Cesare Borgia was an Italian cardinal and condottiero, an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and member of the Spanish-Aragonese House of Borgia. His fight for power was a major inspiration for The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.
The House of Orsini is an Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini family include five popes: Stephen II (752–757), Paul I (757–767), Celestine III (1191–1198), Nicholas III (1277–1280), and Benedict XIII (1724–1730). The family also included 34 cardinals, numerous condottieri, and other significant political and religious figures. The Orsini are part of the Black nobility who were Roman aristocratic families who supported the Popes in the governance of the Papal States.
Pope Alexander VI was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into the prominent Borgia family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon, Spain, Rodrigo studied law at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Curia under the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the process. In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope, taking the name Alexander VI.
Pope Julius II was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome Pope, it is often speculated that he had chosen his papal name not in honor of Pope Julius I but in emulation of Julius Caesar. One of the most powerful and influential popes, Julius II was a central figure of the High Renaissance and left a significant cultural and political legacy. As a result of his policies during the Italian Wars, the Papal States increased their power and centralization, and the office of the papacy continued to be crucial, diplomatically and politically, during the entirety of the 16th century in Italy and Europe.
Bracciano is a small town in the Italian region of Lazio, 30 kilometres northwest of Rome. The town is famous for its volcanic lake and for a particularly well-preserved medieval castle Castello Orsini-Odescalchi. The lake is widely used for sailing and is popular with tourists; the castle has hosted a number of events, especially weddings of actors and singers.
Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandía was the second child of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei and a member of the House of Borgia. He was the brother of Cesare, Gioffre, and Lucrezia Borgia. Giovanni Borgia was the pope's favourite son, and Alexander VI granted him important positions and honours. He was murdered in Rome on 14 June 1497. The case remained unsolved and is still considered one of the most notorious scandals of the Borgia era.
Vitellozzo Vitelli was an Italian condottiero. He was lord of Montone, Città di Castello, Monterchi and Anghiari.
Guidobaldoda Montefeltro, also known as Guidobaldo I, was an Italian condottiero and the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508.
Renzo da Ceri, true name Lorenzo dell'Anguillara was an Italian condottiero. He was a member of the Anguillara family.
Oliverotto Euffreducci, known as Oliverotto of Fermo, was an Italian condottiero and lord of Fermo during the pontificate of Alexander VI. His career is described in Niccolò Machiavelli's Il Principe.
Bianca Riario was an Italian noblewoman and regent, Marchioness of San Secondo by marriage to Troilo I de' Rossi, and regent of the marquisate and county of San Secondo for her son Pier Maria during his minority between 1521 and 1522. She was the eldest child and only daughter of Caterina Sforza by the latter's first husband, Girolamo Riario, a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV.
Ottaviano Riario was an Italian condottiero and Lord of Imola and Forlì. Despite his nominal leadership, the real power lay with his mother Caterina Sforza.
The October 1503 papal conclave elected Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere as Pope Julius II to succeed Pope Pius III. The conclave took place during the Italian Wars barely a month after the papal conclave, September 1503, and none of the electors had travelled far enough from Rome to miss the conclave. The number of participating cardinals was thirty-eight, the College of Cardinals having been reduced by the election of Piccolomini as Pius III, who did not elevate cardinals. At a consistory on 11 October Pope Pius had proposed to make Cardinal d'Amboise's nephew a cardinal, as part of his effort to conciliate the French, but the response from the cardinals was not enthusiastic.
Micheletto Corella was a Valencian condottiero born on an unknown date in Valencia. He was killed in Milan in February 1508.
Giambattista Orsini was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. He served as papal legate to the Marches of Ancona.
Giuliano Cesarini the Younger was an Italian Catholic prelate and cardinal.
Paolo Orsini was an Italian condottiero and lord of Canino, Fiano Romano, Gallese, Olevano Romano, Orvieto, Marta, Montalto di Castro, Narni and Tuscania. He belonged to the Orsini family. He married Rita Sanguigni and with her had two children, Giampaolo and Calvinia, on whom little evidence survives. He also had an illegitimate son Francesco who also became a condottiero.
Paolo Orsini was an Italian condottiero in the service of the Papal States, Ferdinand of Aragon and the Republic of Florence. He was marquess of Atripalda and lord of Mentana, Palombara Sabina and Selci.
Ramiro de Lorca (1452–1502), also spelled Ramiro de Lorqua and referred to by Niccolò Machiavelli as Ramiro d'Orco, was a Spanish condottiero in the service of Cesare Borgia.
Laura Orsini, Lady of Carbognano was an Italian noblewoman, daughter of Giulia Farnese and, presumably, of her lover Pope Alexander VI Borgia.
