Murder, poison, corruption and incest
Murder, poison, corruption and incest: all perfect ingredients for sensational popular culture. But in an age known for its brutality and church corruption were the Borgias really so bad? This lecture reveals the real family that dominated the Papacy and Italian politics during the last decade of the 15th Century. It includes the charismatic figure of Pope Alexander VI living inside his sumptuously decorated apartments. Also the career of his son Cesare, cardinal, general, employer of Da Vinci, and the model for Machiavelli’s The Prince. Finally, there is the journey of Lucrezia Borgia from “the greatest whore in Rome” to a devout and treasured duchess of the city of Ferrara.
THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER

Ms Sarah Dunant
Novelist, broadcaster and critic. Sarah read history at Cambridge, then worked for many years as a cultural journalist in radio and television on such programmes as Kaleidoscope (BBC Radio 4), The Late Show (BBC 2), and Night Waves/Free thinking (BBC Radio 3). She has published thirteen novels, taught renaissance studies at Washington University, St Louis and lectured around the world at festivals and conferences. Her last five novels have been set within the Italian Renaissance. In the Name of the Family completes the story of the Borgia family and the remarkable period of Italian history in which they lived. She is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s A POINT OF VIEW and these talks, alongside her series on history for Radio 4, When Greeks Flew Kites are available on podcast or BBC sounds.
OTHER EVENTS
How and why did it all come to look this way?
Japanese aesthetic in painting, sculpture and the applied arts through different periods of history