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Giovanni BorgiaSecond Duke of Gandia
Country:
 Italy |
Content:
Giovan Borgia: The Duke of Gandia
Giovan Borgia, the second Duke of Gandia and Sessa, was the son of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) and his mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was born into the infamous Borgia family, which included his siblings Cesare Borgia, Lucrezia Borgia, and Joffre Borgia.
Marriage and Family
In September 1493, Giovan married María Enriquez de Luna, a Spanish noblewoman who had been betrothed to his older half-brother, Pedro Luis. She was the daughter of Enriquez de Luna, brother of Queen Juana Enriquez, and her mother was a granddaughter of the Duke of Trujillo. They had two children together.
Military Career
Giovan's father intended him for a secular career as a military commander in the Papal States. He received the title of Prince of Gandia and Sessa, and was made Constable of Naples. He also held the prestigious title of "Gonfalonier and Captain General of the Church."
Assassination
On the night of June 14, 1497, Giovan was assassinated near the Piazza della Giudecca at the age of 22. His body was later recovered from the Tiber River, bearing nine stab wounds.
Suspects
Rumours spread that his own brother, Cesare Borgia, had orchestrated the murder. Cesare, who had always desired a secular career rather than the ecclesiastical one his father had chosen for him, would have benefited greatly from his brother's death. However, no witnesses to the crime were found, except for a fisherman who claimed to have seen two men throwing a body into the Tiber.
Another theory suggests that the father of a young woman, Antonio Pico della Mirandola, was responsible. Giovan had reportedly boasted of defiling the 14-year-old daughter of a prominent Roman family shortly before his death.
