Vanozza Cattanei
Mistress of Rodrigo Borgia and mother of Cesare, Giovanni, Lucrezia and Goffredo.
Vannozza Cattanei, mother of Cesare (1475), Giovanni (1476), Lucrezia (1480) and Goffredo (1482), is the best-known lover of Rodrigo Borgia, whose relationship began around 1470.
Vannozza, diminutive of Giovanna, born in 1442, nine years younger than Cardinal Borgia, must have been endowed with a rare beauty and sensuality to maintain such a lasting and fruitful relationship.
The relationship between Vannozza and Rodrigo was socially covered up with three marriages of convenience. Domenico d'Arignano (1474) was followed by Giorgio de Croce (1480) and Carlo Canale (1486). Everyone turned a blind eye in exchange for social and economic benefits.
When Rodrigo Borgia becomes Pope, the pontiff's heart has long been trapped by his relationship with the beautiful and young Giulia Farnese. Vannozza is no longer her mistress and is taking care of her children and managing the various lodging businesses she owns.
The last years of his life, after the death of Alexander VI, are peaceful. She gains social recognition and becomes a pious woman and patron of the Church.
She died at the age of 72 on November 26, 1518 and was buried in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, but her remains disappeared during the sacking of Rome in 1527.
His tombstone is preserved in the portico of the Basilica of San Marco, in Rome.
