498. The
marriage contract was concluded in the presence of the Pope and a
brilliant gathering in the Vatican, and one of the official witnesses
was Don Alfonso of Biselli, who held the sword over the young
couple.[63]

Shortly afterwards, October first, Caesar Borgia set sail for France,
where he was made Duke of Valentinois, and where, in May, 1499, he
married Charlotte d'Albret, sister of the King of Navarre. At this court
he met two men who were destined later to exercise great influence upon
his career--George of Amboise, Archbishop of Rouen, to whom he had
brought the cardinal's hat, and Giuliano della Rovere. The latter,
hitherto Alexander's bitterest enemy, now suffered himself, by the
intermediation of the King of France, to be won over to the cause of the
Borgias; he permitted himself even to become Caesar's stepping-stone to
greatness.

The reconciliation was sealed by a marriage between the two families;
the city prefect, Giovanni della Rovere, Giuliano's brother, betrothing
his eighteen-year-old son Francesco Maria to Angela Borgia, September 2,
1500.

Angela's father, Giuffre, was a son of Giovanni, sister of Alexander VI,
and of Guglielmo Lanzol. Giovanni Borgia the younger, Cardinal Ludovico,
and Rodrigo, captain of the papal guard, were her brothers. Her sister
Girolama, as above stated, was married to Fabio Orsini. The ceremony of
Angela's betrothal took place in the Vatican in the presence of the
ambassador of France.

For the purpose of driving Ludovico il Moro from Milan, Louis XII had
concluded an alliance with Venice, which the Pope also joined on the
condition that France would help his son to acquire Romagna.

Ascanio Sforza, who was unable to prevent the loss of Milan, and who
knew that his own life was in danger in Rome, fled July 13, 1499, to
Genazzano and subsequently to Genoa.

His example was followed by Lucretia's youthful consort. We do not know
what occurred in the Vatican to cause Don Alfonso quietly to leave Rome,
where he had spent but a single year with Lucretia. We can only say that
his decision must have been brought about by some turn which the Pope's
politics had taken. The object of the expedition of Louis XII was not
only the overthrow of the Sforza dynasty in Milan, but also the seizure
of Naples; it was intended to be a sequel to the attempt of Charles
VIII, which was defeated by the great League. The young prince was aware
of the Pope's intention to destroy his uncl