Who he was
Rodrigo Borgia was a nephew of Callixtus III, who adopted him into his household, sent him to study law at Bologna, and made him a cardinal at twenty-five. For some thirty-five years he ran the papal chancery as Vice-Chancellor with acknowledged skill, and he grew very wealthy from the many benefices he held. His private life fell far short of his office: he had several children, among them Cesare and Lucrezia, and his care to advance them shaped much of his reign. Elected in August 1492, he died in Rome in August 1503, after he and those around him fell ill with fever.
What he is remembered for
He restored order in a lawless Rome, rebuilt the Roman University, and presided over the great Jubilee of 1500. He drew the line of demarcation between the newly discovered lands of Spain and Portugal, sent the first missionaries to the New World, and decorated the ceiling of St Mary Major, by tradition with the first gold brought from America. He is one of the best-known popes of the Renaissance, chiefly because of the conduct of his family.
Sources
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