By the immediate bestowal of high offices on his favourites and kinsmen Alexander showed that he did not intend to hold himself aloof from nepotism. His uncle, Calixtus III., having set the example, the evil had grown, and Alexander was destined to be its supreme exponent.
Caesar did not attend the elaborate fêtes given on the occasion of his father’s coronation. His Holiness doubtless thought it wise not to bring his son forth into public gaze thus early in the drama. Caesar was in Spoleto at the time, and, being a shrewd youth, he must have appreciated the scandalous means by which his father secured his election. The coronation took place August 26, 1492, and in honour of the happy event Alexander made his son, Caesar, Bishop of Valencia, an office he himself had held, and which carried with it the dignity of Primate of Spain.
FACSIMILE (REDUCED) OF A LETTER WRITTEN BY CAESAR BORGIA TO FERDINAND OF SPAIN, ROME, 1497.
To face p. 80.
The Spaniards were not forgotten by the Borgia; those who already held office were promoted and places were found for those who had not yet secured a foothold. The Bishop of Modena states in one of his letters that ten popes would not be able to satisfy these satellites. The Pope’s sisters immediately became personages of importance in Rome, and Vannozza, the mother of four of his children—who, after the birth of Giuffre, had found herself deserted for the beautiful Giulia Farnese—gained in both social position and material wealth by Rodrigo’s election. Thenceforth she appears to have lived the life of a respectable and influential matron in the papal city.
All were provided for; the Pope’s mistress, his innumerable kinsmen, the children and grandchildren of his sisters, the hosts of Spaniards who fastened themselves on the papal treasury, the prebends and benefices—and who even demanded a share of the lands confiscated from the Romagnol barons. Prominent among the Spaniards in the papal palace were: Romolino of Lerida, Juan Vera, Juan Lopez—who was made Chancellor—Pedro Caranza and Juan Marades, who were Privy-Chamberlains.
A letter written by Caesar from Spoleto to Piero de’ Medici shows that he was in that place as late as October, 1492. The youth explains why he had failed to call on the Florentine before leaving Pisa, and recommends to his favour the faithful Romolino of Lerida. The letter, which was delivered by Caesar’s tutor, Juan Vera, concludes with the formula used by princes: “Tanquam Frater Vr Cesar de Borgia Elect. Valent.”
Not until the spring of 1493 did Caesar go to Rome, where a house in the Trastevere was furnished him. Here he maintained a numerous Court, and although he was only seventeen years of age, one of the dispatches of Gianandrea Boccaccio, the Ferrarese ambassador, shows that he knew how to play the prince perfectly. The ambassador went to the Vatican to render homage, and March 19, 1493, in announcing the results of his interview to his master, Ercole d’Este, he gives the earliest description we have of the youthful Bishop of Valencia.
“The other day I called on Caesar in his house in the Trastevere. He was about to set out for the chase and was clad in a costume altogether worldly; he was clothed in silk and had a sword at his side. We rode along on horseback, conversing as we went. I am on friendly terms with him. He is intellectual and cultured—with the manners of a prince. He has a serene and cheerful disposition, and his gaiety is contagious. He is very modest. His bearing is much better than that of his brother, the Duke of Gandia, who is by no means devoid of good qualities. The Archbishop [Caesar] has never had any taste for the priesthood, but it should be remembered that his benefices annually bring him in more than sixteen thousand ducats.”