23
The Fall of Cesare
A year after Machiavelli wrote those words, Cesare’s power began to
crumble. His father died in 1503, and the new pope, Julius II, proved
himself no friend of the Borgias. Cesare fell gravely ill himself—he was
believed to have suffered from malaria—and after recovering was forced
to put down a revolt at the Italian city of Perugia. For Cesare, it turned
out to be a rare military failure—perhaps because Cesare’s judgment as a
strategist was impaired by the lingering effects of the illness.
After suffering the defeat, Julius ordered
Cesare to return to Rome, where he was placed
under arrest. In 1504 Julius exiled Cesare to
Spain, where he was imprisoned for two years
but finally freed, probably at the urging of his
wife’s brother, the king of Navarre.
Cesare fought one final battle. Now in the
service of John III, Cesare led an attack on a
rebellious count in the Spanish city of Viana.
His Spanish soldiers turned out to be cow-
ards, abandoning their general in mid-battle.
On March 12, 1507, at the age of thirty-one, he was cut down in battle.
Says Durant, “It was an honorable end to a questionable life.”
10
Displays of Wealth
Although nobles and patricians such as Cesare Borgia and Cosimo de’
Medici spent much of their time enmeshed in intrigues and plots to enrich
themselves, life for the era’s wealthiest families could be filled with many
pleasures. ey traveled widely, kept mistresses, enjoyed the finest foods
and wines, and lived in splendor, occupying opulent palaces, or
palazzi
.
e palaces of the patricians and nobles were largely located in the
cities. In such a home it was not unusual for a wealthy resident to rent
out lower floors to shopkeepers or artisans. Typically, the first floor fea-
tured the shops. e proprietors of the shops lived on the second floor,
the mezzanine. On the third floor—the
piano nobile
, or noble floor—
resided the wealthy patrician or noble. Living on the next floor above
WORDS IN CONTEXT
piano nobile
In the palace of a
wealthy noble or patri-
cian, the floor reserved
for the occupancy of the
owner—in most cases
the third floor.
