The Borgias is a one-hour drama series based on the infamous Italian Renaissance family The Borgias. Jeremy Irons stars as Rodrigo Borgia, the cunning, manipulative patriarch of The Borgia family who ascends to the highest circles of power within Renaissance-era Italy. The series begins as the family’s patriarch Rodrigo becomes Pope, propelling him, his two Machiavellian sons Cesare and Juan, and his scandalously beautiful daughter, Lucrezia, to become the most powerful and influential family of the Italian Renaissance. And all the power and influence eventually leads to their demise. The series ran for three seasons. Excellent costumes by Gabriella Pescucci.
The Borgias, led by patriarch Rodrigo, are a family of outsiders from Spain who try to take over control of Renaissance-era Italy. Through the use of bribery, extortion and torture, Rodrigo rises up the ranks to become pope. Two of Rodrigo’s children are used as pawns by being married off to members of rival families at a young age. Vanozza, Rodrigo’s long-time mistress and mother of his children, and Giulia Farnese battle for the elder Borgia’s affections. The story of the Borgias has inspired such works as Machiavelli’s political treatise “The Prince” and Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather.”
Starring Jeremy Irons, François Arnaud, Holliday Grainger.
Note: Not suitable for children. There was also a The Borgias (1981) BBC version starring Adolfo Celi, Oliver Cotton, Anne Louise Lambert and Barbara Shelley, but it does not appear to be available on DVD at this time. The 10 episodes follow events from 1492 when Rodrigo is elected pope and concludes in 1507 with Cesare’s violent death. there is also [Borgia: Faith and Fear ](http://amzn.to/1MyRDjS)(2011) a French-German-Czech-Italian historical drama television series created by Tom Fontana and starring John Doman, Isolda Dychauk, Art Malik, Diarmuid Noyes, Mark Ryder.