Pedro Luis de Borja,
Duke of Spoleto
The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. Th ...
and
Marquess
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
of
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...
(1432 – 26 September 1458) was the younger brother of
Rodrigo Borgia
Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...
and nephew of Cardinal Alonso de Borja, who in 1455 became
Pope Callixtus III
Pope Callixtus III ( it, Callisto III, va, Calixt III, es, Calixto III; 31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458), born Alfonso de Borgia ( va, Alfons de Borja), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 April 1455 to his ...
. He was called Don Pedro Luis.
Biography
Although he was not a priest but a layman, soon after the
elevation of his uncle to the papacy he was loaded with several offices and honours. In the spring of 1456 he was named
Captain-General of the Church
The captain general of the Church ( it, Capitano generale della Chiesa) was the ''de facto'' commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Papal States during the Middle Ages. The post was usually conferred on an Italian people, Italian or other ...
and
castellan
A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...
of
Sant'Angelo, in the autumn of the same year the Pope made him Governor of
Terni
Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...
,
Narni
Narni (in Latin, Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and ''comune'' of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of 240 m (787 ft), it overhangs a narrow gorge of the Nera River in the province of Terni. ...
,
Todi,
Rieti
Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina re ...
,
Orvieto
Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...
,
Spoleto,
Foligno
Foligno (; Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clitunno river system. It is located so ...
,
Nocera,
Assisi
Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...
,
Amelia,
Civita Castellana, and
Nepi, and at the beginning of 1457 the governorships of the provinces of Patrimony and Tuscany were added to these. In the same time his older brother
Rodrigo Borgia
Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...
was created Cardinal Deacon, Commander-in-Chief of the papal troops and
Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, while another relative
Luis Juan del Mila y Borja was also elevated to the cardinalate. Such rapid promotions of young relatives of the Spanish Pope Callixtus III were criticised by many older cardinals (e.g.
Domenico Capranica) and met also with opposition of rather xenophobic Roman populace.
[L. Pastor, p. 461] Particularly
Orsini family
The House of Orsini is an Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini family include five popes: Stephen II (752-757), Paul I (757-767), Celestine II ...
opposed Borgias. Their enmity towards them increased when Don Pedro Luis was sent to recover for the Church some fortresses kept by Orsinis, and on 19 August 1457 was appointed Prefect of Rome in succession to
Antonio Orsini. To counterbalance Orsinis, Callixtus III aligned himself with
Colonna family
The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin ...
, opponents of Orsinis, but the plan of the marriage of Don Pedro Luis with Colonna had never been realized.
It was said that Pope Callixtus III wanted to make him Emperor of Constantinople after its recovering from the Turks.
Don Pedro Luis was hated by Romans, as almost all relatives and allies of Callixtus III, called "Catalans" due to their Spanish origin. On 6 August 1458, the day his uncle Pope died, he had to fly away from Rome because an open revolt against "Catalans" had broken up. He died ''en route'' at
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...
, left by almost all of his companions, being only 26 years old.
[L. Pastor, p. 476-478]
Descendance
He married in 1450 Ana Borboun y Saminerez-Guerra,Spanish noble,he had a son with her,
Zosef Llancol Escriva,born in 1457 ,died in 1505.
Ancestry
Notes
References
*
Ludwig von PastorHistory of the Popes vol. 2 p. 460-478
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borja, Pedro Luis De
1432 births
1458 deaths
Pedro Luis
Papal family members
Captains General of the Church