The enemies of the Borgia pour into Rome—Fears of the Sacred College—Orsini and Colonna—The Cardinals and Valentino—Caesar enters into an agreement with France—The Cardinal d’Amboise—Scheming before the conclave—Caesar leaves Rome—Return of Giuliano della Rovere—The conclave—Election of Francesco Piccolomini to the Papacy—The new Pope supports Caesar—Valentino’s fortunes ebb—Death of Pius III.—Machinations preparatory to electing his successor.
Rome was in a tumult; the enemies of the House of Borgia and of the Spanish party began to pour into the city. The Orsini were the first to appear; Fabio, Niccolò, and Giangiordano, with their followers, at once prepared to take possession of their estates in the Romagna. Prospero Colonna led his army up to the very gates of the city. The Vitelli were advancing on Città di Castella, Giampaolo Baglioni attacked Perugia; Urbino, Camerino, Cagli, and Piombino were ready to revolt; Caesar’s domain was to crumble away in a day. Valentino did not lose courage; he was resolute, defiant; he had—so he told Machiavelli later—prepared for everything, even for the death of the Pope—for all but one contingency, and that was his own illness.
The streets were thronged with troops; the Spanish cardinals, officials, retainers, hangers-on, spies, informers, bullies were panic-stricken; they barricaded their doors and armed themselves. It243 was feared the French would seize the opportunity and advance on the city, and to the south not far away was the army of the King of Spain. The Sacred College, whose duty it was to elect a successor to Alexander, had no military force at their command, and they were afraid to appeal to Caesar, who, with his well-disciplined troops and able commanders, was still the strongest power in the city.
The Orsini and the Colonna, now at the very gates of Rome, were ready to fly at Valentino’s throat. The cardinals Santa Croce, Cesarini, and De’ Medici went to the warder of the Castle of St. Angelo, Francesco de Roccamura, a Spaniard, to assure themselves of his support, and, although he was one of Alexander’s creatures, to his great credit and in spite of Caesar’s efforts to win him over, he remained faithful to the Sacred College as the representative of the papal power. He trained his cannon on the streets leading to the castle and his men shouted “Collegio, Collegio! Chiesa, Chiesa!” The same afternoon the Spanish mob burned the Orsini palaces on Monte Giordano.
August 21st the cardinals, to the number of seventeen, again met in the Minerva, and the question of entering into some agreement with Valentino was discussed at length. The Duke had professed loyalty and devotion to the Sacred College, and Pandolfo, a notary, was directed to confer with Caesar’s secretary, Agapito of Amelia.
August 22nd, through his secretary, Caesar swore obedience to the cardinals, who confirmed him in his office of Captain-General of the Church. The cardinals had warned both the Colonna and244 the Orsini to keep away from Rome, but, disregarding their orders, Prospero Colonna entered the city with a small force of cavalry. The next day Ludovico and Fabio Orsini also appeared with their followers. Determined to avenge the murder of their kinsmen and the plundering of their estates, they sought Caesar, and failing to find him, they wrecked their vengeance on the Castilians generally. Valentino and the Spanish cardinals kept to the Vatican, and without the whole city was in a tumult. Gangs of ruffians rushed about shouting “Colonna! Orsini! Borgia!”
Caesar’s political sagacity coming to his aid, he endeavoured to separate the Colonna, whom he had injured the least, from the Orsini. These great rival families had been brought together by the wrongs they had suffered at the hands of the Borgia. Caesar offered to restore the property of the Colonna, and this offer Prospero promptly accepted, at the same time promising in return to support the Duke. This agreement saved Caesar for a time, and it was thought that in the impending conclave a Pope favourable to the Borgia might be elected. The Orsini were frightened and, yielding to the demands of the cardinals, withdrew from the city during the night of August 24th.
PROSPERO COLONNA
From an early engraving.
To face p. 244.
245 In the meantime the Italian cardinals had been insisting that Caesar also leave Rome. The Sacred College had secured about two thousand troops and had placed the city under the protection of the ambassadors of the Emperor, of Spain, France, and Venice, who—August 25th—went to Valentino, whom they found in the Vatican stretched upon a bed, but completely dressed and surrounded by the Spanish cardinals, and requested him to leave the palace. This he refused to do, saying that he was ill and that he would be safe nowhere else. Thereupon they offered him the Castle of St. Angelo for his abode. Caesar asked permission for his troops also to occupy the stronghold. He was still Duke of Romagna and he had more than nine thousand men under his command. He also had large amounts of money on deposit with Alessandro Spanocchi, consequently he was treated as a reigning prince. Both the Spanish and French ambassadors knew that his aid would be valuable in the war in Naples, and Prospero Colonna was endeavouring to persuade him to enter the service of Gonsalvo de Cordova. At the same time France was trying to secure him.
Finally, to the utter dismay of Colonna and the Spanish cardinals, he decided to cast his fortunes with the latter power, for September 1st, through the mediation of Grammont, the French ambassador, he entered into an agreement by which he was to place his troops at the service of France in the Regno and to hold himself in readiness at all times to aid the King, and to use all his influence with the Spanish cardinals to secure the election of the Cardinal of Rouen to the Papacy.
No sooner had Georges d’Amboise, Cardinal of Rouen, learned of the death of Alexander VI. than he set out in great haste for Rome, feeling certain that he could be elected to succeed the Borgia. The Papacy was the dream of his life, and he was ardently supported by the King, who would profit greatly by the election of his minister.246 In fact, Louis thought that if Amboise, his intimate friend, his subject, his Prime Minister, became Pope he could easily make himself master of all Italy. Amboise, with the French army under the very walls of Rome, promptly secured a strong following in the Sacred College.
By his agreement with France Caesar was assured the protection of the King both as to his person and his property. The same day—September 1st—Valentino entered into an arrangement with the Sacred College, one clause of which required him to leave Rome within three days. Prospero Colonna had also been compelled to depart, and the ambassadors of Maximilian and of Louis XII. guaranteed that while the papal throne was vacant Caesar, the Colonna, and the Spanish forces would not approach within ten miles of Rome; the orators of Venice and France did the same with respect to the French army and the Orsini.
Giustinian says it was agreed that Prospero Colonna should leave September 2nd, and Caesar, with all his artillery, the following day. Colonna did depart on the appointed day and Caesar withdrew a little later with all his troops, horse, foot, and artillery. The Duke himself was so ill that he had to be borne on a litter. The Venetian orator adds: “Now that Caesar has gone it is thought that the election will take place quietly and without any disturbance, since every one respects the Sacred College.” Still, some uneasiness was felt lest the French should cause a disturbance, because Odoardo Bugliotto, the King’s valet, had arrived with a large amount of money, determined to make the Cardinal of Rouen Pope. Monsignor247 de Trans had told Giustinian that neither Ascanio Sforza nor any of the other cardinals then in France would attend the conclave, “nevertheless, yesterday evening the report was circulated, and this morning it was confirmed, that Amboise, Sforza, San Malo, and Aragona27 were already on the way, and,” he adds, “if this is true there will be much intriguing, for these men are seditious and shameless and with their astuteness and machinations cause much disturbance, and may God in his mercy watch over Christendom.”
The same day—September 2nd—Giustinian informs his Government: “It is learned that Valentino, without the knowledge of any one, has entered into an agreement with France.”
Prospero Colonna was greatly chagrined by Caesar’s last trick, and when he left Rome he took with him the Princess of Squillace—“who will be some comfort to him—while the Prince went with the Duke. The Princess departed willingly, hoping to recover her estates in the Regno—in any event there is little love between her and her husband as they are entirely unlike.” Owing to the trouble and discord she had occasioned in the family, the Princess Sancia had been imprisoned by Alexander VI. in the Castle of St. Angelo.
Burchard describes Valentino’s departure in detail. The very morning of the agreement he paid his troops and sent thirteen heavy wagons laden with engines of war forward through Trastevere. He had three large bombards, two248 medium, and eight small ones. Then he dispatched his guard to the Milvius Bridge, there to await him. More than a hundred wagons were required for his baggage. They left the Vatican by the Viridaria Gate and proceeded to Monte Mario, the Duke borne on a litter by twelve halberdiers. After him was led a magnificent charger with trappings of black velvet, embroidered with his arms and the ducal crown.
The Spanish and French ambassadors accompanied him as far as the city gate. Caesar set out for Nepi, a town belonging to his family, the citadel of which was still loyal to him. Gregorovius says his mother Vannozza and his brother Giuffre accompanied him.
Valentino was still a power to be reckoned with, and he undoubtedly hoped to secure the election of a Pope who would be friendly to himself and the Borgia family, for he knew that he could count on the votes of the eleven Spanish cardinals.
Alexander’s obsequies began September 4th, and in accordance with the papal custom continued for nine days. The cardinals, however, soon lost interest in the ceremonies and were anxious to enter into conclave. One after another the cardinals who, for various reasons, had been living abroad returned. All Rome was looking forward to the event which to Caesar was the most momentous in his entire career—not excepting the election of his own father to the Papacy—for not only his future but his very life depended on the outcome.
The French army, under Monsignor de La Trémoille and the Marquis of Mantua, had entered the249 Romagna, where they were ordered to remain until a successor to Alexander had been elected.
Giuliano della Rovere, after an absence of ten years in France, returned to Italy September 3rd; Cardinal Colonna, who had been hiding in Sicily for five years, appeared a few days later; the 9th the Romans received Riario in triumph, and the next day Ascanio Sforza, Georges d’Amboise, and the Cardinal d’Aragona made their entry. Amboise had secured Sforza’s release from prison and had brought him with him from France, counting upon securing his vote. The Cardinal of Rouen also felt certain that at the proper moment Caesar would throw the votes of the Spanish cardinals for him, and he believed that the near presence of the French troops would influence the Sacred College in his favour, because they would immediately see that the Papacy would be greatly strengthened by having the support of the armies of France. He, however, was not slow to discover that Ascanio Sforza was the favourite of the Romans; moreover, the Sacred College promptly requested Amboise not to permit any of the French troops to enter the city.
When Giustinian called upon Giuliano della Rovere on his arrival in Rome the cardinal remarked to him: “I am here in my own interests and not in those of any one else; I am not here to cast my vote for the Cardinal of Rouen unless I should see that even without my vote he could be elected—which I think is impossible.” He added that he was a good Italian and that he could not be forced to make a Pope unless it were for the good of the Christian religion and the peace and welfare of Italy; he also expressed great affection250 for Venice and promised to consider her interests.
September 16, 1503, thirty-eight cardinals entered the conclave which was held in the Vatican. They first drew up an agreement which was to be submitted to any power that would guarantee their rights; they also promised to reform the abuses which were wellnigh universal in ecclesiastical affairs, and agreed to summon a council for that purpose within two years; they also promised to prosecute the war against the Turks. The urgency of the situation in which they were placed cut short the discussion. The Italians and the Spaniards united against Amboise and agreed to elect a Pope who could not long survive, and, September 22nd, on the second scrutiny they selected Francesco Piccolomini, Cardinal of Siena, to be the supreme head of the Church. He adopted the name Pius III.
Piccolomini had been Cardinal-Deacon forty-three years; he was a man of probity, advanced in years, and a sufferer from the gout, with not long to live. Giuliano della Rovere, seeing that his own election was impossible, had secured the elevation of Piccolomini. French politics had failed signally, and Pius III. promptly compelled the Marquis of Mantua to withdraw his troops from the Romagna.
The college had been divided into three nearly equal factions—the French, the Spanish, and the Italian, whose respective candidates were Georges d’Amboise, Bernardino Carvajal, and Giuliano della Rovere. Caesar for obvious reasons had supported the French candidate, and had succeeded in frustrating Della Rovere’s plans; the latter,251 however, had immediately discerned the true situation, and with the aid of Oliviero Caraffa, Cardinal of Naples, and Girolamo Basso della Rovere, Cardinal of Recanati, succeeded in placing his Eminence of Siena in the papal chair, thereby giving himself time to perfect his own plans for securing the great prize on the demise of Pius III., which was sure to take place soon.
Pius III. was born in Siena in 1439, consequently at the time of his elevation to the Papacy he was sixty-four years of age. The cardinals who had procured his election in the hope that he would not survive long were not disappointed, for he died twenty-seven days after assuming the tiara—so promptly that the usual rumour of poison immediately spread. At first it was whispered that Pandolfo Petrucci, tyrant of Siena, was guilty of the crime, and later the enemies of Julius II. fancied they discovered the hand of the Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincola in the sudden death. Although Pandolfo had committed many atrocities, it is extremely unlikely that any crime in this instance had been committed. As to Della Rovere, he knew that the new Pope could not live long, and therefore had no need to shorten his days; in fact, he had procured his election for the express purpose of gaining time to perfect his own plans to secure the throne of St. Peter.
Caesar had also been active in effecting the election of Piccolomini, who, in the event of his elevation, had promised to confirm him in his office of Captain-General of the Church and Vicar of Romagna. Immediately after his elevation to the Papacy the new Pope began to bestow marks of252 his favour upon Valentino. Bonafede, Bishop of Chiusi, Caesar’s representative during the conclave, was made Governor of Rome the very day the new Pontiff was proclaimed.
September 23rd the Pope granted Giustinian an audience, during which the Venetian ambassador interceded in favour of the Romagnol barons, who had returned to their estates. His Holiness replied: “As far as Cesena is concerned, I agree perfectly with your Illustrious Signory, but as to the other lords, God has punished them for their sins with a tristo instrument, and I wish to remind the Senate that all the troubles of Italy originated in Romagna.” Then he said, smiling, “Perhaps God will restore these lords after they have done penance.” Undoubtedly the Pontiff had made some sort of an agreement with Caesar, for he did not hesitate to maintain the Duke’s rights in Romagna. He even went so far as to dispatch a legate to Perugia to break up the league which Valentino’s enemies had formed against him, and he also sent commissioners through Romagna to urge the people to be loyal to him.
Thus enjoying the favour of the new Pope, Caesar returned to Rome with a considerable following October 3rd. He was accompanied by Cardinals Amboise, Sanseverino, and D’Albret.
The Pope, however, did not support Caesar very actively. In fact, when he urged obedience upon the Romagnols, he remarked that he would give the Duke no further aid—he wished, not to be a warlike Pope, but a pacific one, to bring peace and quiet to Christendom. Regarding Valentino, the Pope advised the Republic to do nothing, because253 it would soon be all over with him—his illness was a punishment from God. The 29th the ambassador writes: “Valentino has sent messengers from Nepi to Rome to ask the Pope’s assistance, but the only result so far is a few briefs.”
Caesar had only 200 men left; Ugo Moncada with the flower of his troops had deserted him, and 2,000 men who had been under the command of Romolino also left. Alessandro Spanocchi, the Duke’s treasurer, tried to send money of his for deposit in Florence, Milan, Bologna, and Ferrara—14,000 to 20,000 ducats. It was said that the Florentines offered Valentino a free passage through their territory in case he wished to go to Romagna.
The following day the Pope issued a brief threatening with excommunication any one who should refuse to return any money or other property removed from the apostolic palace during the illness of Pope Alexander VI.—evidently this was aimed at Caesar and his agents.
Nothing escapes Giustinian. “The Duke is still at Nepi in bad health, and deserted by nearly every one. The Pope has given him fair words, but Caesar is distrustful.” October 1st Bartolomeo d’Alviano requested the Venetian orator to secure the Senate’s permission for him to attack Caesar in Nepi; he also informed the ambassador that Caterina Sforza desired to join in the undertaking and had promised him a large sum of money, but he had refused his consent because he would have been obliged in return to help her recover her own estates, which would offend Venice. October254 2nd the orator writes that the Duke of Urbino had sent a courier to Rome with a letter in which he said he had attempted, ............