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July 16, 2007
A Family Who Had It Flaunted It
"CARDINAL ALEXANDER FARNESE liked to boast that he owned the three most beautiful things in Rome --the family palace near the Tiber; the Chiesa del Gesu, the church that he built for the Jesuits; and his daughter, Clelia."
Thus opens David Laskin his colorful story in the weekend travel section of the New York Times about the grandson of Pope Paul III Farnese, one of the greatest nepotists in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. If I didn't know beter, I'd say Mr. Laskin sat on my 55Plus well-attended lecture on The Cardinal Who Wanted to Be Prince.
In the article, we learn many interesting tidbits about the womanizing prelate, even if there is no mention that Alessandro's daughter Clelia became a mistress of another powerful cardinal nor that his father, Pier Luigi Farnese, a "notorious homosexual predator of handsome clerics" ended his life with a dagger in his back.
Don't we love all this dirt? Now we have politics and Hollywood. Then it was the Farneses.
There is lots to write about the Gran Cardinale: the generous prelate was indeed one of the few Renaissance men of influence to treat Rome's Jews humanely. But did his blood cool in his middle age, when he became devout as well?
Let's get serious.
If the thickening, balding, middle-aged man stopped loving women in their flesh, he "endured" Titian's nude, lascivious Danae right in his private apartments until his death. Oh, and when the Gran Cardinale prayed from the most famous book of hours, painted by Giulio Clovio, the miniaturist made sure that Alessandro looked at the faces of his mistresses. I love the illustration for the Annunciation to the Shepherds for its antique patina: a tangle of lithe nude shepherds awaiting to hear about the birth of Christ. Wouldn't Pier Luigi have enjoyed that?
Devout? Ask again.
The life-time Vice-Chancellor of the Church, like his papal grandfather, took his sacred vows after three decades, and only to save his precious post and wealth. As for Alessandro's generosity, when his final hour came he indeed gave -- more than ever before. Apparently worried about his celestial trip, he had himself buried in a simple tomb. Surely that sufficed. The magnificent piece of new architecture for the first Jesuit church in the world was the grandest tomb of all. Today's humble visitor sees the proud Farnese name carved across the imposing facade, lest he be mistaken about who built it for his own glory.
My protagonist fell in love with a Jewish woman whom he baptized Maddalena. The same man ravished his own servant, Padre Carlo, and became intimate with his young ward. History reflects in fiction. And blood is thicker than water, a trite but true way to summarize the character.
Here's an excerpt from my book, at a point where I paint the man's final picture for the reader:
"God was a link to the world beyond, where Alessandro's life would continue unimpeded. He tried to be a good bishop but was too rich, too influential. His sermons were noble, but the nobility needed little comfort, and he thought not of the poor. Ready for a far more important mission, he considered what the world, not just Rome, thought of him.
"One thing mattered, the one unfulfilled dream. He had to become Rome's new shepherd. Having lost the woman he loved through divine intervention, he was sure the Lord would finally help. Still he missed Maddalena, his other dream, and when he wanted her most, he hated his thirst for fame, knowing that without her, life was unreal.
"The price was too high. More than Maddalena, Alessandro loved fame."
As I write this, the newest church scandals taint its history and the front pages of all papers and news reports. The funds paid out by the Los Angeles diocese makes the Boston settlement paltry.
Six-hundred and sixty million.
There is so much more in Maddalena.
Art, music, history, and beaty of a mushrooming Renaissance city, the navel of the world which overpowers that which titillates human mind: scandal. There is plenty of the latter. Meet Berti Spranger, the historical painter of cardinals, popes, and emperors, known until recently as the painter of erotica.
Posted by Eva Siroka at July 16, 2007 03:43 PM