Previously on The Borgias...
You were once a stray dog, Micheletto.
Search out a dozen of them
whom we can school in the art of vengeance.
Would you keep secrets from us?
You're a cleric, not a soldier.
Who pays for such decadence?
Where does your charity end up?
In the Medici bank in Florence?
Your Holiness.
Piero de Medici.
Their fervour for the friar's visions increases daily.
And if they knew of your personal accounts,
they would burn the bank to the ground.
Perhaps we had better have our wealth brought back to Rome.
We must remove him from this world.
Be the sword of the apocalypse.
The sword of righteousness.
I would gladly die to rid the world of the Borgia pope.
It will be a grisly death.
Caterina Sforza,
the Pope would request your beauteous presence
at the chair of St Peter's.
Who is going to chain me?
You?
My cousin refuses to debase herself
before that swine that wears the papal tiara.
I promised my sister your heart!
Murder!
God signalled His displeasure.
We must atone for our sins.
Dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return.
God has spoken to us, Your Eminences.
We have heard his thunder.
So the greatest penitence must be ours.
Dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return.
Bring me some water.
Your Holiness.
A new leaf?
- Is it possible? - A new pretence.
A new theatre, that is all.
Antonello, take note of the man with the water jug.
He's the Pope's taster.
Hallelujah!
Christ spilled his blood for us!
We must spill ours for him!
We must scourge our flesh,
wash Florence clean with the wine of our blood!
Is it good enough to kneel and say you repent?
Will you carry the mark of repentance upon you?
Kneel.
- Do you repent? - I repent.
- Do you repent all your sins? - I repent all my sins.
- Do you give your life to Christ? - I give my life to Christ.
Are you willing to throw off your riches, this finery,
this display of pride and vanity,
and give yourself truly to the Lord Jesus Christ?
I am ready.
You will dedicate yourself to the renewal of Christendom.
To the destruction of the Red Whore of Rome!
And will the Medici repent, abandon their avarice and usury?
Their gold and finery?
If they do not repent, we will cast them out
as Jesus threw the money lenders from the temple!
For they have turned a house of prayer and made it a den of thieves!
In this bottle are both heaven and hell.
This is the marvel of the minimal dose.
Too much, and it will kill you.
Just enough, and it will make you strong.
I was poisoned with Cantarella, and I am now the stronger for it.
Do you have faith?
- I have faith. - Then drink.
To whom does the Pope confess, O Lord?
Who will hear his sins, wash them clean,
so that he may live again in your favour?
The great silence.
My son.
- When did you return? - Within the hour.
Holy Father, I would have you hear my confession.
I am guilty of the sin of murder.
And lust. I am guilty of the sin of lust.
Violence and fornication.
How often these two are united.
Go on.
I killed the man who defiled my sister and insulted the name of Borgia.
A knife to the heart.
As we recall, murder was not your mission.
It was a matter of honour.
And lust, you say. Was that a matter of honour, too?
Who or what was the object of this lust?
Caterina Sforza shared her bed with me.
Of course, who else?
And tell us,
after you had graced her with your presence,
did she beg to be dragged to Rome in chains?
No, no.
- To be... To be friends with us? - No, she did not.
But, surely, after such lavish attention,
she is now our friend.
No. I fear not, Your Holiness. She remains an enemy.
We have both sinned, my son,
but whose sin will bring the greatest doom upon us?
Ours or yours?
Amen.
I find it hard to believe.
I send you on a diplomatic mission, and you start a war.
There is no war.
God struck the basilica. He showed his anger to all.
Is now the time to take a knife in hand?
To have the armies of the North battering at our gates?
Well, then, release me from my cardinal's robes.
Give me the papal army,
and I will bring you Caterina Sforza in chains.
Armies do not march on air.
We do not have the resources to send an army north.
And now we are in need of another alliance.
Perhaps you will explain so much to your dear sister?
That she must now marry
in order to protect us from the results of your folly.
O Lord, as we remember thy 40 days in the wilderness,
so we share in thy suffering during this Lenten period.
If we have sullied thy name with luxury,
then we beseech you to forgive us.
And we pray for enlightenment
as to why you chose to strike with fire
at the heart of your church.
- Amen. - Amen.
During this Lenten period,
instead of taking your repast in the luxury of your palaces,
you will fast here with us, in common.
Your Holiness.
Sardines were the traditional Lenten fare
when we were young.
So we shall dine on sardines.
Your Holiness.
Let me taste.
You think our enemies would poison our Lenten fare?
These paltry bones?
It is my duty, Your Holiness.
A poisoning would brighten the proceedings
of an otherwise gloom-laden day, would it not?
Well, Brother Bernadino,
are you about to die?
I think not, Your Holiness.
Let us proceed.
Give me your voice. Give me your voice, O God.
Let me hear you. Let me hear you speak to me.
I want to feel, feel your spirit inside of me.
From our Holy Father, 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 Savonarola.
I am Cardinal Ascanio Sforza.
- Vice Chancellor. - Indeed.
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,
and is intrigued to hear that you proclaim your prophecies
proceed directly from God.
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?
Well, 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.
Perhaps a different destiny awaits you in Rome.
In the Castel Sant'Angelo?
No.
In the Vatican.
As Cardinal.
A seat in consistory.
No man can put a price on salvation.
The sleep of the innocent.
- I promised you a heart, sister. - Whose? Your own?
I promised you the heart of Giovanni Sforza on a dinner plate.
His blood on this knife will have to suffice.
What does it say of us, brother,
that you promise me this and I would accept?
Do you accept?
I would rather have my innocence back.
Be as I was before I married that vile man.
Impossible, I am afraid. For either of us.
Prime has been sung, Terce approaches,
yet some have barely roused their souls.
Darkness into light.
Father, Giovanni is sleeping.
You have broached the matter, my son?
What matter?
The matter of Forlì.
Our need for the most sacred alliance.
The matter, in a word, of marriage.
I see.
I am to be put back in the marketplace.
Did you know this, brother?
And how secure did the last alliance you sold me into prove to be?
It is your father's wish. We would have you married.
It is as simple as that.
I will not marry. Never again. So there let it rest.
We are shocked by this ingratitude.
Even so, I will not marry.
It is a daughter's duty to marry her father's choice.
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 choosing! - Enough! Enough!
This language does not become you.
And save your thoughts. Say nothing.
- I haven't uttered a word. - No, but we can hear you thinking.
This will come to pass, you shall see,
even if we drag you to the basilica.
Giovanni.
Like me, you have just declared war.
What have you said to Lucrezia?
In the matter of what?
Marriage.
I have said nothing.
It was you who arranged the last unfortunate event.
That was not of my choosing.
- You want her to marry? - It is our wish, yes.
I see,
the Vatican needs to refresh its coffers.
- Well. - Leave us.
Perhaps she is not ready to marry.
It is not her choice,
and we would have you persuade her of that.
As inconvenient as it may seem, Rodrigo,
she fell in love.
And every day the child reminds her of the man she loved.
Our son Cesare was sent to the North
on a diplomatic mission of the utmost importance,
and he had an unfortunate accident.
- Cesare? - No, Giovanni Sforza.
He fell onto a knife that
Cesare happened to be holding.
Had I been there, I would have helped push him onto the blade.
Yes, but listen to me, Vanozza,
this accident has made us enemies.
They are lining up against us in the North.
We need an alliance.
Now, the Doge of Venice is a man of great power and influence.
In a matter of days, his nephew comes here
as a suitor to Lucrezia.
And we would have you be our ambassador in this,
vet him, as it were, on our daughter's behalf.
-I see. -Yeah.
If business is done, you may withdraw.
The water grows cold.
What is it?
You have a rare beauty, Vanozza.
Remember when we used to bathe together?
-Not after the water went cold. -No.
And have you not foresworn intimacy for Lent?
Yes.
You may go.
Signor Machiavelli.
Welcome to Rome.
I appreciate the informality of your welcome.
What is the news from Florence?
Officially, I am here to open the shutters of 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.
The Medici have made many enemies, that cannot be contested.
What of the Medici bank? Is it a sinking ship?
I am not a banker, but it may have already sunk.
You may not be a banker, but you are the Medicis' ambassador.
You know these things.
True, I have been privy to sensitive negotiations.
Signorde 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.
And what message does the boy bring?
- What of the Vatican funds? - Every penny could be lost.
That is the sour 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?
Do you know?
I am told that what remains is on the move.
Some here, some there,
though not on its way to whom it belongs.
- Where? - That I do not know. Not yet.
Until such time, it is as I told you.
I am here to open the shutters at the Villa Medici.
Signor Machiavelli,
a more specific insight into this matter
would be much appreciated.
Your father claims that I have warned you
of the dangers of marriage.
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, and he can fish me out of the Tiber.
He's asked me to vet suitors on your behalf.
- And you agreed? - More or less.
Well, at least it leaves you with a choice.
Mother, the man I married was a beast.
I was little more than meat to him.
And yet you took the stable boy as your lover.
Well, that was different.
Then there is hope for you yet.
I do not deny that the warm touch of a lover might ease the pain.
So all is not lost.
You're back.
- I dreamed. - What did you dream?
Nothing I have ever seen.
It was not of this world.
Rest now.
What would be your feeling, Brother Bernadino,
if this humble sardine was poisoned
and you proceeded to expire?
One of happiness, Holiness,
for I would have died in the service of our Lord
and saved his Vicar here on Earth.
You are an inspiration to us all.
God's Vicar will strive to be worthy of your devotion.
Now let us enjoy these fruits of the sea.
There is a new order in Florence.
Savonarola wields yet more power.
All bow to him, some in fear, some in reverence.
He virtually controls the city.
- He turned down the hat, of course. - Scorned it.
Yet another insult to Rome.
No one turns down a seat in the cardinalate.
- Piero de Medici is hated by all. - Small wonder.
Della Rovere's been seen in Florence,
and is said to have met with Savonarola.
We must silence this yapping dog.
And Della Rovere,
he should have been muzzled long ago.
Savonarola claims that he hears the voice of God, and him alone.
He says that visions are put into his mind by angels.
Well, that could give us cause to excommunicate him.
- Heresy. - The very worst.
We might yet have cause to burn him.
We thank you for responding to our request.
Especially in such numbers. One more would have made a crowd.
We are here, but we wonder to what purpose.
Another lesson in baking, perhaps.
We were searching for some time
for a suitable location to house the poor.
Now we have found it.
- Here? - All we need now are the funds.
Surely it would take an excessive sum to make this suitable for habitation.
That is not a problem. We manage the works.
The Curia will provide the funds.
What branch of the Curia?
The Office of Public Works.
The Office of Public Works has been emptied of funds
by your charitable endeavours.
I believe it was emptied long before our efforts begun.
La Bella Farnese has been combing through the books of accounts.
Must she now comb through your palaces?
Through, dare I say it, the brothels?
He was vice chancellor himself.
He has palaces of his own. He knows how things work.
His Holiness is going through a period of sanctity. Penance.
- It will pass. - But combing the books already.
What else might they do?
Who knows? They are women. Women are dangerous.
And how long will this newfound sanctity last?
Should be over by Easter, I should hazard.
So, what must we do?
You restore the ruin.
- What? - Ascanio...
- You can't be serious. - Shut up. And pay for it.
Pay?
- He's not serious. - This is unheard of.
Friar Savonarola berates us daily.
He preaches heresy.
God speaks to him and him alone.
He must be silenced.
We charge you with this task.
This will require all your patience.
You will travel to Florence,
and you will ban him from preaching the word of God.
- He will laugh in my face. - Of course.
Then we will charge him with heresy.
- He will laugh in your face. - Of course.
Then we will excommunicate him.
- He will deny your right to do so. - Of course.
And then we will burn him.
Vengeance, you see, can wait.
A lifetime, if necessary.
Wagons carrying Medici gold
are to be shipped to Castelfiorentino.
There is a stronghold there.
So the Medici coffers are not entirely empty.
Not if one knows where to look.
How much gold?
Not enough for a king's ransom,
but one hopes sufficient to make your detour worthwhile.
Enough to feed an army?
Armies have big bellies.
Let this map be your guide. I prepared it myself.
Here is the route, the day, all you need to know.
Look for wagons under escort transporting alum ore.
Trade in alum is on the increase.
Do not be deceived by appearances.
The gold is hidden on the wagons.
- I must go. - To open more shutters?
To let in more light. Yes.
The light you bring to us is much appreciated.
Just a beginning.
I would make a gift of gold to my father.
Does your father not have gold enough of his own?
No, this is Medici gold.
My father holds no affection for the Medici.
He brands them thieves and liars.
All bankers are thieves and liars, Eminence.
I would rather trust a beggar in the street.
Listen.
A shipment of gold hidden in alum ore
is to travel from Florence to Castelfiorentino.
It shall be ours. For this, we will need our friends.
If there is gold promised, they will be there.
Not only will we bring the Friar Savonarola to his unholy knees,
we will also bring Medici gold to my father.
- Your father knows of this? - He will know when he sees the gold.
Surely such a gift from a son deserves reward from the father, no?
I will have only one reward, and I will have it no matter what.
These robes have clung to my back for far too long.
Yes. I bear witness to that, Eminence.
For the protection of Rome and the Holy Church
and the protection of my unwitting father,
I will command the papal army.
And you, Micheletto,
you will wear armour and be my captain.
No, I was born in the shadows.
I fear that is where I should remain.
First, the prize.
The Doge of Venice?
His nephew.
Is he of consequence?
His uncle, the Doge, has immense wealth,
and is extremely fond of his nephew.
At least take a look at him,
then I can tell your father I have done his bidding.
The Doge of Venice is a man fond of war, is he not?
They are all fond of war in the North.
But I cannot speak for the nephew.
Just cast an eye over him, that's all.
Where is he, this Doge's nephew?
Waiting in the main hall with his retinue.
Most likely dying of old age by this time.
Very well. You go and talk to him, and I will watch.
This is not a game, you know.
No, but it feels like one.
And he has a dog. A gift.
- A dog? - For you.
A man of immense wealth, you say, and he brings a dog?
I don't think I've ever seen a dog quite like this one.
It's a wolfhound, my lady. It's one of the tallest breeds.
A hunting dog. He's a powerful beast,
but he will make a loving and loyal companion.
What do you think?
- Impressive, no? - The man or the dog?
What is your verdict?
No.
That's no to the Doge's nephew.
And yes to the dog.
Wait, on second thoughts, it's no to them both. Man and dog.
It was kind of you to come, but I'm afraid...
I have another venture for you.
First, you will escort me to Florence on Vatican business.
And then there will be rewards for all of us.
- You said that the last time. - Well, this time, there is gold.
Medici gold.
They are robbing their own bank, so we will rob them.
Trust me. My name is Borgia.
Let's hope the cardinals have consciences.
What more can we do?
This was left this morning,
like a baby abandoned on a doorstep.
- A victory. - It's a start.
Let the works begin.
So, Piero De Medici, to what does Rome owe the pleasure
of your forsaking of your beloved Florence?
Holiness, a torch was put to our house.
We left the city in a hail of stones.
Dramatic exit indeed.
You have come bearing the gold we deposited with the Medici bank?
Or have those funds gone up in flames with your palaces?
Those funds are in safe hands, Holy Father.
But they are on the move to secure locations.
We thank you for your assurance.
So, why exactly are you here?
I would plead for the Holy Father's protection in Rome.
And for his help in the battle against the Friar Savonarola.
We have dispatched our son, Cardinal Borgia,
to secure his silence.
You think he can be silenced?
If not, he will be burnt.
And there will be flourishing once again in your fair Florence.
A bank, but this time a Vatican bank.
What does the Pope know of banking?
What the Pope does not know,
Piero de Medici will teach him.
- Holiness. - Father.
Since Jesus died for us,
since he gave his life for us,
his blood for us, his pain for us,
let us kneel for him.
Girolamo Savonarola!
I am Cardinal Cesare Borgia!
The bastard son of the Pope!
I am the servant of our Most Holy Father, Vicar of Christ,
and voice of the living God, Pope Alexander VI.
This edict finds you guilty of disseminating pernicious doctrines
to the scandal and grief of simple souls.
Having incurred our Holy Father's censure,
you are hereby ordered
to suspend your sermons and prophecies,
lest you be charged with heresy.
I thank His Holiness.
And tell him I will use it to wipe my ass!
You are standing too close to the fire, Brother Savonarola.
You may get burnt.
Think you I fear the flame?
I have the word of God.
It is the Borgias who will burn!
This time, a little more.
Heaven and hell?
Heaven and hell.
- Do you have faith? - Yes, Father.
Then drink.
Stop the sinners!
You deserve to suffer!
Move.
My God. What is this?
Sodomites. The lot of them.
They're to be hanged, then burnt by order of Father Savonarola.
Sodomites!
Burn in hell!
Sodomite scum! Die!
- In the name of Jesus Christ. - What, in the name of Jesus Christ?
The ring off your finger.
And you, boy, what would you have?
My boot up your ass?
Sodomite.
Here is one, a sodomite!
- Sodomite! - Sodomite!
- Move. Out of the way. - Move!
Move. Back. Move back.
You can run from God, but you cannot hide!
- Sodomites! - Move away. All of you.
- He will get you. - You will pay.
You promised them booty, Your Eminence.
There is booty to be found, but not in Florence.
Come on!
What was that?
Easy meat.
Too easy.
So, condottieri!
- Booty at last. - Wait!
Find it!
You dog!
My Lord.
Colonna, can you make gold from alum?
We are condottieri, not alchemists.
We shall have to pay you in gold then.
- How long might this game go on? - Until we run out of princes.
We've already seen five. This will be number six.
At first it was a distraction, and now it's a chore.
Then marry one of them and be done with it.
Have a bedchamber of your own and put a strong lock on the door.
Which one is the suitor?
The one in the blue velvet, at the front.
Calvino Pallavicini from Genova.
And, behind him, in the brown and grey. Who is he?
That must be Raffaello da Genova, his brother.
Who, did you say?
His name is Raffaello. He is the younger brother of Calvino.
I just told you. He is not your suitor.
The other one, Calvino, that is your suitor.
Savonarola remains defiant.
- And you are learning patience? - With difficulty, Holy Father.
But I have a gift for you.
Medici gold.
Enough for the Forlì campaign.
They are dispersing the bank's funds through the whole of Italy.
If we could track down the rest, we could even conquer Florence.
And you would equip an army with it.
I would batter the walls of Forlì with it
and drag Caterina Sforza in chains before you.
You would be a soldier.
You know that has always been my heart's desire.
But who would advise me in this Vatican?
Who would guide me, protect us?
We always said we must have one son in the cloth, and one in armour.
Would you have us make Juan a cardinal?
No.
We thank you from the bottom of our heart,
but you know what you ask is impossible.
Your brother's coming home. A changed man, we are assured.
With a party of conquistadores hardened by the new Spain.
Promise us that you will welcome him
with a brotherly embrace.
You must embrace him for me, Holy Father,
while I attend to the Church's business
back in Florence.