|
|
VIANA AND CÉSAR
BORGIA
César Borgia, who was greatly admired by Niccolo
Machiavelli, and whose reputation as an adventurer and
libertine transcended all frontiers, linked his name to
that of Navarre in 1491 when, at the age of 16, he was
appointed Bishop of Pamplona. Destined to become Pope (or
Cesar) his life was divided between his studies, the
hazards of fortune and Vatican diplomacy. He was a prince.
A warrior. A cardinal at the age of 19 and captain general
of the military forces of the church at 22.
At the age of 24 (1499) he married Carlota d’Albret
in Blois.
When his
father, pope
Alexander VI died in 1503, the blows of fate took him from
prison to prison: from Rome to Naples, from Naples to the
tower of la Mota. In 1506 he fled to Navarre, which was in
the middle of a civil war. In 1507 his brother-in-law King
John D’Albret appointed him to the high-ranking military
office of Condestable of Navarre and Captain General of
the army. On 12th March of that same year, in an
unfortunate affray between the count of Lerín, César
Borgia died at the Campo de la Verdad, close to Viana,
where he is buried. He was 32 years’ old.
From the book
“Curiosidades del Camino de Santiago”. by Juan Ramón
Corpas Mauleon. Published by Edilesa
|
