You should spare yourself this, Your Eminence.
Why? Why should I spare myself? (he walks through the burned-out nunnery, Micheletto follows with a torch) I should've foreseen this. (he looks up at the fresco he commissioned, with Ursula Bonadeo's face)
... Your Eminence. (Cesare enters the next room to find Micheletto standing over the body of Ursula, with her ears cut off)
...Ursula. (he kneels next to her and touches her bloodstained face) She chose God, Micheletto... and God repaid her with mutilation.
I know little of God, Your Eminence.
(full of grief and rage) God is deaf, God is blind- God is pitiless. (pause) She has released my heart... of all emotions, but one. (looks up at Micheletto) Vengeance.
(nods) Vengeance is sweet.
So, who did this, my friend?
The French. (picks up the remnants of a banner and examines it) This flag belongs to the cavalry of Gascony- these women were sport for army scouts.
They're renowned for their savagery- necklaces of severed ears. (Cesare removes his cloak and covers Ursula's body with it)
We must give them a lesson, then- in outrage. (they walk away) You were once a stray dog, Micheletto- masterless.
I found my master in you.
There must be other stray dogs out there, in Rome.
There are many. Sons of warlord families, condottiere who long have outlived their usefulness.
Search out a dozen of them- whom we can school in the art of vengeance.
(on Francesco Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua) He talks of honor, Father. There is nothing-
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Interesting concept, honor, isn't it? It's like its' cousin, valor.
(sarcastically) Honor has cousins?
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Oh, it has many cousins.
Rather like Cardinal Sforza.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(nods) And, they've all led Kings and armies to their doom.
So, why should we now make common cause with Milan?
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Because, when the French have left this "fair paradise", the Milanese will still be with us.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(smiles and shakes his head) This 'League'...cannot beat the French. Even in their weakened state. And, I doubt the French can beat this League. (pause) So, if the two armies batter each other to death... as the lawyers often say, qui berne?
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(nods) Mmm. A weakened Venice, a weakened Milan, a weakened Mantua. (shrugs) Has to be worth a weekend in Tuscany, surely. (Cesare smiles at his father's cunning, Rodrigo chuckles and slaps him on the shoulder)
(observing the poor as she and Julia Farnese walk through Rome) These children need an orphanage!
Indeed, they do. But, the nunneries that used to care for them are starved of funds- and the orphanage on Piazzo Naverna is now a Cardinal's palace. Here, once stood a statue of the goddess Selas Minnerva- and here flowed crystal springwater from the Alban Hills.
Statues are easily restored; water is not.
(looks directly at her) So- I would use my wit, and yours, to outwit those who divert funds, and water, from poor houses and palaces.
(nods) Cardinals- and the Curia.
You are far too clever. (takes her arm and leads her away)
(smiles) It would be fun, to outwit a brace of Cardinals.
More than fun- it would save lives. And, there is one more brain I would engage in our cause: your mother's.
(chuckles) My mother? But, she-
You must admit, three minds would be better than two. And, your mother and I are far beyond such enmities.
We are ill, Your Holiness. This battle may well be our last- which is why we have requested a private audience.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Not for your... confession? (crosses himself before the altar and joins Charles at the table)
My sins are many, Your Holiness, and they are all bloody ones. Perhaps, even the Pope of Rome... cannot forgive them.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
So, why have you requested our presence here?
To use your diplomatic skills... to spare us this battle.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
... Well, perhaps if you were to surrender the booty you have pillaged, to our Holy Mother Church... we might do something.
(smiles tightly) With respect, Your Holiness, you have fooled me once. For a man of God, yours... was a most ungodly stratagem.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(shrugs) So, why our presence?
(angrily, gesturing to make his point) If they are fool enough to join battle with me, I will destroy them, utterly! I will be pitiless, I don't know the way, but my cannon will ANNIHILATE their armies! I will DRAG you, in chains, to Avignon and see you end your days in ignominy! All this, before I die. Are you listening, "Holy Father?!" (thunder sounds outside)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(flatly) ...We hear you. We will convey your words to the lead forces. (stands up, starts to leave, then stops) Ah! Listen. Is that the sound of rain? (sarcastically) Can, even the King of France light his cannon in the rain?
(sneering) You think we don't know how to keep powder dry?!
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(coldly) Do you think the Lord God doesn't know how to make rain?! (leaves)
(lighting candles) Are you the cleric in red?
I find the robes of your Order suit me better, at this... pitiful juncture.
I can no longer serve the Pope of Rome.
Ah, yes. I heard of your plans for his deposition. Your plans failed. Miserably.
...Indeed. I must confess to failure.
Oh, so have you come here to make a confession of your failure?
No. I'm here to propose a solution to the sickness in our Holy Mother Church.
From the Chair of St. Peter's?
From the Chair of St. Peter's-
But you tried that already.
From the Chair of St. Peter's- and, from this world. (Savanarola pauses)
... I shared a vision with you, once. Of the bloated figure of the Borgia Pope, lying blackened with sickness, on the floor of St. Peter's. No one dared approach it. Are you saying you're the one to bring this to pass?
Only if I have your blessing, Friar- and, the blessing of your Order.
You have the blessing of the Lord- for He shall bring it to pass. And, if my vision was a true one, you will have my blessing- and the blessing of the Lord Himself. (pause) "Be the sword of the Apocalypse, the sword of Righteousness. Ride out like Death, on a Pale Horse." (gives Della Rovere a grim smile and leaves)
(giving Cesare a tour of Forli Castle) My son, Benito, longs for a soldier's career.
Mmm- It has much to recommend it.
BSBenito Sforza
You bear arms yourself, Signore Borgia?
No, my love- he wears a Cardinal's skirt.
BSBenito Sforza
(glancing at Cesare's military garb) But, your dress is that of a-
I am a civilian, today. An ambassador.
He comes bearing a message from his father, the Pope of Rome. (turns to face Cesare) Have I guessed correctly, Cardinal?
(smiles) You think so little of your charms?
(smiles back) Oh- you've come to sample them, perhaps?
Perhaps. (removes his cloak)
While bearing a message from the Pope of Rome.
The Pope does send his best regards, and would request your... beauteous presence at the Chair of St. Peter's.
He would sample my charms also?
(shrugs) Perhaps. He would feel your lips on his... Papal ring.
(pause, steps towards Cesare) He would have me kneel to him. Bow.
The whole world must bow to the Holy Father.
(doesn't take her eyes of Cesare) Whom does your mother bow to, my son?
BSBenito Sforza
(proudly) Nobody.
(smiles) You heard him, Cardinal. His mother bows to nobody.
And, if "Nobody" were to sit at her table?...
She would not bow. But there are other forms of obesence. (she walks into the dining room)
BSBenito Sforza
(follows her) Other, Mother?
Indeed, my son. There is a form of surrender which implies no submission. It gave birth to you.
BSBenito Sforza
... I confess that I'm lost, Mother.
(chuckles) Indeed, you are truly a soldier, made of hard wood! (pats his cheek, meets Cesare's gaze) But, the Cardinal must know... I only kneel when it suits me. As must the Holy Father.
If you do not come willingly-
Oh, hush, Cardinal, hush! You are our guest this fine evening- I'd have no discord between us. You can relay the Holy Father's message in its' fullness tomorrow.
PDPiero de Medici
We live in a fortress, now. Barricaded against the sea of zealots in the streets outside.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Hmm- "zealots".
PDPiero de Medici
Their fervor for the Friar's visions increases daily. They would ban all art and ornament, and they have set their sights on the coin of the Realm itself!
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Money? Dear God...
PDPiero de Medici
They see gold and silver coin as part of the fallen world. They would reduce all exchange to a state of barter only possible in the Garden of Eden!
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(pretending to examine a sculpture) Hmmm- and what of banking?
PDPiero de Medici
(scoffs, imitates Savanarola) "Did Adam need gold coin?! Did Eve need a bank?! Did Cain charge interest to Abel?!" (Machiavelli smiles briefly, Cardinal Sforza and Medici chuckle)
And what of the Church's deposits in your banks?
PDPiero de Medici
They would scatter them like chaff. (he starts to sit. Machiavelli clears his throat, and Medici hastily stands up again) And, if they knew, Holy Father, of your personal accounts, they would burn the bank to the ground.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Well, then- perhaps we had better have our wealth brought back to Rome. (Machiavelli frowns)
PDPiero de Medici
How? The Friar has his spies everywhere.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(shrugs) Well, perhaps the good Friar could be bought.
PDPiero de Medici
With money?
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
No- a Bishopric. Generalship of the Dominican Order. (sits)
PDPiero de Medici
(also sits) The Dominican Order already does his bidding.
And, how can you buy one who would outlaw trade itself?
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
You offer him something that money cannot buy. Heaven itself.
AAugustino
Micheletto... we cannot meet again.
AAugustino
If I were caught, I would be disemboweled and burned-
AAugustino
Too cruel. (Micheletto grabs him and twists him around into a headlock/stranglehold)
I have killed many men in an embrace such as this-
AAugustino
Did you love them, too? (Micheletto twists him sideways, indicating one of the graves)
This grave- this is my father's grave. And I loved him too- when I held his head thus. (releases Augustino angrily) Now you go, and you be married. Some folk say it is better to marry- (kisses Augustino forcefully) than to burn.
(sees Giovanni Sforza enter the room, starts and then smirks) My Lord Sforza.
GSGiovanni Sforza
I arrived in the early hours.
You must have. You have... business with your cousin?
GSGiovanni Sforza
Matters of state? Always. (takes some food from the table and nibbles it)
So she requested your presence here.
GSGiovanni Sforza
She told me it would be... appreciated.
Mmm. And, can you tell me why?
GSGiovanni Sforza
To talk of your father's proposal to her.
GSGiovanni Sforza
Mmm- I can only think of him as your father. The father of that... slattern I was tricked into marrying-
(exhales sharply in anger) Be careful, Lord Sforza.
I hold my sister's interests dear.
GSGiovanni Sforza
(smirks) Hmm- I'm aware of that. (pause) You humiliated me, before the whole of Rome. (Cesare smiles thinly)
(enters the room) You shall have your answer, Cesare Borgia.
It is why I am still here, my Lady.
My answer is simple. It is no. (Giovanni smirks, Caterina starts to leave)
Let me be clear. (she stops) You refuse to come to Rome? (Caterina smiles and leaves)
GSGiovanni Sforza
My cousin refuses to debase herself before that... swine that wears the Papal Tiara
(with burning anger) That question was for her, my Lord.
GSGiovanni Sforza
And you have her answer.
Yes- and you will have mine. (he stabs a knife into Giovanni's hand, pinning it to the table-top. Giovanni wrenches it free with a yell of pain; they scuffle, but Cesare quickly gains the upper hand, forcing his knife nearer and nearer to Giovanni's throat) I promised my sister your heart, on a dinner-plate! (finally forces the knife deep into Giovanni's throat, then turns him around and stabs him repeatedly in the belly and lower chest) But I can find no heart!
From our Holy Father. (Savanarola rises and turns around) Christ's vicar on Earth, the Bishop of Rome and the heir to St. Peter: a greeting and apostolic benediction to his most beloved son... Girolamo Savanarola. I am Cardinal Ascanio Sforza.
Then, you know all there is to know about corruption.
... His Holiness hears you are a zealous worker in God's service, at which he rejoices (Savanarola looks away in disgust)... and is intrigued to hear that you proclaim that your prophecies proceed directly from God. (Savanarola looks back at him) Is this so?
God speaks through me. I hear his voice. Of this, there is no doubt.
As befits your vows of obedience, His Holiness would have you journey to Rome to discourse further with him on this matter-
Has the Good Lord's lightning not yet silenced this...Borgia Pope? But, tell him my work is here, ridding Florence of its' sodomites and blasphemers. And, my work only will be ended... when the last sodomite is burning in Hell. (smiles coldly)
Perhaps a different destiny awaits you in Rome.
In the Castell St. Angelo?
(chuckles and withdraws a Cardinal's hat from his cloak, offering it to Savanarola) No- in the Vatican.
A seat in Consistory. (Savanarola takes the hat and walks back over the pulpit, looking at it thoughtfully)
(turns back to Cardinal Sforza) No man can put a price on salvation. (throws the hat back at him, hitting him on the shoulder)
(enters Lucrezia's quarters to find her watching her sleeping son Giovanni) The sleep of the innocent. (pause) I promised you a heart, Sister.
I promised you the heart of Giovanni Sforza- on a dinner plate. (Lucrezia looks shocked) His blood... on this knife will have to suffice. (unwraps the bloodstained blade and shows it to her)
... What does it say of us, Brother, that you...promise me this, and I would accept?
Do you accept? (Lucrezia looks up at him, then walks across the room)
I would rather have my innocence back. Be as I was, before I married that... vile man.
(strokes her cheek) Impossible, I'm afraid- for either of us. (the Pope walks into the room)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Prime has been sung, terse approaches (kisses Lucrezia) yet some barely rouse their souls! (opens the window to let in sunlight and sighs in satisfaction) Darkness...into light!
Father, Giovanni is sleeping.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Oh, yes yes yes! (lowers his voice, to Cesare) You have, um... broached the matter, my son?
(looks at Cesare)... What matter? (Cesare looks away guiltily)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
... The matter of Forli. (gives both of them a direct look) Our need for... the most sacred alliance. (pause) The matter, in a word, of marriage-
(angry) Ah, I see. I am to be put back in the marketplace. (glares at Cesare, who folds his arms) Did you know of this, Brother? (turns to their father) And how secure did the last alliance you sold me into prove to be?!
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(firmly, but guiltily) It is your father's wish- we would have you married! It's as simple as that.
(laughs sarcastically) I will not marry. Never again. So, there let it rest.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
We are shocked by this... ingratitude!
Even so, I will not marry.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(sharply) It is a daughter's duty to marry her father's choice! (Giovanni begins to wake)
So, I am to have no voice in the matter?! I am to lie on my back and wait to be ravaged by a beast of your choosi-
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Enough! Enough! This language... does not become you. (points at Cesare) And save your salt- say nothing.
(coldly) I haven't uttered a word.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
No, but we can hear you thinking. (gestures at Lucrezia) This will come to pass- you shall see. Even if we drag you to the Basilica! (storms out as Giovanni begins to fuss, Lucrezia glares at Cesare and goes to quiet him)
(sighs and sits down) Like me, you have just declared a war.
(sees Machiavelli walking through Rome at night) Signor Machiavelli. (Machiavelli joins him, they walk into an ally) Welcome... to Rome.
(sarcastically) I appreciate the informality of your welcome.
What is the news from Florence?
Ah- Officially, I am here to open the shutters on the Villa Medici for my master, Piero de Medici. Stones have been thrown at his house in Florence- large stones. He believes he will be safer here in Rome.
Not without our protection.
(nods) The Medici have made many enemies, that cannot be contested.
What of the Medici bank? Is it a sinking ship?
Oh, I am not a banker, but... it may have already sunk.
You may not be a banker, but you are the Medici's Ambassador. You... know these things.
(shrugs) True, I have been privy to sensitive negotiations. Signor de Medici values my opinion- especially as he does not... have one of his own. But, I am really nothing more than a nuncio- a messenger boy. (they walk on)
And what message does the boy bring? What of the Vatican funds?
(flatly) Every penny could be lost. (Cesare stares at him in disbelief) That is the sad truth of it.
... Where has the money gone?
That is the golden question- you are not alone in wanting an answer. There are funds; the question is, where might they be?
I am told that what remains is on the move. Some here, some there... although, not on its' way to whom it belongs.
That, I do not know. Not yet. Until such time, it is as I told you: I am here to open the shutters of the Villa Medici.
(gritting his teeth) Signor Machiavelli, a more... specific insight into this matter would be much appreciated. (he and Machiavelli bow to each other and depart)
Your father claims I have warned you against the dangers of marriage. (Lucrezia smiles) You have incurred his extreme displeasure. I think it might make him ill.
Well, then father and daughter will be ill together! the thought of marriage turns my stomach.
It's within his prerogative to marry you to whomever he may please.
Well, then let him do it. (flops back over her bed) And he can fish me out of the Tiber.
(looks at her) He's asked me to vet suitors on your behalf.
(sits up, looking offended) And you agreed?
More or less. (Lucrezia sighs angrily) At least it leaves you with a choice! (sits next to her daughter)
Mother, the man I married was a beast. I was little more than meat to him.
And yet, you took the stableboy as your lover. (they both smile)
Well, that was different.
Then, there is hope for you yet.
... I do not deny that the warm touch of a lover would ease the pain.
(takes Lucrezia by the chin and looks at her) So- all is not lost. (embraces her)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Friar Savanarola berates us daily. He preaches... heresy. That God speaks to him, and him alone. He must be silenced. (pause, looks at Cesare) We charge you with this task- and this will require all your patience. (slaps Cesare on the arm) You will travel to Florence, and you will ban him from preaching the word of God.
(scoffs) He will laugh in my face.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
of course. And then, we will charge him with heresy.
He will laugh in your face.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Of course. And then, we will excommunicate him.
(frowns) He will... deny your right to do so.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(smiles) Of course. And, then... we will burn him. (pause, Cesare smiles) Vengeance, you see, can wait...a lifetime, if necessary.
CChildren
Vanities! Your gold, your silver-
Wait- before you speak! (the boys silence) I would have you cease marking chalk crosses on my door. (nods to the lead boy) You may continue.
1C1st Child-Acolyte
Vanities! Your gold, your silver, your trinkets, your books. Give up your vanities!
(coldly) I have no vanities. I have only my intellect, which I am reluctant to relinquish- and, as you can see, with these looks, I have no vanity.
1C1st Child-Acolyte
(obviously parrotting Savanarola) An Eternity in Heaven or an Eternity in Hell! What will it be?!
(unimpressed) Hell.. is here, in this city! (gestures around them, steps forward, forcing the boy back) Heaven has, of late, been removed to another place!
2C2nd Child-Acolyte
Are you a sinner?
1C1st Child-Acolyte
The Son of Man will return in his Glory! And he will judge both the quick- and the dead! Give up your vanities, or face the Wroth of God!
CChildren
Give up your vanities! Give 'em up- give up your vanities!
2C2nd Child-Acolyte
Would you have us break your windows?
(contemptuously) So... God is now reduced to breaking windows. Wait- one moment. (closes the door. After a moment, he re-opens it, and- much to the bewilderment of the boys, offers them a glass case containing a stuffed eagle-owl) Here! (the lead boy takes it)
1C1st Child-Acolyte
Come to the square- (Machiavelli shuts the door in his face)
