An exciting tale of greed, treachery,sin and power beyond mortal imagination (Book Summary), The Borgia family was indeed, the first original crime family.Written by Mario Puzo and finished by his girlfriend Carol Gino , The Family is an epic tale of a man’s rise to power , a father and his children , a tale that shows the strength , devotion and love of family.
Set in Italy in the 15th century , where the Church and the Papal states-Romagna,The Marches,Umbria,Sabina,Patrimony of St.Peter,Latium and Campagna-was the greatest power that flourished, Rodrigo Borgia began his infamous journey to becoming a historical crime figure of the century.Mario Puzo had matched the historical and geographical setting with as of the real Borgia family.(http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01289a.htm)
While the book jumps from one character to another , it mainly concentrates on the Borgia family -especially the Pope and two of his children ; Cesare Borgia and Lucrezia Borgia
Rodrigo Borgia (Alexander IV)
Historical representation :On 10th August , 1492 Rodrigo Borgia was elected as the pope, with the name Alexander IV chosen by him. Some cardinals were alarmed by this , but the masses that waited outside for the new Pope. During his reign , he started out by creating a strict administration of justice and an orderly movement of the government to the people’s satisfaction.He then later started to slip off and abuse the power.("Alexander VI").
Fictional representation :Rodrigo Borgia , a man of many sins , decided to enter the political feud of being the most powerful man in Italy ; The Vicar of Christ.He is known as to commit many atrocious sins and acts that are not fit for a cardinal (e.g.attending orgies , gave power to members of his fa...
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...your life.My favourite character is Joffre Borgia ; Cesare got the brains , Lucrezia got beauty , Juan got the art of seduction but Joffre got both the calm and darkness that is far greater than any of the Borgias.
Works Cited
5."Alexander VI." Encyclopedia Britannica . N.p.. Web. 5 Dec 2013. .
6."Juan Borgia the younger ." Assassins's creed wiki . N.p.. Web. 5 Dec 2013. .
7."Cesare Borgia ." NNDB : Tracking the entire world. N.p.. Web. 5 Dec 2013. .
8."Lucrezia Borgia ." NNDB : Tracking the entire world. N.p.. Web. 5 Dec 2013. .
9."Gioffre Borgia ." Wikipedia. N.p.. Web. 5 Dec 2013. .
...ce Borachio confesses about his and Don John's plot, everyone lays their grudges and challenges aside. Claudio still marries Hero while Benedick and Beatrice also wed together.
...volio declares revenge on the lot before exiting, giving the floor to Orsino. He speaks to Viola, before Feste, Olivia’s Jester, sings to signal the ending. “Cesario, come – For so you shall be while you are a man; But when in other habits you are seen Orsino’s mistress and his fancy’s queen.”
Charles Ponzi was born Carlo Ponzi in Lugo, Italy. His parents were far from wealthy but had an enormous reputation which placed them in aristocracy. From an early age, Ponzi’s mother placed high expectations on him. She had hoped he would restore the family to its former social and financial rank (Zuckoff, 20).
Ridolfi, Roberto. The Life of Niccolò Machiavelli. Trans. Cecil Grayson. 1954. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963. Print.
In The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli considers Cesare Borgia to be perfect example for princes or whomever, to follow if they wish to apprehend how to secure and strengthen their principalities. Cesare Borgia, for Machiavelli, is an ideal lesson of a prince who had great prowess, gained his principality through good fortune by his father Pope Alexander VI, showed continuous actions by his efforts to secure his state quickly, and then lost it to adverse fortune, which led to his fall and death. Machiavelli uses many events of Cesare Borgia’s to show how and why he was successful, and should me imitated as a model of prudence by ambitious princes.
In ‘Why Do We Admire Mobsters?’, Maria Konnikova argues psychological distance allows the Italian mafia to be romanticized by the involved and uninvolved alike, as well as its popular role throughout history.
The Prince, written by Niccolò Machiavelli in 1513, addresses Lorenzo de Medici who was the ruler of Florence. Throughout the book, Machiavelli offers Lorenzo political wisdom on how to become a great prince and how he should go about achieving this greatness. As he does this, Machiavelli proceeds to list the different types of principalities and the modes in which they are acquired. He states that a great prince is one that "establishes new modes and orders" and gives Lorenzo examples of rulers that he should imitate and ones that he should avoid (Machiavelli, 23). The example of Cesare Borgia is one that Machiavelli refers to often. Cesare was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI, who acquired his state through the fortunes of his father. At first, Machiavelli praises Cesare for possessing great virtue and presents him as an exemplary ruler that should be imitated by others. However, at the end, Machiavelli considers Cesare a failure and blames him for his lack of foresight, which caused him to lose his fortune. Machiavelli praises Cesare, but ultimately blames him
The first character mentioned is Benvolio, a character who possesses a tranquil and caring attitude. When Benvolio happened to
There are frequently tales of heroic outlaws who perform deeds for the weak and battle with the corrupt and against injustice in human history. One of these heroic outlaws is Vito Corleone from The Godfather. Similar to Robin Hood and his stories of “taking from the rich and giving to the poor” which made Robin into a hero to many readers, Vito did the same in the book by Mario Puzo albeit by more force. Vito Corleone was ruthless but he did it for family. A family is a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, and is considered a group, whether they reside together or not. (Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc.) At its core, The Godfather is a study of how the ebbs and flow of power change Vito’s family and how he struggles to maintain power to maintain family. The Corleone family lives in the midst of the crime and violence. Some of the family members take the law into their own hands, by protecting the weak by avenging crime while others may use it to their advantage to position themselves higher within the family for more wealth and power. The Godfather gives help to all those who have proven their loyalties as a “Robin Hood” of the Sicilian people. He is more than willing to lend a helping hand to those who need it as long as they call them his friend; he has the confidence that “Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than government. It is almost the equal of family” (Puzo 38)
There is a large cast of characters including the priest Sarastro (a very serious, proselytizing basso), the Queen of the Night (a mean, angry, scheming coloratura), and her daughter, the beautiful and courageous Pamina. There is the handsome hero, Tamino, on the quintessential road trip, and his cohort in misadventure, the bird seller, Papageno. Papageno ultimately finds his Papagena (who starts out disguised as a crone), Tamino ultimately wins Pamina, Sarastro presumably wins a passle of converts, and everyone goes home humming the catchy Mozart melodies. It is all presented in a plot complicated by a dragon, a threesome of warbling ladies in service to the Queen of the Night, another threesome of boy-angels, even a bully - Monostatos, guard for the Queen. It is lightened by such elements as locked lips, charmed animals, and, of course, a magic flute.
Throughout the 15th and 16th century Florence was ruled almost completely by a powerful family known as the Medici that was the first family to gain control not through war, marriage or inheritance but commerce. Beginning with Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici (1360-1429) in the 1300’s we see the first growth of the families wealth, Giovanni invests large amounts of his money made through the foundation of the Medici bank into political interests that begins the Medici’s rise to power. From this time on there is a succession of leaders from the family the most notable being Cosimo (1389-1464) who with the help of his father Giovanni began their ever growing political strength while maintaining their status as private citizens. Cosimo is succeeded by his son Piero the gouty (1416-1469) and him by Lorenzo the magnificent (1449-1492). Unlike
After five hundred years, Niccolo Machiavelli the man has ceased to exist. In his place is merely an entity, one that is human, but also something that is far above one. The debate over his political ideologies and theories has elevated him to a mythical status summed up in one word: Machiavelli. His family name has evolved into an adjective in the English language in its various forms. Writers and pundit’s bandy about this new adjective in such ways as, “He is a Machiavelli,” “They are Machiavelli’s,” “This is suitable for a Machiavelli.” These phrases are almost always the words of a person that understands more about Niccolo’s reputation than the man himself. Forgotten is that Machiavelli is not an adequate example of the ruler he is credited with describing; a more accurate statement would be to call someone a “Borgia” or a “Valentino.” Most of the time they are grossly mistaken in their references. All these words accomplish is to add to the legend, and the misinterpretation, of the true nature of Niccolo Machiavelli.
Unger, Miles. Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.
Machiavelli?s model for his ideal prince was Cesare Borgia, also known as Duke Valentino and son of Pope Alexander VI. He believed Cesare Borgia possessed all the qualities of a prince destined to rule and maintain power in his state. He believed that politics has a morality of its own. There is no regard of justness or unjustness, of cruelty or mercy, of approval or humiliation, which should interfere with the decision of defending the state and preserving its freedom. Therefore, the ruler/prince's single responsibilit...
When Savonarola was executed, Niccolo entered the Florentine government as a secretary. Niccolo's position soon rose and he became engaged in diplomatic missions, it was here he met powerful people like the Pope and the King of France (Mattinngly). One of Niccolo's visions was to see Florentine and Italy unite and with the help of Cesar Borgia that goal could be met. Borgia had the qualities as portrayed in The Prince which caught the eye of Niccole (Guiseppe). Niccole did not fully like Borgia, but his qualities Niccolo could not resist.