02 - Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandía. (part 2).

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02 - Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandía. (part 2).

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Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandía. (part 2). Suspects. In his speech at the consistory of 19 June, Pope Alexander VI explicitly exonerated some of the suspects. It is not known at whose hands he met his death. It has been stated that the Lord of Pesaro devised it, which we do not believe, or the Prince of Squillace, his brother, which is utterly false. We are certain, too, that the Duke of Urbino had no hand in it. God forgive the guilty, whoever he was. At the time, it was presumed that Alexander VI was aware of the identity of the real culprits but saw no opportunity to punish them immediately. "This morning I was told by a trustworthy person that at this time His Beatitude has very close news of the truth, but he will pretend otherwise to surprise the authors in their sleep, as they are very important people and of high status", the Florentine envoy, Alessandro Braccio reported on 23 June. The investigation lasted more than a year but it was concluded without results. The murder was never avenged, which contributed to the spread of wild rumours. Eventually the unsolved case became part of the black legend of the Borgia, and regarded as one of the most mysterious crimes in history. The main suspects: - The most obvious suspects were the Orsinis revenging the death of Virginio Orsini at the beginning of the year in a Neapolitan prison. This ancient Roman family was hostile to the Borgias, and they had fought a war against Alexander VI. They defeated the Duke of Gandía on the battlefield, but the pope's plan to carve out a principality in Italy for his son still posed a threat to the family's fortune. Immediately after the murder, the Milanese envoy wrote that all signs point to the Orsini's guilt, but the pope is acting with great caution. In December Sanudo reported that "the pope was plotting to ruin the Orsini, because they certainly had his son, the Duke of Gandía killed", however, the Venetians intervened that the moment was not suitable. Several sources testify that Alexander VI remained determined to exact revenge on the family but political circumstances prevented him to carry out his plan. - Ascanio Sforza, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church was one of the prime suspects in the period following the murder. At the time the relations between the Sforzas and the pope were tense. The cardinal tried to mediate in the conflict between his cousin, Giovanni Sforza and the Borgias, and immediately before the murder his valet called the Duke of Gandia a bastard during a quarrel and the man was subsequently killed. According to Burchard, the Duke of Gandía took leave of his brother, Cesare near the vice-chancellor's palace on the fateful evening. Ascanio Sforza did not attend the consistory of 19 June. The Spanish ambassador, Garcilaso de la Vega apologised for his absence by saying that he was worried about the rumours accusing him of being behind the murder. Pope Alexander VI immediately absolved him from the charge: "God forbid that I should suspect him, for I hold him as a brother." In a letter to his brother on 20 June, Ascanio Sforza admitted that his people were suspected: "It is said that some of my people may have done it on account of the recent quarrel with the duke". In the following months, relations between the cardinal and the pope fluctuated, meetings were held, but suspicion reared its head again among the Spaniards in Rome, and during the summer Sforza thought advisable to spend more time away from the city. At the time the Venetian envoy wrote that everyone in Rome believes that Ascanio Sforza ordered the murder. - Antonio Maria Pico della Mirandola was among the early suspects. The Florentine envoy, Alessandro Braccio mentioned that the city police searched all the houses that the duke had been visiting in secret to question family members and maids, including the house of Count Antonio della Mirandola that was located not far from the place where Giovanni Borgia was murdered and where his body was thrown into the river. Mirandola "had a very shapely daughter but of very good fame", Braccio added. It seems that the envoy alluded to a love affair between the Duke of Gandía and the girl, or at least to a rumor circulating in the city. The Ferrarese envoy claimed that the murder was organized by Mirandola and Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, and "the said count was already arrested by the pope". Since Mirandola was never mentioned again, the charge must have been dismissed. - Suspicions later centred on Giovanni's brother, Cesare Borgia. Some argue that a personal rivalry existed between them and, with Giovanni's death, Cesare was allowed to leave the Church as he wished, taking his brother's place as a man-at-arms and eventually the prospective ruler of a Borgia principality. The claim that Cesare was his brother's murderer is first found in a despatch of the Ferrarese ambassador at Venice: "I recently learned how the death of the Duke of Candia was caused by ...

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