POPE ALEXANDER VI (BORGIA)
So, the Borgias are in fashion again! Neil Jordan has just filmed the first ten hours of a TV series that is due to hit our television screens at any time and that is being now promoted aggressively. I just wonder what the series will be like – as the Borgias were nothing if not controversial.
The trouble is that the film world can all too often distort the reality of what really happened – although, to be fair, the true story of the Borgias reads like a fiction thriller from someone on LSD!
Of course, as someone based in Gandia, I have a particular interest in the Borgias as they originated from Xativa, a gorgeous town only half an hour from Gandia itself.
Meanwhile, the first son(!) of Pope Alexander VI (the second Borgia Pope) was Duke of Gandia. In fact, one of the finest buildings in Gandia is the Borgia’s Palace and the Borgias connection to the town is celebrated with the statues of Callixtius III, Alexander, Giovanni, Caesare and Lucretia located, appropriately enough, at the bottom of the main shopping street. The latter is notable in Spain for its fine boutiques which would have been appreciated by the Borgias who liked nothing better than excess and finery!
If you are interested in the Borgias, do have a look at: ‘Either Caesar or Nothing’ – an article I was commissioned to write some time ago…!