Orsino Orsini
Encyclopedia
Orsino Orsini Migliorati (1473–1500) was the husband of Giulia "La Bella" Farnese
(1474–1524), the mistress of Pope Alexander VI
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, the daughter of Luigi Farnese by his wife, Giovanna Caetani. Giulia was also the sister of the future Pope Paul III
(née Alessandro Farnese). While Orsino has been rather disparagingly described as being "squint eyed", "awkward" and "self-conscious", Giulia was a beautiful young woman who went by the nickname of "La Bella", "the beautiful one". Shortly after this marriage, around 1491, Giulia met Rodrigo Borgia, during one of his visits to Monte Giordano to see his daughter, Lucrezia. When the Cardinal expressed a desire to take her daughter-in-law for a mistress, Adriana immediately gave her permission and blessings to the affair. In exchange for his enforced compliance to his wife's adultery with Rodrigo, Orsino was granted mayorship of the city of Carbognano. Rodrigo Borgia took the papal throne in August 1492 as Alexander VI, the same year that Giulia bore him a daughter, Laura. Briefly concerned that a scandal would break out, Alexander VI did not acknowledge paternity, which was instead attributed to, and accepted by, Orsino. Giulia may have also had other children by Alexander VI, including those acknowledged by him as his own with no mention of their mother. These children include Girolama (b. 1495), Isabella (b. 1496) and Rodrigo, Duke of Nepi (b. 1498).
Giulia Farnese
Giulia Farnese was mistress to Pope Alexander VI. She was known as Giulia la bella, meaning "Julia the beautiful", in Italian. Lorenzo Pucci described her as "most lovely to behold"...
(1474–1524), the mistress of Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
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Background
The only son of Ludovico Orsini Migliorati and Adriana del Mila, Orsino was related to Alexander VI through his mother, who was the Pope's cousin. Adriana had been widowed at an early age and had sought the "protection" of her cousin, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, in order to effectively administer her late husband's vast estates and to safeguard her son's considerable inheritance. In return for this "protection", Adriana served as Rodrigo's friend and close confidante, and was even put in charge of the wardship of his illegitimate daughter, Lucrezia BorgiaLucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia [luˈkrɛtsia ˈbɔrʤa] was the illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia...
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Marriage & Adult life
At age 16, Orsino married 15-year-old Giulia FarneseGiulia Farnese
Giulia Farnese was mistress to Pope Alexander VI. She was known as Giulia la bella, meaning "Julia the beautiful", in Italian. Lorenzo Pucci described her as "most lovely to behold"...
, the daughter of Luigi Farnese by his wife, Giovanna Caetani. Giulia was also the sister of the future Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
(née Alessandro Farnese). While Orsino has been rather disparagingly described as being "squint eyed", "awkward" and "self-conscious", Giulia was a beautiful young woman who went by the nickname of "La Bella", "the beautiful one". Shortly after this marriage, around 1491, Giulia met Rodrigo Borgia, during one of his visits to Monte Giordano to see his daughter, Lucrezia. When the Cardinal expressed a desire to take her daughter-in-law for a mistress, Adriana immediately gave her permission and blessings to the affair. In exchange for his enforced compliance to his wife's adultery with Rodrigo, Orsino was granted mayorship of the city of Carbognano. Rodrigo Borgia took the papal throne in August 1492 as Alexander VI, the same year that Giulia bore him a daughter, Laura. Briefly concerned that a scandal would break out, Alexander VI did not acknowledge paternity, which was instead attributed to, and accepted by, Orsino. Giulia may have also had other children by Alexander VI, including those acknowledged by him as his own with no mention of their mother. These children include Girolama (b. 1495), Isabella (b. 1496) and Rodrigo, Duke of Nepi (b. 1498).
Death & aftermath
Orsino died in 1500, at age 27, of unknown causes. At around the time of his death, Giulia and the Pope had become mildly estranged but his mother, Adriana, eventually brokered a peaceful separation of the two. Adriana herself continued to remain in high standing with the Pope as his friend and confidante, even chaperoning Lucrezia on her journey to wed Alfonso d'Este. Adriana died in about 1509, and the control of Carbognano passed to her erstwhile daughter-in-law, Giulia. The vast Orsini family fortune was eventually inherited by Laura Orsini, the daughter of Giulia by Alexander VI.Further reading
- Bellonci, Maria|. "The Life and Times of Lucrezia Borgia"
- Williams, George. L. "Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes"