Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

The Notoriety of the Borgia Name

GC Ballrooms

The Italian Renaissance brought about a rebirth of Greek and Roman culture from the 14th to 16th Century in Europe in which Art and Science flourished with inspiration and patronage became a major philanthropy. One family, the Borgia family, reigned over Italy during the 15th Century, leaving an imprint in Italian history. Rodrigo Borgia, better known as Pope Alexander VI, was the father and the great cause for the infamous Borgia family reputation. Pope Alexander VI, as Pope, was already regarded as a divine representative of God on Earth. However, it is my contention that he contrived to push this belief further by expanding it to his children. He aimed to establish divinity for his own family; his “Unholy family”. He did this primarily through visuals; art. It must be noted that most of the analysis is visual and are my own analytical assumptions. I am putting forth a hypothesis based on critical visual analysis and I will put forth proper evidence to defend them. For example, contemporary writings show that art was used as teaching tools for the illiterate majority. The significance of this research can be determined by the impact the assumptions and results presented have on religion and European history. My hypothesis provides a contradiction to what was and is extensively believed as sacred. I provide an insight on the corruption that inevitably exists within history and determine my hypothesis based on the obvious forms of analysis: visual. My research shows the evolution of an idea of humans as representatives of the divine on earth. The Borgias stepped over what would have been considered the line between sacred and profane within Christian morality.