40 Facts About the Borgias, One of History’s More Scandalous Dynasties

40 Facts About the Borgias, One of History’s More Scandalous Dynasties

Tim Flight - October 27, 2019

40 Facts About the Borgias, One of History’s More Scandalous Dynasties
Portrait of Cesare Borgia, after Bartolomeo Veneto, 16th century. Wikimedia Commons

25. Cesare had at least 11 illegitimate children

Cesare Borgia was a man after his father’s own heart. In all, he fathered a confirmed 11 illegitimate children, with others no doubt lost to history. He had many mistresses and one, Sancha de Aragon, was also his sister-in-law. But also like his father, Cesare did not abandon his illegitimate kids. Many, such as Girolamo and Lucrezia, went on to have good marriages and lives, and kept the Borgia family name. Humorously, Lucrezia Borgia became Abbess of San Bernardino, following in her father’s (unwillingly) ecclesiastical footsteps.

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