Marie Leveau

 

Marie Catherine Laveau (September 10, 1801 – June 15, 1881) was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of Voodoo, a herbalist, and a midwife who was renowned in New Orleans. Her daughter, Marie Laveau II (1827 – c. 1862), also practiced rootwork, conjure, and Native American and African spiritualism, as well as Louisiana Voodoo and traditional Roman Catholicism. An alternate spelling of her name, Laveaux, is considered by historians to be from the original French spelling.

Early life

Historical records state that Marie Catherine Laveau was born a free woman of color in New Orleans's French Quarter, Louisiana, on Thursday, September 10, 1801. At the time of her birth, Louisiana was still administered by Spanish colonial officials, although by treaty, the territory had been restored to the French First Republic a year prior. Her mother, Marguerite D'Arcantel, was a free woman of African, European, and Native American ancestry. Because Laveau's mother was not married at the time of her birth, her father was not identified on her 1801 baptismal record. A possible candidate is Charles Laveau, the son of Charles Laveau Trudeau, a white Louisiana Creole and politician. Other historians claim that Laveau's father was a free man of color named Charles Laveaux. Much of the confusion is due to inconsistent spellings in surviving records.

On August 4, 1819, she married Jacques Paris (also known as Santiago Paris in Spanish records), a free man of color who was among the thousands of émigrés from Saint-Domingue to New Orleans in the wake of the Haitian Revolution. Their marriage certificate is preserved in the Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. The nuptial mass was officiated by Antonio de Sedella, OFMCap. The couple had two daughters, Félicité (b. 1817) and Angèle (b. 1822), who are presumed to have died in childhood. Paris worked as a carpenter in New Orleans until 1822, after which he disappears from city records. He is believed to have died in Baton Rouge in 1823. On Félicité's 1824 baptismal certificate, Laveau is referred to as "the Widow Paris".

Personal life

Following the reported death of her husband, Jacques Paris, she entered a domestic partnership with Christophe Dominick Duminy de Glapion, a nobleman of French descent, with whom she lived until he died in 1855. They were reported to have had 15 children (whether that includes children and grandchildren is unclear). They had seven children according to birth and baptismal records: François-Auguste Glapion, Marie-Louise "Caroline" Glapion, Marie-Angélie Paris, Célestin Albert Glapion, Arcange Glapion, Félicité Paris, Marie-Philomène Glapion, and Marie-Héloïse Eucharist Glapion. Only Marie-Héloïse and Marie-Philomène survived into adulthood.

Marie Laveau is confirmed to have owned at least seven slaves during her lifetime. During her life, Marie Laveau was known to have attended to prisoners who were sentenced to death. Rumors circulated that some prisoners would receive poisons or other substances before going to the gallows, but this was never proven. A reporter from the New Orleans Republican detailed one such visit in an article published on May 14, 1871, in which he describes Marie Laveau as a “devout and acceptable member of the Catholic communion." Following her death, her daughter Philomène confirmed during an interview with a reporter from the Picayune that only Catholic traditions would take place during these visits, and that her mother would also prepare the men's last meal and pray with them. Marie Laveau also sought pardons or commutations of sentences for those she favored, and was often successful in her efforts.

She was known to care for the sick in her community during the yellow fever epidemic of 1878 by providing herbal remedies and prayers for the afflicted. Her other community activities included visiting prisoners, providing lessons to the women of the community, and doing rituals for those in need without charge.

Career

Marie Laveau was a dedicated practitioner of Voodoo, a healer, a herbalist, and an entrepreneur. Laveau was also known as a prominent female religious leader and community activist.

Laveau started a beauty parlor, where she was a hairdresser for the wealthier families of New Orleans. She excelled at obtaining inside information on her wealthy patrons at the beauty parlor by listening to ladies gossiping, or from their servants whom she either paid or cured of mysterious ailments. She used this information during her Voodoo consultations with wealthy Orleanian women to enhance her image as a clairvoyant, and used this intelligence to give them practical advice. She also made money by selling her clients gris-gris as charms to help their wishes come true. Robert Tallant, a writer for the 1930s Federal Writers' Project, reported that Laveau taught enslaved people how to use gris-gris against their masters.

In her role as a Voodoo practitioner, customers often appealed to Laveau for help with family disputes, health, finances, and more. Laveau performed her services in three main places: her own home on St. Ann Street, within Congo Square, and at Lake Pontchartrain. She was the third female leader of Voodoo in New Orleans (the first was Sanité Dédé, who ruled for a few years before being usurped by Marie Saloppé), a New Orleans voodoo "queen" or priestess. Marie Laveau maintained her authority throughout her leadership, although an attempt to challenge her was made in 1850. Due to her strong influence, New Orleans Voodoo lost a large number of adherents after her death. Her daughter, Marie Laveau II, displayed more theatrical rubrics by holding public events (including inviting attendees to St. John's Eve rituals on Bayou St. John).

Of Laveau's magical career, little can be substantiated, including whether or not she had a snake she named Zombi after an African god, whether the occult part of her magic mixed Roman Catholic saints with African spirits, and Native American spiritualism.

Death

Marie Catherine Laveau Paris Glapion died on June 15, 1881 (aged 79). The different spellings of her surname result from many different women with the same name in New Orleans at the time, and her age at death from conflicting accounts of her birth date.

On June 17, 1881, the Daily Picayune announced that Marie Laveau had died peacefully in her home. According to the Louisiana Writer's Project, her funeral was lavish and attended by a diverse audience including members of the white elite. Oral tradition states that she was seen by some people in town after her supposed demise. News of her death was featured in several newspapers, including the Staunton Spectator in Virginia, the Omaha Daily Bee in Nebraska, and several newspapers published in Minnesota.

At least two of her daughters were named Marie, following the French Catholic tradition of having the first names of daughters be Marie, and boys Joseph, then each used a middle name as the common name. One of her daughters named Marie possibly assumed her position, with her name, and carried on her magical practice, taking over as the queen soon before or after the first Marie's death. Malvina Latour has also been reported as being Laveau's successor.

Legacy

Laveau's name and history have been surrounded by legend and lore. She is generally believed to have been buried in plot 347, at the Glapion family crypt in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans, but this fact has been disputed by author and journalist Robert Tallant. Tourists continue to visit her tomb following a decades-old belief in which those seeking a wish from Laveau would draw three Xs on the surface, turn around three times, knock on the tomb, and then call out their wish. Those whose wishes were granted were expected to return, circle the Xs, and leave an offering.

Laveau and her work are discussed at length in the 1935 book Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston, who interviewed and studied under hoodoo doctor Luke Turner, who identified himself as Laveau's grandnephew. Hurston relates Turner's personal reminiscences of Laveau and describes some of the incantations and rituals he reported learning under her tutelage.

In 1982, New Jersey–based punk rock group The Misfits were arrested and accused of attempting to exhume Laveau from her grave after a local concert. The arrest took place in nearby Cemetery No. 2, and accounts of the incident conflict.

The tomb in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 was vandalized by an unknown person on December 17, 2013, by being painted over with pink latex paint. The paint was removed because the structure is made of old plaster, and the latex paint would seal in the moisture that would destroy the plaster. Some historical preservation experts criticized officials of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which maintains the cemetery, for its decision to use pressure washing rather than paint stripper to remove it. After the cleaning, the archdiocese and local nonprofit Save Our Cemeteries collaborated over three months in 2014 to restore the tomb. The project removed crumbling plaster, rebuilt the roof, and added several coats of new plaster and lime wash. During the restorations, however, the project was plagued by tomb visitors scratching X marks into the new plaster.

As of March 1, 2015, access to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is no longer public. Entry with a tour guide is required because of continued vandalism and the destruction of tombs. This change was made by the Archdiocese of New Orleans to protect the tombs of the Laveau family, as well as those of the many other dead interred there.

Although some references to Marie Laveau in popular culture refer to her as a "witch", she has also been called a "Voudou Priestess", and she is frequently described as a Voodoo queen. At the time of her death, The New York Times, The New Orleans Daily Picayune, the Daily States, and other news sources describe her as a "woman of great beauty, intellect, and charisma who was also pious, charitable, and a skilled herbal healer."

Artistic legacy and in popular culture

Due to her prominence within the history of Voodoo in New Orleans, Laveau has inspired a number of artistic renditions. In visual art, African-American artist Renee Stout often uses Laveau as a visual motif.

Despite never being photographed or having sat for a painter, several 19th-century paintings of unidentified Creole women have been labeled as a portrait of Marie Laveau. By the 1940s, any portrait of an unidentified woman of color wearing a tignon was commonly identified as a portrait of Laveau. A copy made around 1915 of Portrait of a Creole Woman with Madras Tignon (c. 1837, attributed to George Catlin) in the collection of the Louisiana State Museum was long labeled as a Portrait of Marie Laveau.

Numerous songs about Marie Laveau have been recorded, including "Marie La Veau" by Papa Celestin; "Marie Laveau" written by Shel Silverstein and Baxter Taylor and recorded by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show (1972), and Bobby Bare (1974);[ "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" (1971) by Redbone; "Dixie Drug Store" by Grant Lee Buffalo; "X Marks the Spot (Marie Laveau)" by Joe Sample; "Marie Laveau" by Dr. John; "Marie Laveau" (2013) by Tao Of Sound; "Voodoo Queen Marie" to the minstrel tune "Colored Aristocracy" by The Holy Modal Rounders; "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" by Total Toly; "The Widow Paris" by The Get Up Kids; "Marie Laveau" by the Danish metal band Volbeat; and "The Widow Paris" by Lester T. Raww's Graveside Quartet.

Laveau is mentioned in the songs "I Will Play for Gumbo" (1999) by Jimmy Buffett, "Clare" by Fairground Attraction, and "Rabbit's Foot" by Turbowolf. Two of Laveau's nephews, banjo player Raymond Glapion and bassist Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau, became prominent New Orleans jazz musicians. Los Angeles blues band Canned Heat featured a five-minute instrumental called "Marie Laveau" on their second album Boogie With Canned Heat (1968), written by and featuring their lead guitarist Henry Vestine.

A musical from 1999, Marie Christine, is also based on the life of Laveau.

Laveau has offered inspiration for several fictional characters, as well. She is the protagonist of such novels as Robert Tallant's The Voodoo Queen (1956), Francine Prose's Marie Laveau (1977), and Jewell Parker Rhodes' Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau (1993). Laveau appears as a supporting character in the Night Huntress novels by Jeaniene Frost as a powerful ghoul still living in New Orleans in the 21st century. She also appears as a background character in Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January mystery series, set in New Orleans. Marie Laveau appears in Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods, under her married name, Marie Paris. Marie Laveau's tomb is the site of a secret, fictional underground Voodoo workshop in the Caster Chronicles novel Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Laveau's gravesite is the setting of a pivotal scene in Robert J. Randisi's short story, "Cold as the Gun", from Foreshadows the Ghosts of Zero. The mother of Hazel Levesque, one of the characters from Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus book series, was known as "Queen Marie", a famous fortune-teller who lived in New Orleans. In Charlaine Harris's True Blood (Sookie Stackhouse novels) book series, the character Hadley is lured to her death at the site of Marie Laveau's tomb.

A character named Marie Laveau, based loosely on the real Marie Laveau, appears in Marvel Comics. She first appeared in Dracula Lives #2 in 1973. She is depicted as a powerful sorceress and Voodoo priestess with great magical powers and knowledge of arcane lore, including the creation of a potion that should keep her eternally youthful (the potion required the blood of a vampire). A character named Marie Laveau also appears in the Italian comic book Zagor.

In television, a heavily fictionalized Marie Laveau (portrayed by Angela Bassett) appears as a character in American Horror Story: Coven and American Horror Story: Apocalypse.

She appears in the Canadian television series Lost Girl (portrayed by Marci T. House) in episode 11 of season four, Young Sheldon (portrayed by Sharon Ferguson) in episode seven of season one, and Legends of Tomorrow (portrayed by Joyce Guy) in episode seven of season four.

Depiction

There are no verified contemporary portraits, photographs, or drawings of Marie Laveau. According to a later 19th-century account attributed to a reporter for The Daily Picayune, her daughter stated that Laveau "never had any [photograph] taken nor ever been sketched." Historians generally regard this as consistent with the absence of any authenticated visual record from her lifetime.

Despite this, several 19th-century portraits of free women of color in New Orleans have been repeatedly identified in later tradition as depictions of Laveau. These identifications are not supported by primary documentation or provenance linking any surviving image directly to her and are generally considered retrospective attributions that emerged after her death. Scholars typically interpret such works as genre portraits representing free women of color in antebellum New Orleans rather than specific individuals.

No contemporary source has been identified that links any surviving portrait to Laveau. The three most widely circulated portraits associated with her are listed below. Other 19th-century portraits of free women of color have also occasionally been proposed as depictions of Laveau. These identifications are generally speculative and have received little scholarly support.

Portrait of a Free Woman of Color

A painting, traditionally attributed variously to Charles Jean-Baptiste Colson or earlier misattributions, is the most frequently reproduced image associated with Marie Laveau in modern publications and popular culture. Support for the identification typically relies on circumstantial factors, including the estimated date (c. 1830s), the New Orleans setting, and the depiction of a free woman of color wearing a madras tignon, a headwrap associated with Creole women of the period. The painting's New Orleans setting and depiction of a free woman of color wearing a tignon have contributed to its later association with Laveau. However, there is no documentary evidence identifying the sitter as Marie Laveau, and art historical research indicates the portrait is more consistent with genre portraiture of anonymous Creole women. The identification appears in records only long after Laveau’s lifetime, suggesting a retrospective attribution rather than a contemporary one.

Free Woman of Color, New Orleans

A portrait by François Fleischbein has also been proposed as a depiction of Marie Laveau in later secondary sources and popular accounts. The attribution is based primarily on chronology and social context, as Fleischbein worked in New Orleans during the period in which Laveau lived and painted members of the city’s Creole elite. However, no known archival record or contemporary identification links the sitter to Laveau. Most art historians treat the work as a conventional portrait of an unidentified free woman of color, reflecting status markers and European-influenced portrait conventions rather than a documented likeness of a specific individual.

Adolph Rinck, Free Woman of Color, New Orleans (1844)

Adolph Rinck's portrait has also been proposed in popular tradition as a possible depiction of Marie Laveau. Like the other works, this identification is not supported by archival evidence. The painting depicts a free woman of color in mid-19th-century New Orleans and is valued primarily as a social document of the period. The suggestion that it portrays Laveau is based on retrospective association rather than documented provenance. Art historical consensus generally treats the work as another example of Rinck’s genre portraits, rather than a confirmed likeness of a specific individual.

Notes

At the time of Laveau's birth, New Orleans was under Spanish administration, but the territory had been formally restored to the French First Republic as part of the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso (1800) and the Treaty of Aranjuez (1801).

While popular sources often give Laveau's year of birth as 1794, records indicate she was born in 1801.

References

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Marie Laveau The Mysterious Voodoo Queen: A Study of Powerful Female Leadership in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans by Ina Johanna Fandrich

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Darbonne, August; O'Dwyer, Kathryn (eds.). "The Church: Marie Laveau at St. Louis Cathedral". New Orleans Historical. Retrieved April 17, 2024.

MacCash, Doug (May 22, 2021). "Marie Laveau's husband disappeared 200 years ago, but an LSU student thinks she finally found him". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved April 17, 2024.

Vitelli, Dr. Romeo. "The Marie Laveau Phenomenon". archive.randi.org. Retrieved July 8, 2018.

Ward, Martha. Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2004).

Long, Carolyn Morrow (2006). A New Orleans voudou priestess: the legend and reality of Marie Laveau. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0813029740. OCLC 70292161.

Carolyn Morrow Long: A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau, 2018

Alvarado, Denise (2020). Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Newport, MA: Weisner Books. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-57863-673-0. Retrieved August 5, 2023.

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“Death Punishment for Murder: The Execution Yesterday.” New Orleans Republican, 14 May 1871, pp. 5. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35041328/mentions-of-marie-laveau/

Ward, Martha (2004). Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-57806-629-2.[page needed]

"In the late 1800s, devastating yellow fever epidemics forced New Orleans to confront its sanitation problem | The Historic New Orleans Collection". www.hnoc.org. Retrieved July 22, 2022.

Long, Carolyn Morrow (2006). A New Orleans voudou priestess: the legend and reality of Marie Laveau. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2974-0. OCLC 70292161.[page needed]

"Marie Laveau". www2.latech.edu. Retrieved April 12, 2021.

Long, Carolyn Morrow (2005). "Marie Laveau: A Nineteenth-Century Voudou Priestess". Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association. 46 (3): 262–292. JSTOR 4234121.

Long, Carolyn Morrow (2006). A New Orleans voudou priestess: the legend and reality of Marie Laveau. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2974-0. OCLC 70292161.[page needed]

Stewart, Lindsey (2025). The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women's Magic. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-5387-6950-8.

Turner, Richard Brent (2002). "The Haiti-New Orleans Vodou Connection: Zora Neale Hurston as Initiate Observer". Journal of Haitian Studies. 8 (1): 119. ISSN 1090-3488. JSTOR 41715121. The New Orleans priestesses and priests, called queens and doctors, included Marie Saloppé, Sanité Dédé, Betsey Toledano, Marie Comtese, Marie Laveau, Marie Glapion, Doctor Jim, and Doctor John Montane in the nineteenth century.

Lewis, Shantrelle P. "Marie Laveau". Britannica. Retrieved April 12, 2021.

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Webster, Richard A. (December 30, 2013). "Repair of Marie Laveau's tomb to take months, potential suspect attempted to paint another tomb one month ago". The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved January 5, 2014.

Hurston, Zora Neale; Boas, Franz; Rampersad, Arnold; Covarrubias, Miguel (1995). Mules and men (115th ed.). New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-091648-0.

Admin (May 7, 2015). "Zora and The Hunt for Hoodoo in New Orleans - Deep South Magazine". Deep South Magazine. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2025.

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Webster, Richard A. (January 2, 2014). "Marie Laveau's tomb suffering significant damage during the restoration process, nonprofit says". The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved January 5, 2014. But when Angie Green, executive director of Save Our Cemeteries, a nonprofit group that works to preserve historic cemeteries throughout the city, saw someone blasting Laveau's tomb with a high-pressure water gun, she said she immediately called the archdiocese. "Pressure washing is terrible for any old building," Green said. "When I first saw them doing it, they had two sides done, and there were chips of brick and plaster from the tomb all over the ground. I asked them to stop, and everyone (at the archdiocese) said they would stop, but they are still doing it." [Sarah McDonald, director of communications for the archdiocese,] said Green's allegation that the pressure washing is inflicting significant damage is "inaccurate."

"Grave disquiet; Briefs." Irish Independent. (January 29, 2015, Thursday ): 64 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2015/02/12.

Webster, Richard A. (October 30, 2014). "Tomb of Marie Laveau, Voodoo queen of New Orleans, refurbished in time for Halloween". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. Retrieved April 15, 2024.

Dessens, Nathalie (2008). "Reviewed Work: A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau by Carolyn Morrow Long". Caribbean Studies. 36 (1): 166–170. doi:10.1353/crb.0.0008. JSTOR 25613150.

North, Bill (January 2003). ...to build up a rich collection: Selected Works From the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art. Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art. p. 110. ISBN 1-890751-11-1.

MacCash, Doug (May 24, 2022). "Famous portrait of someone who is not Marie Laveau sells for almost $1 million". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. Retrieved August 3, 2023.

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Sources

Biographies

Alvarado, Denise. The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Weiser Books (2020), (ISBN 9781578636730).

Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau. Gainesville: University Press of Florida (2006), (ISBN 9780813029740).

Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. TheMacmillan Coo. (1946), (ISBN 978-0882893365)

Ward, Martha. Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau. Oxford: University of Mississippi Press (2004) (ISBN 1578066298).

Long, Carolyn Morrow. The Tomb of Marie Laveau. Left Hand Press (2016) (ISBN 9780692766866)

Bloody Mary. Hauntings, Horrors and Dancing with the Dead: True Stories from the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Weiser Publishing (2016) (ISBN 1578635667),

Masarik, Elizabeth Garner (October 25, 2021). "Marie Laveau: The Voodoo Queen and the Laveau Legend". DIG. Retrieved March 11, 2024.

"Marie Laveau, Voodoo Practitioner born". African American Registry. Retrieved March 11, 2024.

"Marie Laveau | Biography & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. February 23, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons logo

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marie Laveau.

Clickable map of Tombs at St. Louis No. 1(Click on Tomb No. 347 on map.)

NY Times archived article from 1881 regarding Marie Laveau's death

Lucrezia Borgia

 

Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto.

Her family arranged several marriages for her that advanced their own political position, including to Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro and Gradara, Count of Cotignola; Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglie and Prince of Salerno; and Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. Alfonso of Aragon was an illegitimate son of the King of Naples, and tradition has it that Lucrezia's brother Cesare may have had him murdered after his political value waned.

Notorious tales about her family have cast Lucrezia as a femme fatale, a controversial role in which she has been portrayed in many artworks, novels, and films.

Early life

Purported portrait of Lucrezia as Saint Catherine of Alexandria in a fresco by Pinturicchio. The "Hall of the Saints" within the Borgia Apartments in the Vatican, c. 1494

See also: House of Borgia.

Lucrezia Borgia was born on 18 April 1480 at Subiaco, a town near Rome. Her mother was Vannozza dei Cattanei, a mistress of her father, Cardinal Rodrigo de Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI). She had three full siblings: Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia, although Gioffre's paternity was later contested. Lucrezia's father acknowledged her as his child and consulted an astrologer after her birth, who foretold a remarkable future. During her early life, Lucrezia's education was entrusted to Carlo Canale and then to Adriana Orsini de Milan. Orsini was a confidant of Lucrezia's father and was his first cousin.

Lucrezia's education primarily took place in the Palazzo Pizzo de Merlo, a building adjacent to her father's residence. Unlike most educated women of her time, for whom convents were the primary source of knowledge, Lucrezia's humanist education came from the sphere of intellectuals in the court and close relatives, and included a solid grounding in the Humanities, which the Catholic Church was reviving at the time. She was fluent in Spanish, Valenciano, Italian, and French and literate in both Latin and Greek. She also became proficient in poetry and oration, and could play the lute and zither, embroider and dance. The biggest testament to her intelligence is her ability in administration, as later in life she took care of Vatican City correspondence and governance of Ferrara.

List of marriages

First marriage: Giovanni Sforza (Lord of Pesaro and Gradara)

On 26 February 1491, a matrimonial arrangement was drawn up between Lucrezia and the Lord of Val D'Ayora in the Kingdom of Valencia, Don Cherubino Joan de Centelles (d. 1522). The arrangement was annulled less than two months later in favour of a new contract engaging Lucrezia to Don Gaspare, Count of Aversa (1476–1534).

When Lucrezia's father Rodrigo became Pope Alexander VI in August 1492, he sought to be allied with powerful, princely families and founding dynasties of Italy. Therefore, he called off Lucrezia's previous engagements. Cardinal Ascanio Sforza said: "There are many who long to marry into the Pope's family via his daughter, and he lets many think they have a chance. Even the king of Naples aspires to win her hand!"

The Pope arranged for Lucrezia to marry condottiero Giovanni Sforza, a member of the House of Sforza who was the Lord of Pesaro and titled Count of Catignola. Giovanni was the nephew of the Duke of Milan as an illegitimate son of Costanzo I Sforza. He was a Sforza of the second rank and belonged to a cadet branch of the family. They married by proxy on 12 June 1493 in Rome, when Lucrezia was aged 13. She was outfitted in brocade and jewels for the wedding ceremony.

On 31 May 1494, Lucrezia departed from Rome with a retinue of ladies and gentlemen and was accompanied by Giulia Farnese and Adriana Mila. She moved to her husband's palace in Pesaro, where local poets celebrated her with their madrigals; she negotiated the marriage of one of her Spanish ladies-in-waiting, and she exchanged visits with the highly literate court of the Dukes of Urbino.

Before long, the Borgia family no longer needed the Sforzas, and the Pope may have covertly ordered the execution of Giovanni Sforza. Lucrezia was likely informed of this by her brother, Cesare, and she warned her husband, who then fled from Rome.

Alexander asked Giovanni's uncle, Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, to persuade Giovanni to agree to an annulment of the marriage. Giovanni refused and accused Lucrezia of paternal incest, spreading the rumour that the pope wanted his daughter to return to Rome so that he could have sex with her. This rumour endured through the centuries, partly due to the writings of Florentine historian Francesco Guicciardini and verses by Giovanni Pontano and Jacopo Sannazaro, and Lucrezia's reputation was tainted. The pope, however, asserted that his daughter's marriage had not been consummated and was, thus, invalid. Giovanni was offered her dowry in return for his cooperation. The Sforza family threatened to withdraw their protection, should he refuse. Giovanni finally signed confessions of impotence and documents of annulment before witnesses, despite how his first wife had died in childbirth.

Purported affair with Pedro Calderon

Historians have speculated that during the prolonged process of the annulment, Lucrezia consummated a relationship with someone, perhaps Alexander's chamberlain Pedro Calderon (sometimes called Perotto). In any case, families hostile to the Borgias would later accuse her of being pregnant at the time her marriage was annulled. She is known to have retired to the cloistered Convent of Saint Sixtus Vecchio in Rome, where she was given sanctuary by the Mother Superior in June 1497, to await the outcome of the annulment proceedings, which were finalized in December of the same year. [citation needed] In the convent, in mid-June, she received news of the murder of her brother Giovanni, whose killer was never officially discovered.

The bodies of Pedro Calderon and a maid, Pantasilea, were found in the Tiber River in February 1498. In March 1498, the Ferrarese ambassador claimed that Lucrezia had given birth, but this was denied by other sources. However, a child was born in the Borgia household the year before Lucrezia's marriage to Alfonso of Aragon. He was named Giovanni but is known to historians as the "Infans Romanus” (Child of Rome).

In 1501, two papal bulls were issued concerning Giovanni Borgia. In the first, he was recognized as Cesare's child from an affair before his marriage. The second contradictory bull recognized him as the son of Pope Alexander VI. Lucrezia's name is not mentioned in either, and rumors that she was his mother have never been proven. The second bull was kept secret for many years, and Giovanni was assumed to be Cesare's son. This is supported by the fact that he became Duke of Camerino in 1502, which was to be inherited by the Duke of Romagna's eldest son. After Alexander's death, Giovanni went to stay with Lucrezia in Ferrara, where he was accepted as her half-brother.

Second marriage: Alfonso d'Aragon (Duke of Bisceglie and Prince of Salerno)

Despite the scandal of the annulment of her marriage to Giovanni Sforza, Lucrezia was married for a second time to the Neapolitan Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglie and Prince of Salerno of the House of Trastámara. He was the illegitimate son of Alfonso II, King of Naples, and his mistress Trogia Gazzella. Alfonso was also the half-brother of Sancha of Aragon, Princess of Squillace and wife of Lucrezia's younger brother Gioffre Borgia.

Lucrezia's father gave the Duchy of Spoleto and 40,000 ducats as her dowry. It was also part of the agreement that the couple would remain in Rome for at least one year and not be forced to live permanently in the Kingdom of Naples until her father's death. Lucrezia's marriage was a short one.

Lucrezia and Alfonso were married on 21 July 1498 in the Vatican, with the celebrations being held behind closed doors in the Borgia apartments. Lucrezia became the Duchess consort of Bisceglie and Princess consort of Salerno, and the marriage was said to be happy, with Lucrezia supporting her husband in a dispute with her father on the legality of the marriage of Alfonso's aunt Beatrice of Naples to Vladislaus II, King of Bohemia and Hungary.

In 1499, Lucrezia was appointed as Governor of Spoleto, a role usually reserved solely for cardinals, becoming the first female governor in the Papal States in a territory crucial for the passage from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic Sea. She also reportedly lost her first baby with Alfonso in February 1499.

Alfonso fled Rome for Naples shortly afterwards due to the changing alliances of the Borgias, while Lucrezia was again pregnant. His flight incensed the Pope, who sent troops after him but failed to find him. He returned to Rome at Lucrezia's request only to be murdered on 15 July 1500. At the top of the steps before the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica, Alfonso was attacked by three hired killers armed with halberds and swords. He was stabbed in the head, right arm, and leg. Those who found him took him to the chamber of the Borgia Tower, where he was cared for by his doctors from Naples, his half-sister Sancha, and Lucrezia. While recovering from his injuries, Alfonso was strangled to death in his bed by a servant, possibly Micheletto Corella.

Lucrezia (left) with her son Rodrigo (on the right next to her) and her second husband, Alfonso of Aragon (to the very right), c. 1500 (shortly after the assassination of Alfonso of Aragon)

It was widely rumored that Lucrezia's brother, Cesare, was responsible for Alfonso's death, as he had recently allied himself with France through his marriage to Charlotte d'Albret (sister of King John III of Navarre) in May 1499, against Naples.

Lucrezia and Alfonso had one child, Rodrigo of Aragon, named for his maternal grandfather, the Pope. He was born in 1500 and was baptized in the presence of many cardinals, ambassadors, and prelates from all over Italy. His godfather was Francesco Borgia, Archbishop of Cosenza, while Cardinal Carafa of Naples performed the baptismal rite in the Sistine Chapel. Rodrigo died in 1512 of a disease in Bari, Apulia, at the age of 12. Lucrezia withdrew to a convent to grieve for a month after her son died.

After her second husband's death, Lucrezia acted as her father's private secretary in the Vatican, which involved opening his letters, informing him of the contents, and replying to any that required an immediate response. Lucrezia was not accused of taking any undue advantage of this powerful position and was referred to as "wise, discreet and generous' by the Venetian ambassador, Polo Capello.

Lucrezia's father and brother Cesare began arrangements for a third marriage. Five months after Alfonso's death, an engagement was announced for Lucrezia to Francesco Orsini, Duke of Gravina, but the plan was abandoned by her father. By January 1501, the Pope was pursuing a match for Lucrezia with the son of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. The d'Este family was one of the oldest and most powerful in Italy.

Third marriage: Alfonso I d'Este (Duke of Ferrara)

Lucrezia married Alfonso I d'Este by proxy in Rome on 30 December 1501, with his brother Ferrante d'Este standing in for the groom, then in person on 2 February 1502 in Ferrara. Lucrezia's progress from Rome to Ferrara was through the Apennine Mountains, and she both rode on horseback and was carried in a sedan chair, and was accompanied by ladies, retainers, musicians, and her brother Cesare.

Despite having given birth to a child, Lucrezia was obliged to simulate the appearance of a virgin spouse to marry d'Este and was forced to leave Rodrigo of Aragon, her only child by Alfonso of Aragon, behind. Lucrezia tried many times to have little Rodrigo in Ferrara, but her plans were ruined. She sent him gifts and letters and, when he was 9 years old, an educator from the University of Ferrara.

Lucrezia became Duchess of Ferrara in 1505 after the death of Alfonso's father, Ercole. She gave birth to six children during her marriage to d'Este, including the future Duke of Ferrara, Ercole II d'Este.

However, neither partner was faithful. Beginning in 1503, Lucrezia enjoyed a long relationship with her brother-in-law, Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. Francesco's wife was the cultured intellectual Isabella d'Este, the sister of Alfonso, to whom Lucrezia had made overtures of friendship, to no avail. The affair between Francesco and Lucrezia was passionate, more sexual than sentimental, as can be attested in the fevered love letters the pair wrote one another. It has been claimed that the affair ended when Francesco contracted syphilis and had to end sexual relations with Lucrezia. This may not be true, however, as Francesco had contracted syphilis before 1500; it was known that he passed the disease onto his eldest son, Federico Gonzaga, who was born in 1500. Francesco did not meet Lucrezia until 1502.

Lucrezia also had a love affair with the poet Pietro Bembo during her third marriage. Their love letters were deemed "the prettiest love letters in the world" by the Romantic poet Lord Byron when he saw them in the Ambrosian Library of Milan on 15 October 1816. The letters were published in 1859 under the title Lettere di Lucrezia Borgia a messer Pietro Bembo.

Due to Lucrezia's influence as a patron of the arts, the court of d'Este became a centre for aspiring Renaissance writers, musicians, poets and philosophers, including Ludovico Ariosto and Gian Giorgio Trissino. She was considered a respectable and accomplished Renaissance duchess, effectively rising above her previous reputation and surviving the fall of the Borgias following her father's death in 1503. She played a diplomatic role at the Ferrarese court, meeting with envoys and ruling the territory as regent twice during Alfonso's absences on military campaigns. She is also known to have overseen the management of her finances, buying and selling properties, buying marshland at a low cost, then investing in reclamation enterprises, and renting parts of her newly arable land for short terms, which contributed to a nearly doubling of her annual income. She was a patron of charities and ecclesiastical foundations.

Lucrezia was devastated upon Cesare's death in 1507. In 1510, Lucrezia's husband was excommunicated, and Ferrara was placed under interdict by Pope Julius II. In response, she pawned her jewels to pay for the city's defense and entertained French troops that had come to Ferrara's aid. She met the famed French soldier, the Chevalier Bayard, while the latter was co-commanding the French allied garrison of Ferrara. According to his biographer, the Chevalier became a great admirer of Lucrezia, considering her a "pearl on this Earth".

After a long history of complicated pregnancies and miscarriages, on 14 June 1519, Lucrezia gave birth to her tenth child, which she named Isabella Maria, in honour of Alfonso's sister, Isabella d'Este. Fearing the sickly child would die unbaptised, Alfonso ordered her to be baptized immediately, and Isabella died the same day. Eleonora Pico della Mirandola and Count Alexandro Serafino were chosen as godparents.

Lucrezia had become very weak during the pregnancy, and fell seriously ill after the birth. After seeming to recover for two days, she worsened again and died on 24 June 1519 at Belriguardo Castle, aged 39. Her body was shrouded in the habit of a tertiary Franciscan, and she was buried in the convent of Corpus Domini in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, where she had requested to be interred. She was deeply mourned by the people of Ferrara.

After Lucrezia's death, her brother-in-law Giovanni Gonzaga wrote to Isabella d'Este that: "It is said that the Duchess left behind a good amount of money, but the exact amount is unknown."

Appearance

Portrait of a Woman by Bartolomeo Veneto, traditionally presumed to be Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia was described as having heavy blonde hair that fell past her knees, a beautiful complexion, hazel eyes that changed colour, a full, high bosom, and a natural grace that made her appear to "walk on air". In another description, the author wrote that "her mouth is rather large, the teeth brilliantly white, her neck is slender and fair, and the bust is admirably proportioned." These physical attributes were highly appreciated in Italy due to the similarity of her description with that of the Roman goddess of arts and war, Minerva.

One painting, Portrait of a Youth by Dosso Dossi at the National Gallery of Victoria, was identified as a portrait of Lucrezia in November 2008. The portrait had previously been considered to be of a young man, due to the dagger held in the sitter's hands, but it also includes feminine motifs such as the myrtle bush and flowers. This painting may be the only surviving formal portrait of Lucrezia Borgia; however, doubts have been cast on that attribution.

Several other paintings, such as Veneto's fanciful portrait, have also been said to depict Lucrezia, but none has been accepted by scholars, at present.

According to Mandell Creighton in his History of the Papacy:

"Lucrezia was personally popular through her beauty and her affability. Her long golden hair, her sweet childish face, her pleasant expression and her graceful ways, seem to have struck all who saw her."

Legacy

Since her death, many rumours surrounding Lucrezia have persisted, several concerning Lucrezia's alleged involvement in incest, poisoning, and murder. For example, it was rumoured that Lucrezia had a hollow ring that she used to poison drinks. However, no historical basis for these accusations exists, beyond the attacks of her enemies.

Another rumor concerns her attendance at extravagant, licentious parties thrown by her father and brother Cesare; one example is the legendary Banquet of Chestnuts.

A modern 20th-century British painting by Frank Cadogan Cowper that hangs in the Tate Britain art gallery in London portrays Lucrezia taking the place of her father, Pope Alexander VI, at an official Vatican meeting. This apparently documents an event, although the moment depicted (a Franciscan friar kissing Lucrezia's feet) was invented by the artist.

In 2002, the city of Ferrara celebrated an "Anno di Lucrezia Borgia" to commemorate the 500th anniversary of her arrival as the bride of the future duke.

Issue

Lucrezia was mother to seven or eight known children:

A miscarriage / stillborn daughter (16 February 1499);

Rodrigo of Aragon (1 November 1499 – August 1512), son by Alfonso of Aragon;

A stillborn daughter (1502), first child by d'Este;

Alessandro d'Este (1505–1505);

Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara (5 April 1508 – 3 October 1559); married to Renée of France, the second daughter of Louis XII, King of France, and Anne of Brittany.

Ippolito II d'Este (25 August 1509 – 1 December 1572). Archbishop of Milan and later Cardinal;

Alessandro d'Este (1514–1516);

Leonora d'Este (3 July 1515 – 15 July 1575), a nun and composer;

Francesco d'Este, Marquess of Massalombarda (1 November 1516 – 2 February 1578);

Isabella Maria d'Este (born and died on 14 June 1519). Complications at birth caused the death of Lucrezia ten days later.

Giovanni Borgia, "infans Romanus" ("Child of Rome", c. 1498–1548), had his paternity acknowledged by Alexander and Cesare in two Papal bulls, but it was rumoured that he was the child of Lucrezia and Pedro Calderon. The child (identified, in later life, as Lucrezia's half-brother) was most likely the result of a liaison between Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI, Lucrezia's father) and an unknown mistress and was not Lucrezia's child.

The Italian historian Maria Bellonci claims that Lucrezia gave birth to three children who did not survive infancy, one by Alfonso of Aragon and two by Alfonso d'Este. She is also thought to have had at least four miscarriages.

Archives

290 letters dating from the time of Lucrezia's marriage to Alfonso I d'Este, held at the State Archives of Modena, were digitised by Haltadefinizione in 2023.

In popular culture

A Glass of Wine with Caesar Borgia by John Collier, 1893

Literature and opera

F. M. Klinger's 1791 novel Fausts Leben, Thaten und Höllenfahrt [de] features an episode in which the Borgias figure, including an affair between Faust and Lucrezia.

French author Victor Hugo wrote in 1833 the stage play Lucrèce Borgia, which portrays her negatively.

Victor Hugo's play was transformed into a libretto by Felice Romani for Donizetti's opera, Lucrezia Borgia (1834), first performed at La Scala, Milan, 26 December 1833.

In 1912, the British author Margaret Gabrielle Vere Long, who wrote under the pseudonym Marjorie Bowen, published a short story called Twilight: Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess d'Este, a fictional account of the last moments of Lucrezia Borgia's life.

The Dutch writer Louis Couperus published a story called Lucrezia in 1920 that takes place between the death of her second husband and the marriage of her third.

The 1947 historical novel Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger describes the adventures of the fictional Andrea Orsini, a captain in the service of Cesare Borgia, during his conquest of the Romagna; it was made into a film of the same name in 1949, starring Orson Welles and Tyrone Power.

Jean Plaidy's two 1958 novels Madonna of the Seven Hills and Light on Lucrezia follow the story of Lucrezia and her entanglement with her father and brothers.

Lucrezia, Cesare, and Alexander play key roles in Cecelia Holland's 1979 historical novel City of God: A Novel of the Borgias.

In Roberta Gellis's 2003 novel Lucrezia Borgia and the Mother of Poisons (ISBN 9780765306616), Alfonso d'Este of Ferrara accuses Lucrezia of murder, and she must solve the crime and expose the true murderer.

In fiction

In the Marvel Comics comic book Avengers West Coast No. 98 (September 1993), the demon Satannish resurrected Borgia as the supervillain Cyana. As a nod to her reputation for poisoning her lovers in life, Cyana could fatally poison people with sharpened nails or a kiss.

The Family by Mario Puzo; published October 2001 ISBN 0-06-103242-5

Gregory Maguire retells the story of Snow White with Lucrezia as the woman who poisons her, in his novel Mirror, Mirror; published October 2003 ISBN 0-06-039384-X

The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis; published 31 January 2005

Kathleen McGowan refers to "Lucrece, as one of the many unjustly vilified women in her book The Expected One. She refers in particular to Frank Cadogan Cowper's painting Lucretia Borgia Reigns in the Vatican in the Absence of Pope Alexander VI on display at the Tate Gallery in London.

Lucrezia Borgia, A Novel by John Faunce; ISBN 9780307557636; Crown 2010

Blood and Beauty by Sarah Dunant; ISBN 1-443-40644-9; ISBN 978-1-44340-644-4; Harper Collins Publishers Ltd 2013

The Pope's Daughter by Dario Fo, translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar; ISBN 978-1-60945-274-2. Translation by Europa Editions, 2015

The Vatican Princess by C.W. Gortner; published 9 February 2016

In the Name of the Family by Sarah Dunant; ISBN 978-1-84408-746-4; Virago Press 2017

In the fictional fantasy universe Warhammer Fantasy, the character Lucrezzia Belladonna is a reference to Lucrezia Borgia. Lucrezzia is known for having poisoned several of her former lovers.

Film and television

German poster for Lucrezia Borgia (1922)

German silent historical film Lucrezia Borgia (1922) is based on the life of Lucrezia, who is played by Liane Haid. Cesare Borgia is portrayed by Conrad Veidt.

Lucrezia (Estelle Taylor) and Cesare (Warner Oland) Borgia are the major antagonists in Alan Crosland's 1926 silent film Don Juan, starring John Barrymore.

Lucrezia is the subject of Abel Gance's film Lucrezia Borgia (1935) and of a 1953 French film, played by Martine Carol.

Lucrezia is the Bride of Vengeance (1949), played by Paulette Goddard, with Macdonald Carey in the role of Cesare Borgia, and John Lund playing Alfonso d'Este (Duke of Ferrara).

In Walerian Borowczyk's 1973 feature film Immoral Tales, Lucrezia is played by Florence Bellamy.

In the Italian movie Lucrezia giovane ("Young Lucrezia") that was written and directed in 1974 by Luciano Ercoli (as André Colbert), Lucrezia was played by Simonetta Stefanelli.

In the 1981 BBC series, The Borgias, Lucrezia was played by Anne-Louise Lambert.

In the 1982 feature film The Secret Nights of Lucrezia Borgia directed by Roberto Bianchi Montero, Lucrezia is played by Sirpa Lane.

She is featured as a major plot point in the 1994 TV movie The Shaggy Dog. A portrait of her, along with a display case of her rings, is featured in a local museum along with a legend that she had written spells to turn her lovers into dogs. The legend is revealed to be true as the main character accidentally casts one on himself while holding one of her rings and reading its inscription.

In the pilot episode of the sci-fi series Warehouse 13, a jewelled comb, purported to have been created for her by an alchemist, is used by an Iowa lawyer to hypnotize several individuals into causing acts of violence.

In the video game Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Lucrezia is in an incestuous relationship with her brother Cesare. She is taken hostage by the main character, Ezio Auditore, and reappears later, a changed woman.

Lucrezia is played by Holliday Grainger in the 2011–2013 Showtime/Bravo TV series The Borgias, which explores a theme of incest with Cesare, despite the lack of historical evidence for such events. Her character is portrayed not as a ruthless murderer, but initially as a compassionate and sweet young girl who suffers from her family's ambitions, both struggling against and eventually aiding them.

In the Canal+ television series Borgia, Lucrezia is portrayed by German actress Isolda Dychauk.

In Season 1, Episode 7 of the television series The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends, Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman travel back in time to rescue Lucrezia's then-husband from being poisoned by her cooking.

Lucrezia is mentioned in Season 1, episode 1 of My Three Sons.[citation needed]

In the 1989 BBC television series Blackadder Goes Forth, the title character makes an offhand comment about Lucrezia throwing a "wine and anthrax party", presumably referring to the rumours that persist around the Borgia families' extravagant parties.

Martha Howe-Douglas played Lucrezia Borgia in an episode of Horrible Histories which features a parody of The Addams Family theme.

Music

English rock band The Sisters of Mercy reference Lucrezia as "Lucretia" in their 1988 single "Lucretia My Reflection", released as the third and final single from their second studio album, Floodland.

The Megadeth song "Lucretia", which appears on their 1990 album Rust in Peace, is inspired by Lucrezia Borgia.

Notes

Italian: [luˈkrɛttsja ˈbɔrdʒa]; Valencian: Lucrècia Borja [luˈkrɛsia ˈbɔɾdʒa, -dʒɔ]; Spanish: Lucrecia de Borja [luˈkɾeθja ðe ˈβoɾxa].

References

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Medici, Maria Teresa Guerra. "Lucrezia Borgia, Subiaco (RM) 1480 - Ferrara 1519". Enciclopediadelledonne.it (in Italian). Retrieved 18 November 2025.

Bradford, Sarah. (2004) Lucrezia Borgia, Penguin Group. p. 16, 68, 114.

"Bòrgia, Lucrezia". Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 15 November 2025.

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"Lucrezia Borgia, Predator or Pawn?" National Geographic. 17 January 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.

Morris, Samantha (4 January 2022). Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia: Brother & Sister of History's Most Vilified Family. Pen and Sword History. ISBN 978-1-5267-2441-0.

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Williams, Emma Slattery (1 June 2019). "Lucrezia Borgia: Is Her Bad Reputation Deserved?"BBC HistoryExtra. Retrieved 17 November 2025.

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Bellonci, Maria (2000). Lucrezia Borgia. London: Phoenix Press. p. 18. ISBN 1-84212-616-4.

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Bellonci, Maria (2000). Lucrezia Borgia. London: Phoenix Press. p. 23. ISBN 1-84212-616-4.

Gilbert, William (1869). Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara: A Biography. Vol. 1. Hurst and Blackett. pp. 6, 9–11, 15–16.

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{Some sources state that Giovanni returned the dowry. See Durant, Will. "The Renaissance," Simon & Schuster (1953), page 429, ISBN 0-671-61600-5. See also Bradford, Sarah, "Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death in Renaissance Italy," Penguin Books (2005), Part 1, Ch. 3.

Thurmel, Joseph (1923). Le Journal de Jean Burchard, Évêque et Cérémoniaire au Vatican (in French). Paris: Les Éditions Reider. p. 328.

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"ARAGONA, Alfonso d' - Enciclopedia". Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 17 November 2025.

Bradford, Sarah (2005). Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death in Renaissance Italy. Penguin Books. p. 46.

The papal brief is dated August 15, 1499, Archivio di Stato di Spoleto, Reformationes, year 1499, fol. 93.

Patrick, James (2007). Renaissance and Reformation. Marshall Cavendish. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-7614-7650-4.

Mancini, Franco (1957). "Lucrezia Borgia governatrice di Spoleto". Archivio Storico Italiano (in Italian). 115 (2 (414)): 182–187. ISSN 0391-7770.

"5 THE MURDER OF ALFONSO OF ARAGON". books.rakeshv.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

Bradford, Sarah (2005). Lucrezia Borgia. Milan: Mondadori. pp. 85–88. ISBN 88-04-55627-7.

Feng, Aileen A. (1 January 2017). Writing Beloveds: Humanist Petrarchism and the Politics of Gender. University of Toronto Press. p. 237. ISBN 978-1-4875-0077-1.

Meyer, G. J. (2 April 2013). The Borgias: The Hidden History. Random House Publishing Group. pp. 316–317. ISBN 978-0-345-52693-9.

Crane, Thomas Frederick. Italian Social Customs of the Sixteenth Century: And Their Influence on the Literatures of Europe. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-598-50897-3.

Kidwell, Carol (2004). Pietro Bembo: Lover, Linguist, Cardinal. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-7735-2709-6.

Bradford, Sarah. (2004) Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death in Renaissance Italy. Viking.

Williams, Allyson Burgess (5 December 2016). "Rewriting Lucrezia Borgia: Propriety, Magnificence, and Piety in Portraits of a Renaissance Duchess". In McIver, Katherine A. (ed.). Wives, Widows, Mistresses, and Nuns in Early Modern Italy: Making the Invisible Visible through Art and Patronage. Routledge. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-351-87247-8.

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Further reading

The Life of Cesare Borgia by Rafael Sabatini[1]

Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love And Death in Renaissance Italy by Sarah Bradford; Viking 2004; ISBN 0-670-03353-7

Lucrezia Borgia: A Biography by Rachel Erlanger; 1978; ISBN 0-8015-4725-3

Lucrezia Borgia by Maria Bellonci; Phoenix 2002; ISBN 978-1-84212-616-5

The Borgias (1971) by Michael Mallett

Lucretia Borgia (1874) by Ferdinand Gregorovius (Author); translated in 1903 by John Leslie Garner

The Borgias by Christopher Hibbert; Constable 2011; ISBN 978-1-84901-994-1

The Borgias: The Hidden History by G.J. Meyer; Bantam Books 2013; ISBN 978-0-345-52692-2

Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia: Brother & Sister of History's Most Vilified Family by Samantha Morris, 2020.

External links

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Lucrezia Borgia: The Family Tree in Pictures

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Diario De Los Borja Borgia