Despite Being Spanish by Birth: Cesare Borgia of France and Duke of the Romagna

This article attempts to underline the wider context of Cesare Borgia’s imprese; the product of Alexander VI’s dynastic designs, which went hand in hand with the aspirations of the Renaissance popes to incorporate those territories which belonged to them. Drawing on several published primary sources and recent scholarship, this article will seek to examine how political and diplomatic agreements shaped the development of Cesare’s career. These factors will help illuminate Cesare’s position and show how the definition of the Renaissance papacy as a ‘two-faced Janus’ can be extended to encompass the ‘peculiar’ nature of Cesare himself, the secular arm of an increasingly militarised and autonomous Roman Church and a duke in his own right, who nevertheless remained dependent on papal favouritism and French support. Together, these considerations will offer insight into the political characteristics of the Renaissance Papal States, particularly during the early Cinquecento.