The Borgias

Giovanni Cybo/Innocent VIII: (to the Cardinals, as he is dying) You are afraid to enter, but you must. (they enter) I am about to meet my maker, and I have confessed. And, I confess... I am very afraid. (acknowledges several of them, and they bow) Corlona. Sforza. Orsini. Borgia. Rodrigo Borgia: (bows) Your Holiness. Giovanni Cybo/Innocent VIII: ...Della Rovere. (Della Rovere bows) You will fight, like dogs... over this corpse I leave...for this throne, of St. Peter's. (Della Rovere crosses himself) But, it was pure, once. We have all sullied it, with our greed and... lechery. (Borgia and Della Rovere meet each other's eyes) Which of you... will wash it clean?! (Della Rovere seems about to speak, but Borgia speaks first) Rodrigo Borgia: It shall be cleansed, Your Holiness- with the tears we shed for you. I swear, before the living God. Orsino Orsini: (sneering) You swear thus- a Spanish burano, a white Moor?! Rodrigo Borgia: (firmly) As Vice-Chancellor, I swear, before the living God.

The Borgias (2011 TV series), CC BY-SA 4.0

Cesare Borgia: (observing the bodies) You planned this massacre thoroughly. Micheletto Corella: If I had planned it, my Lord, believe me, we would not be having this conversation. Cesare Borgia: You're that meticulous? Micheletto Corella: Always. (removes a dagger from a body and throws it aside) Cesare Borgia: And who planned it? Micheletto Corella: Cardinal Orsini. Cesare Borgia: And Della Rovere? Micheletto Corella: I know nothing of him. In this affair, I had but one master. (leans against the wall to catch his breath) Cesare Borgia: And now?... Micheletto Corella: And now, I am like a stray dog- masterless. (glances at Cesare) Unless your kind offer still stands. Cesare Borgia: You could've... let things take their course, betrayed me. Most of your kind do. Micheletto Corella: My kind? (pause) I do not have a "kind". (glances at his bloody hands, then back to Cesare) And, I suspect, neither do you. Cesare Borgia: (sheathes his dagger, approaches) Your name, sweet assassin? Michele

The Borgias (2011 TV series), CC BY-SA 4.0

Guiliano Della Rovere: (dining in the House of Medici) The wealth of Florence astounds me, Don de Medici. Piero de Medici: Banking. The Medici family are bankers to the world- to the Vatican itself. Niccolo Machiavelli: Father Savanarola calls it "usury". Piero de Medici: And what do you call it? Niccolo Machiavelli: "Interest." Guiliano Della Rovere: He may be wrong about the Medici bank, but he's right about the Borgia Pope. Alexander's great game is the investiture of Naples. He knows France has claims upon it; he knows Spain has claims upon it. He will play them both against each other, like a spider with two flies- Piero de Medici: (impatiently) And you? What is your game? Guiliano Della Rovere: (smiles) I have no game- but, if I am forced to play... I will head to France, and ask the French King to invade our beautiful Italy. (Medici looks alarmed) Niccolo Machiavelli: (pretends to look bewildered) "Italy?" Is there such an entity? Guiliano Della Rovere: There is a land, Signor M

The Borgias (2011 TV series), CC BY-SA 4.0

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI: (to his doctor) Go away! (to Cardinal Sforza) Do nightmares ever plague the Vice-Chancellor? Ascanio Sforza: The very office is a nightmare, Your Holiness. Plots, petty intrigues and petitions... which I do my utmost to keep from your presence. Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI: (nods slowly) I need your assurance... of the welfare of my daughter- in the castle of your cousin, Giovanni Sforza. Ascanio Sforza: You suspect she's ill-used? Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI: (sighs worriedly) Our nightmares tell us so. Ascanio Sforza: He will be... putty in her soft hands, Your Holiness. Yes, he inherited the Sforza name, the Sforza wealth- but none of its' vigor. Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI: And the Sforza appetite for intrigue? Ascanio Sforza: (shrugs) Yes, well...yes, that he did inherit. But... intrigue is no match for Borgia intelligence, as all Rome has discovered. Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI: So... I need your further assurance that... he, and another cousin, the Du

The Borgias (2011 TV series), CC BY-SA 4.0

Neapolitan Ambassador: King Ferrante of Naples sends his humble regards- Juan Borgia: (smirks) King Ferrante of Naples can neither hear nor see, I believe. (Alexander swats him on the shoulder) Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI: Son. Neapolitan Ambassador: He nevertheless sends his every good wish. And, in the face of all the spurious claims upon his Kingdom- from Spain, from France, from the Duchy of Milan- he would remind Your Holiness of the justice of the independent claims of Naples. An independent Naples can only be to Rome's... benefit. (Cesare glances at the Pope) And I, as his Ambassador, am proud to present a suit for your consideration, of his last unmarried daughter, Sancha, Duchessa of Squillace. (reaches for the cloth cover to Sancha's portrait) Juan Borgia: Where is Squillace? Neapolitan Ambassador: (annoyed) In the Kingdom of Naples. (reveals the portrait; Alexander looks approving, while Juan is clearly drawn to Sancha's face; he stands up and takes a closer look) Juan Borgi

The Borgias (2011 TV series), CC BY-SA 4.0

French General: Tell me, Cardinal- what is the Italian word for "cannon"? Guiliano Della Rovere: We have no such word, General. French General: For... gunpowder? Recoil, battery, cannonball, ordinance? Guiliano Della Rovere: ... I'm at a loss. French General: (grins) You will need a new language, then. Your Italy will soon be deafened by the sound of cannon. (Della Rovere looks uneasy) Lucrezia Borgia: I must return to my husband in the morning. Cesare Borgia: Why? Lucrezia Borgia: Because he is my husband. Because our father needs his allegiance. Cesare Borgia: I should keep you here in chains- I suspect you would be happier. Lucrezia Borgia: (looks sharply at him) Why do you question my happiness? Cesare Borgia: Because something happened. I know it. Lucrezia Borgia: What do you know? Cesare Borgia: Your eyes. (Lucrezia turns away) You no longer walk on air. (she walks away, he follows her) Where is my young sister hiding? Lucrezia Borgia: I am the Lord Sforza's wife, Brother. Cesare

The Borgias (2011 TV series), CC BY-SA 4.0