"We have all experienced great tragedy these past ten days." "The deluge claimed homes and shops, loved ones and neighbors." "All except you, Borgia, safe behind high walls on this hill." "While we sleep down at the river's edge in huts." "Up to our assholes in mud." "And a monster prowls the shores." " A monster?" " A mule's head on the body of a whore." "One human arm, the other's an elephant's trunk." "On its back, the bearded face of an old man." "A tail like a neck, ending with a snake's head." "Scaly limbs." "It's left foot like a hoof, the right an eagle's talon." "This creature is a fiction, born of anxiety and exhaustion." " But my uncle told me..." " My grandson says..." "Enough." "Did you or you, did anyone here... actually see this thing with his own eyes?" "Again, a figment born of anxiety, exhaustion and too much wine." "Or a sign of God's wrath, as is the deluge itself." "Who says that?" "Who says it?" "The monk in Florence, Fra Savonarola." "Fra Savonarola believes that nothing you do, while you live... will save your soul." "He believes in faith alone." "We believe in faith, of course, but also in hope and charity." "You are all welcome to remain here on high ground... until the rains relent and the tides subside." "Tents will be erected, for expectant and nursing mothers." "Our own pantry will feed every hungry belly." "And as for the monster, you have our sacred word... it will be conquered." "All we are asking, Cesare, is try to appease the peasants." " So, you believe there is a monster?" " It's hard to kill that which does not exist." " We did not create the peasants' fear." " We can use it to our advantage." "The Papal Guard should be visible, patrolling the shores of the Tiber." "Inform Captain General Doria." "I have a report from Venice." "General de Córdova has hurled the Turks back to Constantinople." "We are grateful to him and to you for sharing your intelligence." "Fucking jackass." "Conquering the monster may restore the peasants' faith, but what of those two?" "We do not need their faith nor even their vote for much longer." "We have summoned several of your Spanish cousins..." " to bolster our strength in the Consistory." " When do they arrive?" " Tomorrow, if the winds are favorable." " We will have a welcoming banquet." "Eminence, might I suggest that you refrain from the word "deluge"... which encourages these theories of God's wrath." "Describe this monster again." "A mule's head on the body of a whore, one arm like an elephant's trunk." "On its back, the bearded face of an old man." "A tail like a neck, ending with a snake's head." "Scaly limbs." "Its left foot like an eagle's talon." "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" "Tell me if you have understanding." "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow?" "Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail... that I have reserved for the time of trouble?" "For the day of battle and war?" "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain... and a way for the thunderbolt?" "Can you lift your voice to the clouds that a flood of waters may cover you?" "Can you send forth lightnings that they may go and say to you:" ""Here we are"?" " God have mercy." " Amen." "This was the Lord Almighty in dialogue with Job, an innocent man... who fears God and turns away from evil." "Job did not confuse the whims of his own will... with the absolute will of the Lord, yet Job was not spared divine rebuke." "So what of a pope in Rome who clings to power... and soils a once holy city with vile corruption and vainglorious greed?" "This Borgia bull, confusing his will with God's worse... trampling the will of God." "Make no mistake." "Borgia wishes to pull Florence into the very same abyss." "I will not let that happen." " Do not be sad, my child." " Sad?" "In the two months since I gave up my child... the chasm in my heart has been filled by determination." " Be careful." " I will not be careful." "A real mother fights to keep her children close." "I will get Giovanni back or die trying." "I must go milk myself." "Basta, you little beast." "He does nothing but sob, sob and sob." "He misses his mother." "Walk Giovanni to the stables." "Return when he is numb." "I was once called La Bella, the most beautiful woman in Rome." "Children have turned me into a hag." "That is why Rodrigo does not summon me to his bed." "He has not even seen you once, these past few months." "I have told Alessandro, when next there is a banquet at the Apostolic Palace... we must be invited." "And then you will dazzle." "Body tight, face bright, a ravishing gown." "Venus in the flesh." " I have slain the monster." " Or so you will claim." "Speak with caution, Cardinal Farnese." "There is enough power in my arquebus for one more jackass." "Again you threaten to kill me." "Are your threats as false as your monster?" "We will see, Farnese." "People of Rome, I, Cesare Borgia... give you the head of the vile and terrible monster." "Fear no more." " He's ready to battle a real monster." " Savonarola?" "Make my heart happy, Lucrezia." "Let me escort you to the banquet." "Are you here again, Di Calabria?" "I cannot stay away from your daughter." "Lucrezia has been ill." "She needs a few more days of rest." " I am a patient and a prisoner." " But not a patient prisoner I see." "If you dote on me as you claim, come back after the banquet." "Tell me all you have heard." "Instead of a flower, bring word about my future." "No chivalry, just go." "Tell Cesare to visit us." " Alfonso di Calabria is a reptile." " A snake has its purpose." "To get little Giovanni in my arms once more, I need to embrace every creature." " Here is the hero." " Delayed by more monsters, Eminence?" "Wish you had thought of it, Eminence?" "Verbum incarnatum." "His Holiness, Pope Alexander VI of that name... calls to order a meeting of the Consistory." "So much for Savonarola's soggy indictment of Rome." "His tirades continue unabated, Holiness, rain or shine." "Of greater concern is his call for a council to depose you." "Even more reason to appoint a vice chancellor." " We agree and are ready to do so." " Do you have a man in mind?" "We do." "Cardinal Borgia." "You doubt our choice?" "Just when he pacified the peasants with the head of the Tiber monster?" " A stunning display of integrity." " His timing borders on the divine." "The week we celebrate Palm Sunday when our Lord entered Jerusalem... the people sing hosanna to Cesare." "But remember our Lord's triumph did not last but a week." "The duties of the vice chancellor require a little more than mere trickery." "A steady mettle, a clear understanding of canon law, an ability to supervise." "A gift at training new priests and, above all, a soft heart." "Cardinal Borgia is many things." "But a calming guide to souls is not one of them." "Fine." "We will give Cardinal Borgia the chance to prove himself." "He will go to Florence and represent us." "I know the danger Savonarola presents and will determine his true aims." "Perhaps someone more versed in sacred dogma should go." "Excellent point." "You shall accompany me, Cardinal Farnese." "We shall set aside our enmity for a common cause." "Herr Burchard, the next order of business?" "Ah yes." "We present Bishop Juan Borgia Lanzol." "Bishop Francesco Borgia, Bishop Pedro Luis Borgia Lanzol." "Bishop Gian Borgia da Mila and Bishop Alfonso Borgia... for election to the College of the Cardinals." "Why not change the name to the College of the Borgias?" " Did you say something, Eminence?" " Only that Spain must feel quite empty." " Herr Burchard, let us vote." " Is there a point?" " If you want it, they are elected." " Eminences..." "My cousins and I live to serve God's great church... but cannot do so unless we have your support, your blessing." "I wish for there to be a vote." "I wish for validation from the men who would be my peers." "Here are documents demonstrating the good works we have performed in Spain." "All notarized by her most Catholic Majesty Queen Isabella... who is renowned throughout Christendom for her honesty... and love of the Church." "Why did you not ask me first if I want to be vice chancellor?" "Do you?" "No." "But I dared not contradict you in that nest of tarantulas." "It increases your chances of becoming pope." "I do not want to be pope." "I want to be a king." "Emperor." "An emperor defeats his enemies sometimes by diplomacy." "Conquer Savonarola and your glory will spread." "She whom I love is in France." "I will go to Lyon and win Carlotta's heart." "First Florence and then Lyon." "Savonarola is as great a threat to our papacy as the armies of King Charles." "If you refuse to do what we ask, when you return, another man may be pope." ""It is not by power and pomp... cavalcades of retainers and richly- housed palfreys or by apparel... that the heretics win proselytes." "It is by zealous preaching, by apostolic humility, by austerity." "Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility."" " Care to guess the author?" " Saint Dominic." "Founder of the Order to which Savonarola belongs." "This is Dominic's rebuke of the legates who dit not counter the Cathar heretics." " Savonarola is a heretic." " He is a man of spiritual extremes." "But our first tack must be to work with him, not in opposition." "Compromise with this lowly monk who sided with the French?" "Turn him into an ally." "A man of such fire would be of great use to the church." " And to us." " So you want me to seduce him?" "As a symbol of our papal love, you present him with a cardinal's red hat." " Despite his order's disdain for it." " No one says he has to wear the hat." "And if he refuses, if he proves to be truly virtuous?" "Then we must not be perceived as causing this to happen." "The Florentines must think his downfall is born out of their need." "Go, with God's speed." "Do you still share the reservations about my son?" "I fear you are trying to extinguish fire with fire." "The truth, Francesc, is that I have come to fear Cesare." "I only hope Savonarola will do the same." " I hear that you go to Florence." " Yes." " I will come with you." " No." " Giulia, at least you're in Rome." " Alessandro..." "Alessandro, do not take offense." "I love your villa, but I long to live in the Apostolic Palace once more." " And you will." " Just be patient." "The clock ticks." "Your sister grows no younger." "His Holiness, Pope Alexander VI of that name." "Holy Father... when will you come see our daughter, Laura and our son, Giovanni?" "One day soon." "I am doomed." " Lucrezia, here is Cardinal Lanzol." " Cardinal?" "Cousin." "Welcome." "But what brings you so far from the banquet?" "Besides the chance to meet my beautiful cousin?" "There is always a "besides" in the Borgia family." "You are without a lady-in-waiting." "Angela, Hieronyma." " This is my little sister, Angela." " Pleased to meet you, cousin." " Younger, not little." " Of course." " And our first cousin, Hieronyma." " We do not know you, Lucrezia... but we share a history and a future." " They will serve as your ladies." " Well, this is a surprise." "Family is a constant surprise." "Nurse, I need help here." "Your mother's milk." "I am sorry, cousin." "She says this is an emergency." "Who?" "He wants to be fed." " I thought I was dreaming." " You fill my life with nightmares." "You know I want Giovanni to live with me, but the Pope insists." "You two saw nothing and you know nothing, understand?" " What is the ruckus?" " I am ragged without sleep." " Water, please." " We will go." " Do you need anything, dear?" " Just more of this." "Goodnight." "Each of us gets the sleep we deserve." "Giulia, can you not convince my father to let my son live with me?" "Believe this." "If I could, I would." "Before we go any further, why did you bring me along?" "Last time we rode into Florence, there was nothing but our excitement." "Two young students from Pisa, ready for a break from our studies." "Was that yesterday or a century ago?" " Yes, this is true." " But a secret." " Then how did you..." " A lover has his ways." " We..." " are betrothed." " I will be a duchess again." " A princess." "Uncle Federigo is to name me Prince of Bisciglie." " Bisciglie?" "Where is Bisciglie?" " I am so happy, Lucrezia." "Do not dance quite yet." " You do not want me?" " The real question is, do you want me?" "Have you not heard the rumors?" "That I am no longer a virgin?" "That I have a child out of wedlock?" "That word means exactly what it says." "After you are wed, you are locked." " I am soiled, Alfonso." " And am I any better?" "First, I am a bastard." "Second, I am no virgin either." "I have offspring scattered throughout the Kingdom of Naples." "Our soiled past becomes our bond." "I am only interested in what tricks you have learned in other men's beds." "Alfonso, you need not marry me to become a Borgia." "You already are one." "Now, may I hug you?" "I hear Savonarola runs the city like a monastery." "I suppose that brothel is no longer soliciting business." "Or the tavern where you danced on the table and sang." "sweet in goodly fellowship tastes of wine and rare O but to kiss a girl's ripe lip is a..." " Florence, what a city it was." " What a shame it has become." " What in the name of Christ is that?" " Bonfire of the Vanities." " Burn sinful things before they burn you." " They do this willingly?" " Their free will is blocked by fear." " Fear of what?" "Savonarola has no army." "Fear of damnation." "Good girl." "Good boy." "How did you do that?" " After four children?" "You were a terror." " I was not." "Midnight to daybreak for the first fourteen months." "Both lungs, basso profundo." "And now, forced into silence maintaining this charade with Lucrezia's baby." "What am I to do?" "How can I complain to Rodrigo when he will not even look in my direction?" "Find the right person to do the complaining for you." "Who?" "Alessandro?" "No." "He devised this plan which has served its purpose:" "Getting you back to Rome." "You need a different champion." "Preferably a Borgia." "Cardinal Lanzol?" "Madonna Giulia, you wish to see me?" "Your presence is a much needed break from motherhood." "They say having two is three times as many as having one." "I am so exhausted, I see four." "Make no mistake, I love my child..." "My children." "Of course." "Since I am here, we can discuss Giovanni's baptism." "The Pope has asked me to perform the sacrament." "Officially, I must ascertain whether the child will be raised in the Catholic faith." " I think the odds are pretty high." " Are they?" "In this case?" " A vow is a vow, is it not?" " If spoken by the real parents." "So you already know." "Lucrezia's two ladies-in-waiting." "Your sister." " The Pope will be furious." " You were about to tell me yourself." " I cannot carry on this sham." " Be of good cheer, I will ease your pain." "His Holiness, Pope Alexander VI... calls to order the 278th meeting of the papal commission..." " on reform of Holy Mother Church." " 278th?" "When we last met... we were discussing the extravagant lifestyles of our brother cardinals." "I see, banquet should consist of one boiled meat, one roasted meat..." " and fruit." " That is all?" "Pastry." " One must allow for pastry." " Pastry is an indulgence, a decadence." " Most entertaining, thank you." " The session has barely begun." "We grant you permission to continue without our presence." "Pass whichever you deem necessary... to improve the health of our beloved Church." "Enter." " They arrived unannounced..." " Of course." " Fra Girolamo." "I am..." " I know who you are." "I am aware of who comes and goes in my city." "And the brother of the concubine." "She has supplied Borgia with yet another bastard, yes?" "Il Papa has sent this one to test his mettle." "Let's see how he fares on his own." "Take Farnese out." "So much for Florentine hospitality." "Not much of the Florence I love remains." "A strange sight for you, yes." "No vice, no vulgarity, no vanity." "No passion for life." "Is that what is meant by the Lord's passion in Gethsemane?" "A good time?" "Here is a hint for your Palm Sunday homily." "The word "passion" derives from pati, Latin for "suffering."" " I know Latin, Fra Girolamo." " But do you know true suffering?" "Saint Peter of Verona." "He evangelized Italy from Como to Rome... bringing thousands into the arms of Christ." "The Manichean heretics tried to quiet him... but Peter's denunciations grew louder." "So they hired an assassin." "Carino, his soul black, met Peter on the road... and split his head open with an axe, turning his face into a crimson mask." "Yet even with blood, bone and brain pouring down his face..." "Peter found the faith to rise to his knees." "Unable to speak, he dipped his fingers into his own blood... writing on the ground:" "credo in deum patrem." "Offering himself to the Lord, a willing sacrifice." "A compelling legend." "Yet, I cannot help but wonder what might have been... what more Peter could have accomplished... if he had seen the danger and changed his course." "The Pope wishes to raise you to the heights... a prince of the church." "Our faith is not a trinket to be traded, Borgia." "This is about respect:" "Pope Alexander for you, you for Pope Alexander." "Why would I want his respect when I possess the truth?" "What is hate or love compared to salvation?" "Tell me, Cesare Borgia, who are you?" "What is your truth?" "When have you seen the face of God?" "Ah, a Borgia with a conscience." "Then take heart." "There is still hope for you." "Carino, the assassin, begged forgiveness... for his part in Saint Peter's martyrdom." "Time for mass." "Who told you that the baby is not mine?" "Lucrezia?" "Giulia?" " The who does not matter." "I can help." " How could you help?" "Listen to the voices of the people outside the Vatican wall." "The peasants call him Infante Romano, as if any man could be the father." "He casts a shadow over the Borgia's papacy." "So what do we do?" "Take Giovanni to a hillside and bury him?" "Yes, figuratively." "Send him away." "In a basket of bulrushes perhaps, float him down the Tiber?" " Cousin Adriana in Carbognano." " Who was also sent away." "How do we know she will not taint Giovanni?" "To prove herself worthy of your love, she will raise him as if he were Moses." "Take the child quickly and quietly." "Cousin, this is no easy task, telling a mother that her child must be taken." " No, Lucrezia." "The answer is no." " Who brought Isabella Matuzzi in here?" "Did you not encourage me to hand Giovanni over to Giulia?" "That was a temporary solution." "This is a permanent one." "If Giovanni is taken further away from Rome, you will never see him again." " She can visit him any time she wants." " If I want your opinion, I will ask." "Lucrezia, do not let this happen." "And how do I stop it?" "Defy the Pope?" "Just like that monk, Savonarola?" " The Pope is your father." " In that order..." "So off the infant goes, to that gorgon Adriana no less..." " who could turn Medusa into stone." " Who are you to talk?" "The mother of four bastard children?" " You sent Juan to live in Spain." " Why are you trying to hurt me?" "You did for Rodrigo's bidding every step, spreading your legs." "And look at me:" "Juan is dead, Cesare is absent, and you are my spitting image." "Because at your age, I did not stand up for what was right." "Some days ago you were resolved to get Giovanni back." "Where is that resolve?" "I see now." "Even if I were to defy the Pope, there is no defying God." "And losing Giovanni is punishment for my despicable sins." "So yes, off he goes." "But I will accompany you to Adriana's." "I do not want to preach to you." "Let us simply speak with each other." "Agnola, I see you there." "I can hear the question on your lips before you speak." "You wonder:" ""How can you debase a man who serves as the mouthpiece of God?"" "Fair question, I answer you thus:" "My own eyes have gazed into the light of the Holy Spirit." "The Light illuminates truth." "If the Light deceives me and I deceive you, then God deceives." "Do you believe God would deceive us?" "No." "But you, Lazzaro, you wonder what did the Light illuminate?" "I answer:" "Rome." "Rome, a city of winding streets and dark recesses... with shadows cast, not by buildings, but by people." "Yes, Lazzaro... in Rome there are more prostitutes than Monte Cassino has friars." "This culture of sin extends all the way." "No, I do not point to Heaven but at Alexander... who brings the entire Church to his level of debauchery." " I tried to turn this into a crossbow." " One priest sleeps with his concubine... another with a boy and the next morning both perform Holy Mass." " We will need more to kill that lion..." " What do you make of such a Mass?" "Niccolo Machiavelli." "But Silvestro, you ask, why does God speak to me and not to the Pope?" "Oh, he does, but Alexander will not listen." "There is a different congregation in Florence anxious to meet you." "We will send word as to when, where." "Just now, Alexander has offered me a cardinal's red hat... in exchange for my submission." "You, stranger, would you accept such an offer?" "Would you take more power in exchange for your soul?" "I stand among you, fellow Christians, to make this solemn vow." "No hat will I wear but that of a martyr... reddened with my own blood." "Cesare writes that Savonarola has increased his venom towards you." "My patience ebbs with the monk and my son." "The coincidence is unfortunate." "Savonarola will draw parallels... depicting you as Herod, seduced by Salome." "Cesare suggests an embargo on Florentine goods... in hopes of stirring up the merchant class." "You will write an epistle, Agapito, banning all Florentine products." "Such a ban will anger the Roman rabble." "No wool, no silk..." "Denial strengthens Roman character." "Bring Giulia here." "What?" "We wish to discover if she told my nephew the baby is not ours." "In one breath you say denial strengthens character, in the next, you ask for Giulia." "Seeing her at the banquet, mia Bella, only she." "Am I strong enough to risk having her live here again?" " Politically, or..." " Bring her for one night." " Is it done?" " Yes." " Is he trustworthy?" " If such men are ever trustworthy." " But Lucrezia, I worry..." " This is the only way." "You said I should not surrender to the Pope's demands." "Deceit will get my child back." "Cousin Juan must believe I'm complacent." "I'm certain he would rather that you hold him." "I'm certain that he would not." "Lucrezia, Giovanni is yet to be baptized." "Because I need his real parents to make the commitment to God." " Giovanni's father is dead." " Then you must speak for him as well." "Do not let this innocent child die without salvation." "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." "Giovanni, you are no longer a foreigner, but a citizen of God's Kingdom." "You are a member of the household built upon the foundation of the Apostles... with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone." "I am whole again." "My love, please let me stay." "Yes." "I hope that we are not mice walking into a trap." "Ah, Rome to the rescue." "Come in." "Cesare Borgia, Alessandro Farnese... meet the truly faithful Florentines:" "Piero Soderini, once the city's Prior..." "Francesco da Puglia, Superior of the Franciscan monks." "Niccolo, manners are unnecessary." "You will meet the rest in time." "You two have probably not tasted wine since your arrival." " Let us, at least, remedy that." " This leech, Savonarola... speaks of Florence as if the very city was born inside of him." "He comes from Ferrara and has been in residence for twelve years." " Compared to generations of my family." " And mine." "Yet you supported him, initially." "All of you, did you not?" "Florentine merchandise will no longer be exported to the Papal States." "That will ruin us." "Every nobleman and merchant, friar and pauper must share responsibility." "He remains in power by your support." "Eminence, we simply wished to rid ourselves of the Medici." " That cause was no less desperate." " But hindsight proves the wiser." "We would gladly have a simpleton like Piero back in power." "Savonarola will not be moved unless a mountain falls upon him." " The Pope must excommunicate him." " I second that." "I do not." " Why?" " Eminence, you first." " He would happily die a martyr." " He has practically been begging for it." "You would catapult him to greater glory." " He will move his sermons to the piazza." " And build a bigger bonfire." "But having sown fire, let him reap the same." "We will give Savonarola the ultimate test of his faith, the ordeal by fire." "He will refuse." "Then his followers will see that he has feet of clay and turn from him." "What if he agrees to the ordeal?" "Worse, what if he survives?" " Divine intervention?" " Do not be so cynical." "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stepped from the furnace of Babylon." "Do you actually believe Savonarola would not burn?" "I am open to the possibility." "Juan, know that no matter what happens next..." "I thank you for the love you have shown me." "Greetings, cousin Adriana." "Juan Lanzol, a child no longer and a cardinal, I see." ""Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."" "Lucrezia." "The sins of the father are visited upon the children." "Come in." "A relic, a bone from the body of Saint Apollonia, virgin and martyr." "More likely this came from the skeleton of a dead squirrel." "I have arranged for a wet nurse." "A righteous woman, her milk is pure." " Lucrezia will want to visit..." " No." "A clean separation is best." "So, rejoice, my dear." "This child of sin will be raised a pillar of holiness." "The curse of illegitimacy on the Borgia family may not end with Giovanni... but it will be abated." "Who are you?" "Are you a man or a spectre?" "I am here..." " Madonna Lucrezia." " You." "You are the mercenary whom my mother hired?" "When you steal my baby, you must not harm him." "Is the lady of the house to die?" "No." "Not unless necessary." "I am overjoyed to have my faith tested." "I accept your challenge." " But then so should you stand trial." " I have no reason to..." "If my faith is proven false, that does not prove your faith true." "So, I challenge you, Eminence, in the name of Pope Alexander... to verify your righteousness, or has the Borgia bull been castrated?" "You think me a boy of privilege, that I do not know pain." "I have been tested by many, more powerful than you, yet here I stand." "I have risen from the flames before and I will rise in them again, a phoenix." " Phoenix is a myth." " And so may be the fires of hell." "Please, Florence cannot bear the strain of seeing you stand inside the pyre." "I have been challenged, brother." "Allow me to take your place... just as Cardinal Borgia stands in place of Pope Alexander." "I yearn to prove myself to God, as you already have." "Canon law allows him to stand in Savonarola's stead." "Borgia, will you still enjoy the ordeal by fire?" "The ordeal by fire?" "Cesare should have sought our counsel first." "The crisis must be resolved by a deference to papal authority... not by the whim of fate." "Cancel now, and we appear frightened that Savonarola will survive and triumph." " Then we will go to Florence." " You would arrive too late." "Or they will burn you instead." "I want my son to live and the monk to die." "Dear God, oh that you would bless me indeed to expand my territory." "And that your hand would be with me to guide me, and to keep me from evil." "Amen." "Who serves you best, Lord?" "Do I or Savonarola?" "Send a sign." "Save my son."