Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death in Renaissance Italy (43 page)

The Este were not about to be chased from their lands by the Pope as easily as the Baglioni from Perugia and the Bentivoglio from Bologna. Alfonso and Ippolito were strong and determined, expert in the arts of warfare and the use of artillery, while at Mantua Isabella, ‘Machiavelli in skirts’ as Luzio dubbed her, schemed and charmed to preserve her brothers’ state. Unlike the Pope’s previous victims, the Este family was popular in Ferrara, and when Ippolito called a meeting of the leading Ferrarese, they swore to defend the dynasty to the end. From the papal point of view, his Captain General Gonzaga was of dubious loyalty; he could hardly be expected wholeheartedly to push for the destruction of his brother-in-law’s, or rather his sister-in-law’s, state.

Julius II, who appears sincerely to have detested Alfonso, made every effort to stir up trouble between the brothers-in-law. He intimated that the Este had tried to keep Francesco as prisoner of the Venetians for as long as they could and that he had the evidence for it, showing ‘villainous deeds’
(cose nephande)
relating to the process he had instituted against Masino del Forno who had fallen into his hands. The Pope had been delighted to hear of del Forno’s capture by the Venetians, who handed him over in Bologna. Reacting very much as he had to the arrest of Cesare’s Michelotto, Julius, Sanudo reported, ‘wanted him because he is the confidant and minister of the betrayals and assassinations of the Cardinal [of] Ferrara’.
¹³
As the Archdeacon of Gabbioneta wrote to Gonzaga on 26 September 1510, the Pope wished to communicate to him things of capital importance but had expressly forbidden him under pain of excommunication to commit them to paper: ‘then he said to me: I want to tell the Lord Marchese what those brothers-in-law of his wanted to do to him . . .’
¹⁴

As a counterweight to Isabella, the Pope had cunningly instituted Francesco’s scurrilous friend and procurer, Isabella’s hated enemy, Lodovico ‘Vigo’ di Camposampiero, as his liaison officer with Gonzaga. He had presided over the attempted building of a bridge of boats across the Po at the frontier fortress of Sermide in Mantuan territory, and been frustrated by Alfonso’s destruction of the bridge and confiscation of the boats which he took to Ferrara, to Francesco’s rage. On 10 September, Lucrezia wrote, from her newly-founded convent of San Bernardino, an extraordinary, even piteous appeal to Isabella to intervene in yet another quarrel between Gonzaga and Alfonso, addressing her as ‘My Most Illustrious Madam and as my Mother’:

Your Excellency understands well enough in what great perils and difficulties is the State of your lord brothers, and particularly that which has come between the Lord Marchese and the Duke our consort, concerning those ships which were taken in Mantuan territory: and although it was not done to injure His Lordship, we have heard that His Excellency is very aggrieved by it. For this, with every instance and confidence I pray Your Excellency to be a good intermediary between Your Illustrious consort and mine, and that you hold as recommended to you the State of your lord brothers and together with them myself and my children . . .

She signed herself ‘Your Most Beloved Daughter, Duchess of Ferrara’. Normally, she addressed Isabella as ‘Illustrious lady my honoured sister-in law and sister’ and signed herself ‘Sister and sister-in-law, Lucretia, Duchess of Ferrara’.
¹⁵
That same month writing to thank Isabella for her present of twenty
cedri
and eighty
pomeranzi
(oranges) she found it necessary to add a postscript asking Isabella to intercede with Francesco to restrain some people who were intent on injuring the Duke’s interests, and hoping that he would ‘proceed wisely’.

Over the autumn and winter of 1510 the danger to Ferrara increased as the Pope himself came north to Bologna with the intention of gingering up his reluctant general, Gonzaga, who complained, as usual, of ill health as an excuse for inaction. In November he reported that he was being treated with mercury for his syphilis, an excuse with which the Pope, another sufferer, could sympathize. Caught between the support of the French (with whom he was in frequent contact) for Alfonso and the Pope’s furious intent to take Ferrara, Gonzaga was indeed in an unenviable position.At Ferrara Alfonso, now backed by the French, was feverishly strengthening its fortifications – both men and women were reported to be working on a bastion in the lower part of the city which necessitated the demolition of several houses. Julius was ‘beside himself because he believed he was soon going to have Ferrara,’ Sanudo wrote. ‘He threatens to sack Ferrara and lay it waste since it won’t surrender and he would sooner see Ferrara ruined than it should fall into the hands of the French.’
¹⁶
Julius sent an envoy to Alfonso to demand the keys of the city. Alfonso, who was supervising the new fortifications in the Borgo di Sotto, took the envoy to see a gun called ‘Devilchaser’ (
Caza Diavoli
) and told him, ‘These are the keys I would like to give the Pope.’

For Lucrezia and Alfonso the situation deteriorated through the winter: the papal troops, under Julius’s nephew, Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino since Guidobaldo’s death in 1508, had taken Modena.The Pope was ensconced in Bologna, although, fortunately for them, ill with a tertian fever and piles. In a bargain with Ferdinand of Spain in exchange for the Bull of Investiture for the Kingdom of Naples, however, he had negotiated for three hundred Spanish men-at-arms under the command of Fabrizio Colonna for the campaign against Ferrara. The French under Chaumont, who had advanced with the intention of reinstalling the Bentivoglio in Bologna, had retreated under the influence of indecision and bad weather. Sassuolo, Angela Borgia’s town, fell in mid November, followed in mid December by Concordia, belonging to another Este ally, the Pico della Mirandola.

Worst of all was the news that the ferocious old pope had recovered his health and his energy. Despite the fierce cold and with snow on the ground he had himself carried on a litter to the siege of Mirandola, where Lodovico Pico’s widow, Francesca, held out. As Francesco Guicciardini wrote, men marvelled that ‘the supreme pontiff, the vicar of Christ on earth, old and ill . . . should have come in person to a war waged by him against Christians, encamped by an unimportant town where, subjecting himself like the captain of an army to fatigue and dangers, he retained nothing of the pope about him but the robes and the name’. Julius, convinced that he was being cheated by his commanders, including his nephew Francesco Maria della Rovere, who spent his time gaming with Fabrizio Colonna, roundly cursed his men in language so fruity that the Venetian envoy could not bring himself to repeat the exact words, even to his brother. On 19 January the Countess Francesca surrendered Mirandola to the Pope, but probably due to the deliberate dilatoriness of the papal commanders, nothing further was attempted against Ferrara for the moment. Ferrara by then was bristling with French troops, to such an extent that di Prosperi wrote that the Ferrarese were heartily sick of ‘these French’ and wished they would take themselves off somewhere else. Alfonso, however, was glad of their support and rode out with his artillery in late February to take La Bastia, an important fortification on the Po, where he obtained a significant victory. Alfonso was now regarded as a hero: di Prosperi proudly told Isabella how those present at La Bastia had said the victory was ‘all his and that he was a man of such spirit and great prowess such as had never been seen the like’.

The Pope’s explosions of rage against Ferrara – he told di Camposampiero: ‘I want Ferrara and I will die like a dog rather than give up’ – had alarmed Francesco, who feared for Lucrezia’s safety. On 21 February he had written to the Archdeacon of Gabbioneta asking him to intercede with the Pope for the greatest clemency for Lucrezia, and for himself the assurance that she would be safe ‘because the loving and faithful terms which only she used towards me in the time when I was in prison in Venice and so many connections that we had places an obligation on me now to show her my gratitude, and if the providence of His Holiness does not help us I do not know what will become of this poor woman who alone demonstrated such compassion for me’.
¹⁷

Meanwhile, in Ferrara Lucrezia showed no signs of fear: although the normal carnival celebrations were suspended, she gave private parties for the French captains all through March. Led by the gallant Gaston de Foix, they greatly appreciated the oasis of gaiety and civilization which she created for them amid the devastation of war beyond the walls. The famous Chevalier Bayard, praising her linguistic gifts, left a record of the impression she made on him and his fellow Frenchmen: ‘The good Duchess received the French before all the others with every mark of favour. She is a pearl in this world. She daily gave the most wonderful festivals and banquets in the Italian fashion. I venture to say that neither in her time nor for many years before this has there been such a glorious princess, for she is beautiful and good, gentle and amiable to everyone, and nothing is more certain than this, that, although her husband is a skilful and brave prince, the above-named lady, by her graciousness, has been of great service to him.’
¹⁸

Lucrezia continued to play the gracious hostess to the French through the spring. Di Prosperi became more and more disapproving as he considered the times unsuited to dancing, given the devastation of the countryside. The chief goldsmith in Ferrara, he told Isabella, could not complete her order because he had too much to do for the Duchess. Lucrezia and Alfonso, however, knew only too well how important it was to keep the French happy and, if possible, in Ferrara. Among the constant excursions and alarums, however, things were not going well for the Pope. On 22 May news reached Ferrara that the Bentivoglio had returned to Bologna with the accord of the citizens; shortly afterwards the papal legate, Cardinal Alidosi, friend and protégé of Julius, was stabbed to death by Francesco Maria della Rovere. There were great celebrations at court: Alfonso gave a supper in the garden for the gentlemen of Ferrara while Lucrezia was visited and made much of by the nobility and ladies of the city. The Bolognese pulled down Michelangelo’s bronze statue of Julius which had adorned the cathedral and donated it to Alfonso: he kept the head for his collection and melted down the body for a cannon which he named ‘La Giulia’. The Ferrarese rejoiced in the streets and Lucrezia gave more parties in honour of de Foix and the French captains. Visiting her, di Prosperi found her ‘very richly dressed and more magnificent than I have seen her for a long time’.

That same April, Francesco Gonzaga told Lorenzo Strozzi that he was eager that Lucrezia should come to Mantua as ‘a relief from her present worries and travails and take some pleasure with him’, assuring her that he was ‘urgently hastening the completion of some new rooms in our palace of S. Sebastiano which we have established for her lodging’.
¹⁹

In truth Lucrezia seems to have been worn out by all the festivities; on 16 June, di Prosperi reported that she had been ill and was convalescing. Four days later she decided to go to her convent of San Bernardino which she seems to have treated as if it were a health farm: ‘she will stay there until she is purged and has taken the waters and dieted’. She would be there some time, he said. On the same day, Lucrezia wrote a note to Francesco in her own hand, her writing blotched and untidy: ‘Finding myself weak from my sickness I will not write at length and also because truly it would be impossible to find words to express how yet again I feel myself obliged to Your Lordship for the favour he deigns to do me; with this letter I kiss your hand an infinity of times, leaving the rest to padre Fra Anselmo and the bearer of this, begging Your Lordship that if you know of anything in which I can serve you you will deign to command me.’ Laura Bentivoglio Gonzaga, wife of Francesco’s brother Giovanni, visited her there after she had purged herself and was about to take the waters. She found her on a bed dressed in light black silk with tight sleeves gathered at the wrist, a large turban-cap on her head covering her ears. They chatted about fashion, Lucrezia questioning Laura closely about the latest things in Mantua, asking her to send her some caps like the one she was wearing and wanting to copy her head ornament.
²⁰
On 3 July, Lucrezia was still in San Bernardino: Alfonso visited her there but, because it was an enclosed convent, he was barred from entering and could only talk to her ‘through the wheel’.

Lucrezia’s health did not improve for all the treatments she subjected herself to in San Bernardino.The Queen of France had expressed a great desire to see her, having heard so much about her from the French captains, and there was a definite plan for her to leave for the French court. Bernardino di Prosperi reported on 5 July that the Queen had sent an envoy to invite Lucrezia with her eldest son to visit her at Grenoble. Ippolito was already at the French court and well received by the King and Queen who had, however, taken exception to the beards which he and his entourage had grown in fulfilment of a vow, and made them shave. On 20 July the journey was still on: Francesco had sent Lucrezia the gift of a mule and cob for which she thanked him in a handwritten note that day, adding the proviso that if she did not go, she would send them back to him. On the 29th in another emotional handwritten letter she told him that Alfonso had decided against her going ‘because of this indisposition of mine’ and that she was sending the animals back to him via Count Melina, who would give him personal messages from her. Lucrezia’s illness had proved difficult to shake off – on 12 August she was back in San Bernardino ‘
incognita’,
as di Prosperi described it. It may have been that she had again been pregnant, since he uses the verb
spazar
, which can be used to describe miscarriage – Sister Laura had told him, he said, ‘how she would
“spazar”
that thing’ if she continued.