Blood & Beauty

By the end of the fifteenth century, the beauty and creativity of Italy are matched by its brutality and corruption, now... (more)

By the end of the fifteenth century, the beauty and creativity of Italy are matched by its brutality and corruption, nowhere more than in Rome and inside the Church. When Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia buys his way into the papacy as Alexander VI, he is defined not just by his wealth or his passionate love for his illegitimate children but by his blood: he is a Spanish Pope in a city of Italians. If the Borgias are to triumph, this charismatic, consummate politician with a huge appetite for life, women, and power must use papcy and family -- in particular his oldest son, Cesare, and his daughter, Lucrezia, in order to succeed. (less)