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Alexander VI, né Rodrigo Borgia ( January 1, 1431 - August 18, 1503) pope ( 1492- 1503), is the most memorable of the secular popes of the Renaissance. He was born at Xàtiva , València, Spain, and his father's surname was Lanzol or Llancol; that of his mother's family, Borgia or Borja, was assumed by him on the elevation of his maternal uncle to the papacy as Callixtus III ( April 8, 1455).1 Education and election
He studied law at Bologna, and after his uncle's election he was created successively bishopA bishop is an ordained person who holds a specific position of authority in any of a number of Christian churches. Bishops in the New Testament The bishop's role is typically called the " episcopacy", because the word "bishop" is derived ultimately from, cardinalA cardinal is an official of the second-highest rank of the Roman Catholic Church, inferior in rank only to the Pope. The cardinals serve a number of functions: they advise the Pope, they run the Vatican administration and the Roman Curia (the government and vice-chancellor of the church, an act of nepotismNepotism is the act of favoring one's family members in a situation where doing so is considered inappropriate. For instance, a manager in a firm is generally expected to promote the most competent persons, in order that the firm may succeed. For that man characteristic of the age. He served in the CuriaThe Roman Curia is the complex of the organs and the authorities that constitute the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Roman Catholic Church and the achieveme under five popes and acquired much administrative experience, influence and wealth, although no great power; he was economical in his habits; on occasion he displayed great splendour and lived in a fine palace. His manners were agreeable and his appearance fascinating, but, like many other prelates of the day, his morals were far from blameless, his two dominant passions being greed of gold and love of women, and he was devoted to the children his mistresses bore him.
An excellent example of the extreme levels of corruption and immorality then present in the papacy was the Banquet of ChestnutsThe Banquet of Chestnuts known more properly as the "Ballet of Chestnuts", refers to a Roman fete, and particularly (in historical terms) to a decadent banquet thrown on 30 November 1501 by Rodrigo Borgia, who had become Pope Alexander VI by this time., an episode famous in the history of pornography . Although ecclesiastical corruption was then at its height, his riotous mode of life called down upon him a very severe reprimand from Pope Pius IIPius II ne Enea Silvio Piccolomini ( October 18, 1405 August 14, 1464) was pope from 1458 to 1464. Pius, "whose character reflects almost every tendency of the age in which he lived", was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed, who succeeded Calixtus III in 1458Events January 24 Matthias I Corvinus becomes king of Hungary Foundation of Magdalen College, University of Oxford George of Podebrady becomes king of Bohemia Pope Pius II becomes pope Turks sack the Acropolis Births Jacopo Sannazaro, Italian poet Deaths. On the death of Pope Innocent VIIIInnocent VIII ne Giovanni Battista Cibo ( 1432 July 25, 1492), pope from 1484 to 1492, was born at Genoa, and was the son of a man of senatorial rank. His early years were spent at the Neapolitan court, and subsequently he went to Padua and Rome for his e the three likely candidates for the Holy See were Cardinals Borgia, Ascanio Sforza and Giuliano della Rovere; at no previous or subsequent election were such immense sums spent on bribery. Borgia by his great wealth succeeded in buying the largest number of votes, including that of Sforza, and to his intense joy he was elected on August 11 1492, assuming the name of Alexander VI.
