Long ago, in a far away land called Italy there lived a countess. Lucretia Borgia was a countess best known for poisoning the people around her.
Her family was from Spain, and contained Popes, a saint, and the model for Machiavelli's
Prince. Lucretia was the illegitimate daughter of a Pope. She was well-educated and twice-engaged by the time she was eleven. She eventually married an illegitimate prince in a massive ceremony.
After a few years the family no longer supported Giovanni (her husband) and forced an annulment. She next married Alfonso of Aragon who is attacked and killed a few years later. Lucretia is devastated and marries for a third time to Alfonso of Ferrara, her final husband. They manage to make a partnership of it and she becomes more respectable.
When her family fell from grace, Lucretia survived the scandal and became even more respected. All around her, people were falling like flies, but Lucretia made it through everything safely. While she is supposed to be the heartless murderer, it is her brother and father who poisoned the men around Lucretia.
But why does everyone remember Lucretia Borgia as an evil poisoner? I hadn't ever heard of her brother or father until I decided to look further into her life, instead I'd heard that she was a princess of an Italian principality and a black widow. I recently learned from my brother that she's featured in the Assassin's Creed video game (and follows the stereotype of femme fatale). Where did all the mystery come from? and why doesn't someone debunk the perception?
Just a thought....
Stephie
