The Borgias: Celebrated Crimes

The Borgias, also known as the Borjas, Borjia, Borges, were a European Papal family of Italian and Valencian origin with the name stemming from the familial fief seat of Borja belonging to their Aragonese Lords; they became prominent during the Renaissance. The Borgias were patrons of the arts, and their support allowed many artists of the Renaissance to realize their potential.The Borgias became prominent in ecclesiastical and political affairs in the 1400s and 1500s. They produced two popes during this period, Alfons de Borja who ruled as Pope Calixtus III during 1455–1458, and Rodrigo Lanzol Borgia, as Pope Alexander VI, during 1492–1503. Today they are remembered for their corrupt rule during the reign of Alexander VI. They have been accused of many different crimes, including adultery, simony, theft, rape, bribery, incest, and murder (especially murder by arsenic poisoning. Because of their search for power, they made enemies of other powerful families such as the Medici and the Sforza, as well as the influential Dominican friar Savonarola.