Caesar Borgia: A Study of the Renaissance

by John Leslie Garner

The murder of the Duke of Gandia—Caesar departs to crown the King of Naples—He returns to Rome—The Pope’s projected matrimonial alliances for his children.

The most circumstantial account we have of the murder of the Duke of Gandia is contained in Burchard’s diary,[16] and is as follows: “June fourteenth the cardinal of Valencia and the Illustrious Don Giovanni Borgia of Aragon, Duke of Gandia, Prince of the Holy Roman Church, Captain-General of the pontifical forces, and most beloved son of his Holiness dined at the home of their mother, Donna Vannozza, near the church of San Pietro ad Vincola with their mother and several other persons. The repast finished and night having come, Caesar and Gandia, accompanied by a few of their people, mounted their horses and mules to return to the Apostolic Palace. They rode together to a place not far from the palace of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, the Vice-Chancellor. There the Duke, saying he intended to go and enjoy himself for a while before returning to the palace, took leave of his brother, the cardinal, and having dismissed all but one of the servants he had with him, he rode back. He also kept with him a certain person who was masked and who had come to him while at supper, and who for the past month had been coming to see him almost every day at the Apostolic Palace. The Duke took this person up on the crupper of his mule and rode off to the Piazza degli Ebrei, where he left the servant he had kept, telling him to wait for him there until the twenty-third hour, and if he did not return then to go back to the palace. Having given these instructions, the Duke with the mysterious person on the crupper, rode away from the servant to some place—I know not where—and was killed and thrown into the river.”

The servant left in the Piazza degli Ebrei was found there mortally wounded and unable to give any information.

The morning of the fifteenth day, the Duke having failed to return to the Apostolic Palace, the Pope became uneasy, but, assuming that his son had gone to see some mistress and that he did not wish to be observed coming away in the daytime, the father concluded he would return that night; but Gandia failing to put in an appearance, the Holy Father became alarmed and caused a thorough investigation to be made.

Among those examined was a certain Giorgio Sclavus, who made a business of gathering driftwood along the banks of the river and who stated that on the night the Duke disappeared he was guarding his wood when, about the fifth hour, he saw two men on foot come from the Hospital Sclavorum, along the public highway close to the river. After looking about in every direction and seeing no one, they returned the way they had come. Soon after two others appeared from precisely the same place and did as the former couple had done, and, discovering no one, they made a signal to their comrades. Immediately a man rode forth on a white charger with a dead body behind him.

The corpse was taken from the horse and cast into the stream, whereupon the rider asked, “Did it sink?” To which the others replied, “Signor, si.” Then all disappeared whence they had come.

When the man was asked why he had not reported the crime to the Governor of the city, he replied that in his time he had seen a hundred bodies cast into the Tiber at this very place and no questions had been asked.

Men were secured in the city to drag the river; a large reward was offered for the recovery of the body, and about nightfall it was found, fully clothed; even his purse, containing thirty ducats, was untouched. On the corpse were nine wounds, one in the throat and eight in the head, body, and legs, thus proving that the Duke had bravely defended himself. The body was taken to the Castle of St. Angelo, and subsequently to the Church of Santa Maria.

When Alexander learned of his son’s murder his grief exceeded all bounds. For several days he would neither eat nor drink, and the efforts of his familiars to console him were unavailing.

The Pope directed the Governor of the city to apprehend the murderers, but in vain. Rome was filled with rumours. The Orsini were suspected, so was Bartolomeo d’Alviano; even Lucretia Borgia’s husband, Giovanni Sforza, was mentioned in connection with the crime. By those close to the Pope Cardinal Ascanio Sforza was said to have been, if not the perpetrator at least the instigator of the murder—he had recently complained to the Pope of an insult he had received from Gandia. Ascanio, when summoned by his Holiness, refused to obey until his safety had been guaranteed by the ambassadors of Spain and Naples. When he did appear, however, the Pope received him kindly and allowed him to depart at his pleasure. Ascanio, nevertheless, believed it prudent to leave Rome for a while.