". (Don't you just love Olde English?)
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| Odds & Ends |
The Silent Weapon. An informative paper on poisons and antidotes in the Middle Ages. Includes ingredients and recipes. Fun for the whole family! The Banquet of Chestnuts. Those Borgias sure know how to throw a party. An interesting selection of fiction and non-fiction books about the Borgias. |