Chapter 1

The summer sun beat down mercilessly on the cobblestone streets of Rome, its rays reflecting off the pale marble of countless churches and palaces. The year was 1492, and the Eternal City was holding its breath. In the Sistine Chapel, shrouded in secrecy and intrigue, the College of Cardinals had gathered to elect a new pope.

Among them stood a man whose ambition burned as hot as the Roman summer - Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia. As he gazed at the frescoed ceiling, his mind drifted back to where his journey began, in the sun-drenched hills of Xàtiva, near Valencia, Spain.

Born in 1431 to the noble Borja family, young Rodrigo had been destined for greatness from the start. The Borjas, who would later Italianize their name to 'Borgia' upon moving to Rome, were already on the path to power within the Church. Rodrigo's uncle, Alfonso de Borja, had caught the eye of King Alfonso V of Aragon, serving as his secretary before being appointed Bishop of Valencia. Alfonso's skill in negotiating an end to the Western Schism led to his elevation to cardinal in 1444, and eventually, in 1455, his election as Pope Callixtus III.

It was under his uncle's patronage that Rodrigo, barely in his twenties, first arrived in Rome. Here, like his uncle before him, he adopted the Italianized version of his family name, becoming Rodrigo Borgia. This simple change symbolized their adaptation to their new home and would become the name by which history would remember them. Callixtus III, though elderly and in poor health during his brief three-year papacy, worked tirelessly to promote his family's interests. He appointed Rodrigo as cardinal-deacon of San Nicola in Carcere at the tender age of twenty-five, setting him on the path to power.

The Rome that greeted Rodrigo was a far cry from the glorious capital of antiquity. Medieval Rome was a jumble of crumbling ruins and narrow, fetid streets, where nobles and thieves rubbed shoulders in the shadow of ancient monuments. Yet even then, Rodrigo sensed the potential for rebirth and renewal.

At the University of Bologna, Rodrigo threw himself into the study of canon law, his keen mind absorbing not just legal precepts but the intricacies of power and politics. When he returned to Rome, now Cardinal Borgia, he quickly gained a reputation as a skilled administrator and a charming diplomat.

As Rodrigo rose through the ranks, he accumulated wealth and influence with remarkable speed and acumen. His position as Vice-Chancellor of the Church, held for an unprecedented thirty-five years, was a key source of his power. This role gave him control over the Papal Chancery, responsible for drafting and dispatching official documents. It was an incredibly lucrative position, as fees were charged for these services. Rodrigo used this to amass a fortune, investing in palaces, lands, and benefices.

He also engaged in the practice of simony – the buying and selling of church offices or spiritual privileges – which, though officially condemned, was widespread in the Church at the time. Rodrigo was particularly adept at this, using his influence to secure lucrative positions for himself and his allies, often in exchange for substantial payments.

Yet whispers followed him through the marble halls - whispers not just of simony, but of luxurious living and of beautiful women seen entering his palace under cover of darkness. Among these women was Vannozza dei Cattanei, a Roman innkeeper's daughter who became Rodrigo's long-term mistress. She bore him four children: Juan, Cesare, Lucrezia, and Jofré.

Though such arrangements were not uncommon among the clergy of the time, Rodrigo's open acknowledgment of his offspring raised eyebrows even in the permissive atmosphere of Renaissance Rome. He did not live with Vannozza and their children openly, maintaining separate residences to keep up appearances. However, he visited frequently and took an active role in their upbringing, particularly in planning advantageous marriages and careers for them.

As the summer of 1492 approached, Pope Innocent VIII lay dying. Rodrigo knew his moment had come. In the weeks leading up to the conclave, he worked tirelessly, calling in favors, making promises, and, as contemporary accounts suggest, distributing vast sums of money and lucrative benefices to secure votes.

The conclave began on August 6, 1492, with twenty-three cardinals in attendance. As the cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel, the air was thick with tension and the smell of incense. Outside, the streets of Rome buzzed with speculation and intrigue. Pilgrims, diplomats, and citizens alike crowded the piazzas, eager for any news of the proceedings.

The leading candidates besides Rodrigo were Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, brother of the Duke of Milan, and the virtuous Cardinal Oliviero Carafa. Giuliano della Rovere, a bitter rival of Borgia who would later become Pope Julius II, was also considered a strong contender.

The first scrutiny yielded no clear winner. As negotiations intensified, Rodrigo's political acumen came to the fore. He reportedly promised Cardinal Sforza the lucrative position of Vice-Chancellor – the very office Rodrigo himself had held – in exchange for his support and that of his allies. To others, he offered gold, benefices, and even his own lavish palazzo.

Now, as he stood in the sweltering heat of the Sistine Chapel for the fourth and final ballot, Rodrigo could almost taste the power he had craved for so long. The air was thick with tension and the murmured prayers of his fellow cardinals. As the voting began, he felt the weight of history pressing down upon him.

The final votes were tallied, and a hush fell over the chapel. Cardinal Sforza, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, stepped forward. "Habemus Papam," he intoned. "We have a pope."

Rodrigo Borgia stepped forward, his heart pounding. He had done it. With fourteen votes out of twenty-three, he had secured the necessary two-thirds majority. He was now Pope Alexander VI, the Vicar of Christ on Earth. As he donned the papal vestments, he allowed himself a moment of triumph.

But his elation was short-lived. No sooner had the white smoke risen from the Sistine Chapel's chimney than a commotion erupted outside. The newly elected pope rushed to the balcony to see a sea of angry faces below. Word of his election had spread, and with it, accusations of simony and corruption.

For a moment, Alexander VI felt the ground shift beneath his feet. Had he come so far, only to lose everything in his moment of triumph? But then, drawing on the charisma and political acumen that had brought him to this point, he raised his hands for silence.

"My children," he called out, his voice ringing across the square, "I stand before you not just as your pope, but as a servant of God and of Rome. Judge me not by the whispers of my enemies, but by the works I shall do for the glory of the Church and the good of all Christendom!"

His words, delivered with passionate conviction, seemed to calm the crowd. As murmurs of assent replaced the angry shouts, Alexander VI knew he had successfully navigated his first crisis as pope. He had secured his position, but the challenges ahead would test him as never before.

As the new pope retreated from the balcony, flush with his hard-won victory, he was met by his son Cesare. The young man's eyes gleamed with an ambition that matched his father's own.

"Congratulations, Holy Father," Cesare said, his voice low and intense. "Now that you sit upon the Throne of St. Peter, what great works shall we undertake together?"

Alexander VI looked at his son, seeing in him not just a reflection of his own ambition, but something more - a hunger that might not be satisfied by the boundaries of the Church alone. As Cesare continued to speak of military campaigns and political alliances, the pope realized that his greatest challenge might not come from his enemies, but from within his own family.

What plans were forming in Cesare's mind? And how would they shape the future of the Borgia papacy and the Church itself?

[To be continued in next week's installment...]