The bones of Pope Alexander VI were stuffed in a box for almost 300 years, waiting to be given a final resting place.
- Posted by : admin
- 9 September 2021
When Alexander VI died in August 1503, his coffin was taken inside the Vatican and placed in a magnificent tomb close to where Callixtus III lay interred in a monument that Alexander had built for him in gratitude for his uncle’s patronage that had allowed his entrée into the highest echelons of the Church. In 1586, however, the obelisk on St Peter’s was erected, and Alexander and his uncle Callixtus’ tombs were moved inside the Vatican next to the choir. Here they would remain for about twenty years. In 1610, Cardinal Zappata and other Spanish dignitaries received permission from Pope Paul V to place the bones of both popes in one single coffin and to move them to the Spanish Church of Santa Maria Monserrato outside the Vatican. Thus, Callixtus and Alexander were enclosed in one wooden casket and upon arrival at their final resting place – for some unknown reason – scandalously placed in a linen cupboard of the sacristy. On 9 September 1864, two hundred and fifty-four years later, a certain Don Ramon, attached to the Church of Santa Maria di Monserrato, entered a dark, low chamber in the Church. In the middle of the room, he found a quadrangular leaden case[1] covered in dust on the floor. When Don Ramon lifted the lid, he noticed a box that nested another dark-brown wooden cigar box about two and a half feet long, one foot high, and one foot and a half foot wide. On it were two red seals so old that the stamp could no longer be recognized. On top of these, on a piece of white paper, was written in an archaic script: ‘The remains of two popes lie in this casket; Popes Callixtus III and Alexander VI, and they were Spanish.’ Unbelievable but true, still nothing decorous was done until 1889 when the two Spanish Popes were finally given a modest resting place in the first chapel on the right of the Church. And even then, they were not treated with the dignity they deserved because for a considerable period of time, their names remained transposed underneath the reliefs of their faces.
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[1] De Roo mentions that the sealed leaden casket of St Peter’s grottos had disappeared and that only the wooden box was left with in it the dry bones of the pontiffs, fragments of their skulls and a few remnants of a black church vestments with golden thread.
Picture taken by SSK. The tomb of the two Borgia Popes in the Church of Santa Maria Monserrato, Rome.
I have been there to pay homage to Pope Alexander VI. I read all the time, that “it is difficult to find.” If you can read a map, it is no more difficult to find than any other place. However, the hours that the church are open to the public are very limited. It is worth seeing, in my opinion.
Dear Jackie, thank you so much for leaving this lovely comment. Yes, you are right: it is absolutely not difficult to find. What is difficult to understand, however, is that the Church is such a ‘humble’ setting for the tomb of two Popes. And when I found the information on Alexander and Calixtus’ bones hidden in a cupboard in the sacristy for so many years, I truly felt sorry for Rodrigo Borgia who like all Borgias was demonized to the extreme by his contemporaries. So many historians today, however, describe him as one of the most influential Popes in history and absolutely not because of the sensational ‘rubbish’ that has been written about him. When I was there, I threw a sun flower on the floor in front of their tomb. But I was especially touched by the beam of sun light that shone on the monument (picture above). I am so sure this ‘carpe diem’ Pope would have appreciated that. 🙂
This is entrancing background to the history of these two underestimated popes, who really deserved better. (Unfortunately, only “Borgia readers” would understand why.) An effigy or sarcophagus of Calixtus III is still preserved in the Vatican grottoes, and it’s a pity that his bones were not left in peace in this “tomb”.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Peter%27s_Basilica_2020_P13_Grotte_vaticane_Funerary_Monument_of_Calixtus_III.jpg
Dear Tim – thanks for your lovely words. Alexander VI would smile if he had the chance to read them. He truly was a Pope far ahead of his time: brilliant (like his son), diplomatic to the core and wonderfully carpe diem-like in his lifestyle. In a time when the Popes were secular princes more than religious leaders, Rodrigo Borgia combined both religion and political affairs in a sublime way. Such a pity this man’s reputation was and still is greatly tarnished by Il Papa Terribile, aka Giuliano della Rovere – and mostly out of sheer jealousy. 🙂
I love this, i have been fascinated by Rodrigo/ Alexander VI for years. I was in Rome last week, took a private tour in Castel Sant Angelo just to know more, unfortunately there are only smashed stones with his name. The tour guide was thrilled to speak to me about him. Cause he is still hated in Rome in wich we both agreed that it is unfair. I believe Alexander VI was demonized by the people who hated him durin life and after death. I praise him for his openess in misstress and children, also i believe he did a lot of good for Rome. After the tour i visited the Borgia chambers. And thanks to our hotel manager found his tombe, where i sat for halve an hour just looking at his tombe.. he deserves so much more! Thank you guys! Glad i am not the only one admiring this intruiging Pope!
Dear Kelly, you are so right. He was incredibly misunderstood. Three main reasons why: (1) the Reformation needed a scapegoat and the Borgias with their power lost were the perfect target to demonstrate that the Catholic Church had become Satan’s nest; (2) the rise of the pamphlet and the possibility to spread information very fast, and (3) Julius II, il Papa Terribile, who started history’s most successful hate campaign against the family he had hated with a vengeance all his life. These three factors combined made for a very powerful and destructive cocktail that unfortunately led to the demonization of the Borgias. Good that some people still ‘know’ better. 🙂 Thank you for your comment!
This was a lovely read! Rome has always been a fascination of mine the Borgias were one of the last people that catch my interest in its history. Unfortunately Rodrigo and Cesare suffered the same historical smear campaign that my other favorite Roman did, Marc Antony. And all were posthumously ruined by someone borrowing the name of Caesar. It’s a shame the Vatican didn’t/hasn’t given them the credit they deserved. History is written by the victor, unfortunately.
I hope to be able to visit Rome someday and Alexander VI’s tomb is definitely a place I want to go.
Thank you again for writing this!
Dear Doug, thank you for our lovely comment. Yes, history is truly written by the victor which is why I have taken it upon me to write the ‘true’ story of Cesare Borgia, or, at least the revised and more honest story of Cesare Borgia. My book is finished and I am currently looking for a publisher. Perhaps when it is published one day, you might want to read the entire story? Kind regards, Sophie