Juan Borgia lived in Italy in the 15th century. He was the son of Alexander VI, Pope of Rome. His mother was the mistress of the pope, whose name was Vannotza dei Cattanei. He had two brothers, Gioffre and Cesare Borgia, and a sister, Lucrezia.
Family Relations
Father wanted him to become a warrior, and his brother Cesare - a cardinal. Juan was also called Giovanni Borgia (in the Italian manner). He also had a half-brother, Pietro Luigi, who died in 1488
Juan, thanks to an agreement between his father and King Ferdinand, received the Duchy of Gandia after Luigi in Valencia. In 1493 he married Maria de Luna, the bride of his half-brother, who had died. They had two children: a son, Juan de Borja, and a daughter, Isabel. The first was the Duke of Gandia, and the second was tonsured as a nun.
Character
Not much is known about Juan's personality. He was considered a frivolous and narrow-minded person. In one of the letters, Cesare urged him to behave appropriately. In 1493, the brother wrote that he was not so happy with the acquisition of a new cardinal rank, as he was saddened by the news of bad behaviorGiovanni in Barcelona.
This was also reported to the Pope. It became known that Juan runs through the streets, destroys cats and dogs, visits brothels, plays for high stakes. And this is instead of obeying your father-in-law and honoring your wife.
In war and in politics
In the summer of 1496, Juan Borgia, having received the permission of King Ferdinand, returned to Rome from Spain. There he received the title of Gonfaloniere of the Church, which assumed command of the entire pope's army. He took part in military operations aimed at pacifying hostile clans, first of all, it was the Orsini clan. Since Juan was not a great connoisseur of military affairs, the Duke of Urbino assisted him in command of the army.
The campaign against the Orsini was unsuccessful. An attempt to take the castle of Bracciano, which belonged to Orsini, in the winter of 1497 was a failure. The Duke of Urbino was taken prisoner and Giovanni was wounded soon after.
Then, Pope Alexander sent his son to Gonzalez de Cordoba, in the Spanish army. At that time, she fought for the Neapolitan kingdom against the French. Alexander VI created a hereditary duchy for Giovanni Borgia in the Papal States. Benevento and Terrachino are the two bishoprics included in it.
Murder
Juan Borgia was killed in June 1497, it happened near Piazza Giudecca. That evening, together with his brother Cesare, as well as with another relative, the cardinal, he left the house where his mother lived. He then separated from the company along with a servant who was wearing a mask. Histhe companions returned to the Pope's palace.
Soon his body was fished out of the Tiber River with nine stab wounds. Witnesses to the murder could not be found. But they found a firewood collector, who at night saw how five people threw the corpse into the Tiber. Since a purse containing thirty gold ducats was found with the body, it was concluded that the robbery was not the intent of the murder.
Different versions
After a few years, rumors spread that Giovanni's murderer was Cesare, his own brother, who three years later took over as commander of the pope's troops. It was believed that this death was beneficial to Cesare, who was not interested in the church career prepared for him by his father.
There was another version, which was that the killer was Antonio Mirandola, whose house was located near the Tiber. He was the father of a young girl. Shortly before his death, Giovanni boasted more than once that he had managed to dishonor the daughter of a noble Roman.
The most realistic is the hypothesis that explains the murder as revenge for the death in prison of one of the members of the hostile Borgia Orsini family - Virginio. It was his possessions that the father wanted to transfer to his son. In addition, many other people had reasons for revenge. So, for example, Giovanni Sforza, the husband of Lucrezia, was disgraced by the pope's family. He repeatedly quarreled publicly with the deceased.
With Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, Juan Borgia was also on bad terms, their servants cut each other right on the streets of Rome. He did not get along with the Duke of Montefeltro,blaming the latter for the recent military defeat and not redeeming him from captivity. His younger brother Joffre also had a grudge against him, as Juan was rumored to be involved with his wife. Ultimately, the killer was never found.
Giovanni's widow survived him by 42 years, she never remarried, raised children, patronized monasteries, took her hair as a nun.
