Alfonso of Aragon, an illegitimate son of…
July 1498 CE
Alfonso of Aragon, an illegitimate son of Alfonso II of Naples, had received a thorough education in the humanities.
His first tutor was Giuniano Maio who was then followed by the Florentine poet Raffaele Brandolini (also known as "Lippus Brandolinus" because of his blindness).
From an early age Alfonso was involved in the crisis that hit the Aragonese dynasty of Naples.
In 1495, during the French occupation, his father had fled and later died in Sicily.
Alfonso, aged fourteen, had fought for the return to the throne of his half-brother Ferdinand, who became king of Naples in 1495 but died one year later.
In 1497, with the restoration of the Aragonese control under his uncle Frederick IV of Naples, Alfonso had been assigned to the first position of responsibility and became the Lieutenant general of Abruzzo.
In order to strengthen ties with Naples, Pope Alexander VI has arranged marriages between the House of Borgia and the royal family of Aragon.
Alfonso's sister Sancha of Aragon had already been given to the Pope's youngest son Gioffre Borgia in 1494.
Alexander VI's idea had been for his son Cesare Borgia to marry Carlotta of Naples, the legitimate daughter of the newly crowned Frederick IV of Naples, but Carlotta would not agree to marry him.
To appease the Pope, King Frederick had eventually consented to a match between the Pope's daughter Lucrezia Borgia, aged eighteen, and the seventeen-year-old Alfonso of Aragon.
On July 15, 1498, Alfonso enters Rome in disguise.
Alfonso and Lucrezia are married in the Vatican on July 21 with the celebrations being held behind closed doors.
With Alfonso comes the princely cities of Salerno, Quadrata and Bisceglie.
Lucrezia brings with her a dowry of forty thousand ducats.
It is part of the agreement that they will remain in Rome for at least one year and not be forced to live permanently at the Kingdom of Naples until her father's death.
According to Gregorovius, "the youthful Alfonso was fair and amiable", "the most handsome young man ever seen in the Imperial city."
By all evidence, Lucrezia is genuinely fond of him.
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