DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42861#0232
192 FERRARESE ENVOYS IN ROME
On the 23rd of December, Alfonso d’Este’s brothers,
Don Ferrante and Cardinal Ippolito, arrived in Rome
with a brilliant suite to solemnise the marriage, and
escort the bride to Ferrara. Lucrezia, clad in white
and gold brocade, with pearls and rubies in her hair,
received the two princes on the steps of the Vatican,
and Cassar led them into the palace, while the Pope
looked on from a balcony, and greeted his guests with
effusion. He conversed freely with the Ferrarese
envoys, saying that he meant Lucrezia to have more
beautiful pearls than any other princess, and praised
her beauty and goodness, comparing her to the
Marchesana of Mantua and the Duchess of Urbino.
But in spite of these assurances we see how deep
was the distrust which the Borgias inspired and how
anxious Duke Ercole felt with regard to Lucrezia’s
own character by the following letter which his
confidential agent, Gian Luca Pozzi, wrote on the
evening of his arrival in Rome :—
“To-day, after supper, Girardo and I waited on
the most illustrious Madonna Lucrezia, in the name
of Your Excellency and Don Alfonso. We con-
versed together on many subjects, and in all she said
we found her very sensible, discreet, of good and
loving nature, and sincerely attached both to Your
Excellency and Don Alfonso, so that I confidently
believe Don Alfonso will find real comfort in her
society. Besides which, she is singularly graceful in all
her actions, and her manners are full of modesty and
decorum. She is a good Christian, filled with the
fear of God, and is going to confess to-morrow, and
to communicate on the Feast of the Nativity of Our
Lord. She has a sufficient share of good looks, and
her pleasing expression and graceful manners make
On the 23rd of December, Alfonso d’Este’s brothers,
Don Ferrante and Cardinal Ippolito, arrived in Rome
with a brilliant suite to solemnise the marriage, and
escort the bride to Ferrara. Lucrezia, clad in white
and gold brocade, with pearls and rubies in her hair,
received the two princes on the steps of the Vatican,
and Cassar led them into the palace, while the Pope
looked on from a balcony, and greeted his guests with
effusion. He conversed freely with the Ferrarese
envoys, saying that he meant Lucrezia to have more
beautiful pearls than any other princess, and praised
her beauty and goodness, comparing her to the
Marchesana of Mantua and the Duchess of Urbino.
But in spite of these assurances we see how deep
was the distrust which the Borgias inspired and how
anxious Duke Ercole felt with regard to Lucrezia’s
own character by the following letter which his
confidential agent, Gian Luca Pozzi, wrote on the
evening of his arrival in Rome :—
“To-day, after supper, Girardo and I waited on
the most illustrious Madonna Lucrezia, in the name
of Your Excellency and Don Alfonso. We con-
versed together on many subjects, and in all she said
we found her very sensible, discreet, of good and
loving nature, and sincerely attached both to Your
Excellency and Don Alfonso, so that I confidently
believe Don Alfonso will find real comfort in her
society. Besides which, she is singularly graceful in all
her actions, and her manners are full of modesty and
decorum. She is a good Christian, filled with the
fear of God, and is going to confess to-morrow, and
to communicate on the Feast of the Nativity of Our
Lord. She has a sufficient share of good looks, and
her pleasing expression and graceful manners make