Lucrezia Borgia
1480-1519
Lucrezia was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI ( Rodrigo Borgia) by a mistress. The Borgia family's
cutthroat reputation dogged Lucrezia, and she is remembered, probably falsely, as a poisoner and black widow.
Even before she passed puberty, her family had arranged a politically advantageous marriage for her. As political
alliances shifted, her family tried to have her marriage annuled
but she awkwardly became pregnant during the negotiations. Rumors
accused her brother Cesare of being the father. Her second husband was
murdered in the streets of Rome after the Borgias soured on him. When
Lucrezia married a third husband, they moved away from Rome. Freed from
her father and brothers, she settled into a dull family life with many
children and no mysterious murders.
