"Pope Alexander VI and his children, especially Cesare, Juan, and Lucrezia, were no different from such dynastic figures of the age as the Riarios, Medicis, Sforzas, Estes, and Gonzagas. But the Borgias remained outsiders, they loathed hypocrisy, and their genius inspired Machiavelli. This is what their enemies have held against them, branding them with the mark of infamy." — Ivan Cloulas, The Borgias












