Original subtitles

Pope Alexander VI's family has multiplied.

We love Cesare Borgia as my own son.

Because he is blood of my blood,

as are his brothers, Juan, Goffredo and sister Lucrezia.

I have done what I can to make certain there are no more little Borgias running about.

Out there, maybe.

But in here?

The King of France has given 200,000 ducats to one of us.

- Which man? - Giuliano della Rovere.

If you say another word against my sister...

I shall not be treated in this manner. I am an Orsini.

And a Borgia.

Run.

I will be Vice Chancellor. Your niece, Lucrezia, will marry my cousin,

Giovanni, to bind us in blood.

We would be remiss to send you back to Naples

without a Borgia groom.

Excellent. Who do you have in mind?

Goffredo.

Borgia.

Verbum incarnatum. His Holiness Alexander VI...

We have no time for formalities, Burchard.

Holiness, a sad day for Naples,

for all of Italy. King Ferrante is dead.

Tragic. Is there much rioting?

Prince Alfonso d'Aragona Duke of Calabria,

who is beloved by our people, keeps the capital calm.

For now.

We shall compose a message of condolence.

Holiness, Alfonso would prefer a show of support.

You must perform the Prince's coronation in person.

Dear colleagues, your thoughts?

There can be but one thought. France.

King Charles has the divine right to rule in Naples.

Spain believes Alfonso should succeed his father.

We tend to agree. Of course, you would.

Suddenly, you have four children. A daughter married to Milan,

a son to Spain and soon another son will join the Royal Family of Naples.

And one will claim the Papal States.

You are no longer interested in acquiring dioceses, Borgia.

You wish to rule an empire.

Cesare, be silent.

Our new cardinal is full of youthful exuberance.

Yet he and della Rovere both make the same point.

Our decision must be based on law and divine right.

We shall accept testimony, evidence, briefs from both Charles and Alfonso

justifying their claims to the throne. We shall study each item

and then we and we alone shall render a verdict.

Regardless of your decision, Charles will march.

Your only choice is whether his path through Rome

is marked with a kiss on your ring,

or a poker up your rectum.

The consistory is concluded. Verbum incarnatum.

Father, della Rovere demeans your papal authority. He must be arrested.

No.

Della Rovere will, as usual, leave Rome like a petulant child.

He will travel to his fortress in Ostia and then to France

where he'll try and slither his way back into the heart of King Charles.

His absence from Rome will not stop his intrigues. Your life is in danger.

We must surround you with Papal Guards at all times.

To live in fear, is to live without God.

Three months.

Three months of mindless meals and sexless nights.

Silence, girl.

Lucrezia, I share your anger.

Then show it.

After the incident at Saint Peter's I was ordered, upon the penalty of exile,

to not speak of our

encounter to a living soul. Not even my cousin, Ascanio. Not even with you.

Then I should speak for us, to Pope Alexander.

No, I forbid it.

I am a woman now. You no longer rule my actions, or my heart.

Holy Father, I wish to make love to my husband.

What?

The time has come to have a real marriage with Giovanni.

Lucrezia, no, you must remain untouched.

You marry me to a man that you will not permit me to love

and you will not tell me why?

Do you have faith in us?

After a lifetime of believing that you were my uncle?

I am no longer a little girl, Father.

I cannot be bribed by trinkets.

Oh, the tumult of my mind each time we meet.

The sight of my wife, her womb swollen with a bastard child.

A Pope's child.

Your Holiness, may I present the Princess Maria Enriques de Luna,

royal niece of Spain.

Holy Father, my soul is nourished by your presence.

Juan has claimed Spain's most beautiful jewel.

Where is our son? I do not know.

I have not seen him since we arrived in Rome.

I shall fetch him.

Juan, he wants you.

Where have you been?

Why did you not accompany Maria Enriques to our first meeting?

Ferdinand and Isabella did not attend the wedding ceremony.

The royal couple must not love their niece as much as was assumed.

Or the groom was not to their liking.

What did you do to raise their ire?

Nothing.

Forget the girl. The Papal Guard.

You are still the Captain General.

Virginio Orsini is Prefect of Rome.

And therefore my superior. But we are his.

Go, organize your army.

Temper your power with compassion.

Do you have something to say, Cesare?

Juan...

No.

I seek only permission to visit Cardinal Farnese in Orvieto.

Go. With Godspeed.

Holiness, do you truly believe Virginio will welcome Juan back into the Papal Guard?

Virginio has yet to indict the man behind the attack on Giulia.

Like all of the Orsini, our Prefect has his own agenda.

But Juan is...

There were countless desertions when he was in command of the Papal Guard.

My son needs seasoning, an experienced guide.

Summon Guidobaldo de Montefeltro.

The Duke of Urbino will serve as second in command.

I had to get away from Rome to think.

Every day, the Papacy is compromised by enemies from within.

Della Rovere? And Colonna and Sforza.

And yet the Holy Father depends on Juan for protection.

Juan.

Who the night before his wedding to Spain's Royal Princess

went whoring through Barcelona.

When Queen Isabella learned of his degeneracy she refused to watch the wedding ceremony.

Does your father know this?

No, I almost told him, but...

Come, show me your fortress.

My dear Lucrezia, are you ill?

No.

My cousin has not upset you, has he?

No, my father. After all these months

he still prohibits me from sharing the bed with Giovanni.

My place is not to contradict your father, but as a priest

I believe that in the eyes of Mother Church

the sacrament of marriage is a divine union between a man, his wife, the Lord

and no one else.

What if

Giovanni does not see the circumstances that way?

Fear of retribution has clouded his ardor.

Then you must do what all women do to save their marriages.

You must tell your husband what he wants to hear.

Whether it be the truth

or not.

A fearsome place, your Fortezza dell'Albornoz.

My family built this fortress 300 years ago to protect Rome.

We can do so again from France.

I have both the will and the manpower.

But not the money.

I shall ask my father for the gold.

No need. I wrote a letter to my sister, she shall convince the Pope.

My brother writes from Orvieto.

He does not live like a cardinal, but as a pauper.

The Farnese fortress is in a grave state.

I cannot...

Cannot what?

Disturb waters better left placid.

I need a compelling reason.

Am I not compelling enough?

Naming him a cardinal was a risk.

To send him a fortune would be

at the current time, a tactical disaster.

Are your children by Vannozza Cattanei the only ones to receive your generosity?

Will my baby, too, be excluded?

La Bella...

I will love our child as well as any other.

Women, Francesc, are God's device to humble men.

Your son, Juan and the Duke of Urbino are here, as requested.

Guidobaldo, is the Papal Guard ready for battle?

Yes, Holiness.

We have officially stripped the traitorous della Rovere of his archdiocese.

Take your men to Ostia, seize the port, sack his palace.

If the Pope sends Juan to conquer Ostia, victory will be easy.

If I were Juan, I would lead an outright assault.

Bridges laid across the moat.

Here and here.

You rush a siege tower over this one and a battering ram over the other.

Our fiercest fighters will climb ladders here, here and here.

Once inside, we take these two hallways, trapping della Rovere's men here,

on the stairs...

slaughtering them all.

You are that well-versed in the strategy of war?

I suffered at school not because I did not study,

but because I studied Caesar instead of Christ.

For even Jesus said, "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's

"and to God what is God's."

But there is no place for God on the battlefield.

Ostia is yours, Holiness.

Excellent, my son.

Excellent.

This attack only complicates our relations with King Charles.

Because della Rovere has sailed for France, Vice Chancellor?

But you knew that already.

What allegiance do you have to Rome, to the Holy Church, if you plot with della Rovere

to have a French fleur-de-lis fly above the Vatican?

You speak of allegiance, yet you spit on your own vows.

My cousin is yet to consummate his marriage.

Am I an idiot, not to understand what that means?

You intend to retreat from our alliance.

We have no such intentions.

I do not believe you.

We are the Pope.

And owe your tiara to me.

That debt was long ago paid.

I love my family deeply, as you do yours.

I had hoped the union of Lucrezia and Giovanni would...

Oh, well...

I know the language of the French, as well as the Spanish tongue.

Lucrezia, why are you alone?

Where is Lady Adriana? Ho, there, servant, someone.

Stop. We do not need a chaperone.

But the Pope...

Has given his consent for us.

To consummate?

My heart has ached for you.

Go away.

What is wrong, Giovanni? Why can you not take me?

Lucrezia, I... Am I not attractive enough?

Was your first wife more beautiful?

This has never happened before.

Holy Father.

Shahzadeh.

Do you not congratulate Rome's Captain General on his recent victory?

Holiness, the Fortezza dell'Albornoz is on the verge of collapse.

Cardinal Farnese complains?

No, he is in perpetual gratitude

for the Pontiff's boundless generosity, yet he...

Wants to repair his fortress in hopes of repairing his own fortune.

The military value of Orvieto is immense.

I have written a report detailing its advantages.

We would be wise to put Orvieto in Rome's service.

Farnese should use his own money on his own vanity.

Your life would infinitely be more arduous if you were to live by your own ideals.

Return to Orvieto. Inform Alessandro that we shall finance this endeavor.

Holiness, I go at once.

Bring the Lady Giulia.

Tell her that I have glad tidings.

- All the way up. - Yes.

Yesterday's battles are fought with swords and lances.

Move them on.

Seal the gaps in the walls with stones and mortar.

Cesare, the time is past midnight.

Get some rest, we can continue working tomorrow.

No, we must make haste.

Our time is now, Alessandro.

How is my lady?

I am Alfonso D'Este, son of Ferrara's illustrious Duke, Ercole.

He has sent me to see the beauty that is Rome.

You are infinitely more attractive than the Pantheon.

Go away.

Truly?

Worry not, Countess, we shall see one another soon.

The Veil of Saint Veronica,

which wiped the sweat from our Lord and gave him a temporary relief

on his way to the Cross.

We fine each of you 10 ducats

the proceeds of which will help feed Rome's poorest.

You are dismissed by His Holiness, Pope Alexander VI.

Supreme Pontiff, Signora Zongha

brings a claim before the Pontifical Tribunal

relating to an incident yesterday at a tavern on the Via del Corso.

Me and my husband, Gaetano, we have lived wretchedly, in poverty.

Where is your husband, Signora?

Dead.

He was a thief and a murderer, I make no excuses for that.

An honest life was never his...

forte.

I see.

But Gaetano was promised five ducats to attack the Lady Giulia Farnese.

He did what he was hired to do, but, instead of cash,

he got Virginio Orsini's sword through his heart.

Who hired your husband?

Yesterday the man who had promised to pay came into the tavern.

And when I tried to collect, he beat me.

Who? A name.

Migliorati. Orsino Orsini Migliorati. He squints a lot.

I want my five ducats, Holiness.

A woman was nearly murdered, her beauty mutilated, and you would have your five ducats?

Get this useless cunt out of here.

I want that squinting piece of Orsini shit brought to me.

Breathing.

You behave brazenly with Alfonso D'Este

under the gaze of our Lord Jesus, your new sister-in-law and your husband.

I did nothing.

Signor D'Este spoke to me.

Mother...

Mother, I am undone.

The Pope knows everything.

Stand up.

We must go to your Orsini uncles. They will spirit you from Rome.

You will speak of this to no one.

Orsino is guilty and you hid his crime.

I conducted a valid investigation. Orsino swore to his innocence,

his hand upon the Holy Bible.

You lie. I do not.

Liar or no, you have failed.

Pope Alexander dismisses you as Prefect of Rome.

Your chain of office.

I am the new Prefect.

How is it possible Orsino managed to escape?

Making a fool of you and your son's Papal Guard.

Why are you not out there, tearing apart the Orsini household?

Lady, the Orsini have departed Rome,

fuelled by their anger over Virginio's dismissal as Prefect.

They are at their fortress in Bracciano.

Then send troops after them.

We must not attack Bracciano unless we are certain that Monoculus is there.

Ask Adriana.

Adriana loathes her son, he would never confide in her.

Father, I need to speak with you. Not now.

But... Not now, I say. Be gone.

Take action, Rodrigo, take action.

The more you delay, the weaker you are in the eyes of della Rovere, of France, of Spain.

Attacking the Orsini is madness, they are allies of Naples.

We can take Bracciano.

Their fortress is impregnable. They have seasoned fighters.

A victory on our part would need an act of God.

My army is strong, I have proven so in Ostia.

Do you contemplate this action out of political necessity

or personal vendetta?

De Montefeltro, your opinion?

Given the proper strategy, yes, we can seize Bracciano.

This is one of those rare moments where expediency and vengeance

go comfortably in hand.

His Holiness does not desire one man, but a whole city.

Is Migliorati not the source of our troubles?

He is a pimple. The entire Orsini family is our tumor.

A direct assault, similar to Ostia.

Prefect, Virginio Orsini knows our strategy from Ostia.

Surprise will not be on our side.

Perhaps. You suggest? A siege.

Aim the ballista south, to cover the Tiber.

We shall be ready if the French attack by water.

We must hurry!

The hour approaches when His Holiness will be here to inspect our handiwork.

Swords over here. Yes.

Orsini's troops will stream from the fortress here,

but because of the slopes of the hill, will be forced to curve around this bend,

leaving their flank unprotected.

Then, our men will charge.

I disagree. In this circumstance, a defensive position is stronger

than an offensive one.

You are a good, practical man, Duke,

but you are no Borgia.

We charge.

Charles should take care that you do not invade France, Cesare.

There is more.

You inspire great pride in us, Cesare.

You shall be Governor of Orvieto.

You are the engineer of this insult.

I have been a faithful friend.

This is my archdiocese.

You have yours in Rome, another in Spain.

And now you are to govern my people, and I am to do what?

Stick small wafers in their mouths, absolve them of sins they will only commit again?

We could rule as equals.

You do not consider anyone equal, Governor.

You used me to influence your father for your own benefit.

You are, as always, a selfish bastard.

We are finished.

How many of our men are dead?

We lost two Celeres and almost all of our horses.

Where is the Duke of Urbino?

Captured, held by Orsino for a ransom of 50,000 ducats.

When will you pay the ransom? I will not pay.

That would be a sign of weakness.

War is different than a street brawl.

And what of Orsino?

He is...

at large.

You have failed me as a general and as a son.

Be gone from my sight.

Father, may I have the donkey? Be silent.

Juan will be patriarch of this family when I am dead.

Go.

Contact Cardinal de Medici and Cardinal Grimani.

Florence and Venice must come to our aid.

Fortify the walls around Rome, especially the Apostolic Palace.

We want a moat dug circling the Castel Sant'Angelo.

We must be ready, if the Orsini decide to attack before the French do.

And, we shall have a banquet.

There is to be a banquet.

Yes.

And so instead of primping, you read?

I have not decided yet whether I will attend.

- I am angry at His Holiness. - Oh.

Then you have more courage than most.

So, tell me, how is married life?

Does satisfying the Pope's wishes satisfy you?

I only ask because

the other morning, when I first saw you

you were praying so hard.

Your hands were clenched together, like this,

the color in your knuckles went white.

Your eyes were clenched, too.

I had heretical thoughts.

Really?

Tell me one.

I do not dare, no.

You are fully a woman,

and I am fully a man.

I, too, have heretical thoughts.

Speak your soul, and I will speak mine.

Do you swear on the life of your father never to repeat a word?

I do. And you?

I do.

The face of Jesus is supposed to be imprinted on Saint Veronica's veil.

I examined the relic.

There were only a few brown stains, nothing more.

And so?

Nothing is real. Everyone lies.

The stories of our saints are fairy tales.

Saint Veronica showed compassion to a man

who had been abandoned by the rest of the world,

who was about to die a terrible death on Calvary.

Even if she never wiped the brow of Christ, never even existed,

we must be thankful for the example,

for the potential of that kindness.

Will you slow down, please, husband?

We must not be late.

For a moment. I wish to share some...

Father already views me as a laggard.

I must do all I can to rise once more to the height of Cesare.

Allow me to assist you.

Okay, two steps to the left and a kick, all right? Go.

There you go. Now, two kicks and one to the back.

Oh, friend, step away from my wife

or I shall expedite the passage of your soul to heaven.

You must be jesting.

Most certainly I am not.

Then come at me, old man.

Lower your weapon, Sforza.

Are you to permit this transgression?

As Prefect of Rome, I order you to sheathe your dagger.

Alessandro has written me, greatly bereaved.

You made Cesare Governor of Orvieto.

Giulia...

My brother's only desire is to be of the utmost service to you.

Enough.

You act as if my entire papacy is designed for the benefit of Alessandro Farnese.

When you enter the Room of the Saints, look around, Rodrigo.

Count the number of cardinals.

Notice how few remain loyal when your power is questioned.

Is now the time to snub the ones who love the Borgia family?

Huh. At last.

Father, good news from Giovanni de Medici.

If France brings war, Florence will stand with us defending northern Italy.

And Venice? Did you persuade them?

Venice remains indifferent.

Perhaps I should speak with the Venecian ambassador.

I have other news, Brother.

Since you refuse to pay Guidobaldo de Montefeltro's ransom

the people of Urbino have taken the cost upon themselves.

The Duke is free again and he vows that your heart will beat its last in his hands.

We need to discuss Orvieto.

Husband, please, we must speak.

If necessary, you will fulfill your duties...

This is unjust.

But necessary. Making me unnecessary.

You will fulfill your duties as Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria Nuova.

And you will be satisfied.

As you wish, Lord God.

Holiness, Father, I have tremendous news.

I am to have a child.

To my first grandchild.

Bravo.

Della Rovere wants me dead.

But in order to wear this after me...

He must keep his hands clean.

Must convince the French to kill you. Hmm.

I am and always will be a stranger to these Italians.

I speak their language, I know their history more intimately than they do.

I bring order to the most lawless corners of this city.

I make certain their children eat.

But I am still nothing, just a Catalan.

But you, Father, you have the opportunity to reverse their judgment.

To prove their prejudice untrue.

People in every land love their own and hate the outsider.

I do not begrudge this.

Do you know why?

Because of you.

You, Juan, Lucrezia, Goffredo.

You are my four greatest kingdoms,

my four most lavish riches,

my four truest allies.

I would never degrade you, my son.

Do you understand?

Yes.

You do not want to be a priest, the path that I have chosen for myself.

Did you ever stop to think that I did not favor Juan over you?

That, in making you a priest, I want to raise you higher than him?

Put it on.

Some day, you will succeed me as Pope.

I have decided to endorse the claim of Prince Alfonso over King Charles.

You must go to Naples, be my surrogate, crown Alfonso.

Me? You are Archbishop of Valencia.

By you, my blood, performing the ceremony, Alfonso will have my endorsement.

But I will have room to maneuver if he should fail.

And given the strength of the French army, there is a good chance of that.

Then why?

Why not do what is expedient? Why not choose Charles?

I said I would study the case, which was, in fact, a ruse to buy time.

But the more I have read and pray,

I am convinced Alfonso is the rightful heir.

Crowning him is the honest, righteous thing to do.

I will go to Naples for the coronation and Goffredo's wedding.

Good.

But I want all my sons present.

Juan must go with you.

Make peace with your brother, Cesare.

May I enter?

I...

wish us to speak privately.

My son, Orsino, he...

A mother acts, at times, on impulse.

When Vannozza took you from Subiaco, she did so with the best intentions

even though she

defied the orders of those she should obey.

With Orsino I found myself in a similar position.

I serve His Holiness, I love His Holiness.

But my greater responsibility at that moment was to save my son.

Can you understand that?

Can I trust you not to speak of my role in my son's escape?

Cousin,

to your secret I am as deaf and mute as the son of Croesus.

In return,

you will remove yourself from my affairs, be they with my husband,

or Alfonso D'Este, or any other male.

I am sorry, my dear, but as I said, I

serve His Holiness, who speaks the word of God.

Oh, sweet savior.

How is it possible

that my desire for you grows with the size of your belly?

Not now, Gacet.

Yes, now, Father. I will be put off no longer.

I have information regarding Orsino Orsini Migliorati and Adriana de Mila.

Holiness, please...

Please.

I have been a faithful servant to you, a mother to Lucrezia.

Family, we are family.

Sweet cousin, Holy Father.

Your cunt of a son runs free because of you, your duplicity.

Yes.

Yes, it is true.

I helped my son, my only son.

A son I have denied for years.

Rodrigo, I have no one but you.

After 30 years of devotion, I have made one mistake.

Only one, only one mistake.

One is too many.

What is to become of me?

Am I to be executed?

You will be escorted to the town of Carbognano, a mere 50 kilometers away,

where you will remain until your natural death.

You are hereby banished from Rome,

never again to breathe the air of the Eternal City.

No, no, no!

I would prefer to die.

Then the punishment fits.

I curse you, Rodrigo, and the whore Giulia and your fucking child.

I curse you.

Quite a week.

A coronation and a royal wedding.

Double congratulations, King Alfonso.

We are all delighted that you wear the crown of Naples,

but your coronation has its consequences.

France will attack Italy, and soon.

His Holiness expects the Neapolitan army to defend the Papal States.

Our troops will be ready.

Juan, I hereby name you Prince of Tricarico.

And Cesare, I grant you Molise

and Terra di Lavoro.

Like your brother, Goffredo, Naples is now your home, too.

You are a prince.

And you, Cardinal Borgia, handled the coronation like a Pope.

Oh, Sancia...

If hell exists, we will both burn.

Father, Father.

You have returned from Naples with God's speed, Juan.

How was the wedding? The bride is lovely.

Father...

I have failed you in Bracciano, but last night I redeemed myself.

I have a new man under my employ.

Steadfast, stealthy, merciless.

Orsino Orsini Migliorati has made retribution for his sins.

Tomaso, bring me a flame.

Tomaso?

The Borgia wish you well...

in hell.

My son.

Orsino is gone.

Out of our life.

Yes.

You are not pleased?

In our name, men have died in battle.

Families have been torn asunder.

Those who stood in our way have been silenced.

But now the spilt blood has spread...

under our very own door.

This one act of retribution, this...

murder...

changes everything.