When Ferdinand I of Naples sought to make an alliance against Pope Alexander, he successfully approached Florence, Milan, and Venice. He embarked upon a reform of papal finances and a vigorous pursuit of the war against the Ottoman Turks. For better or worse, Pope Alexander VI shaped the church, the country, and the world during his eleven years in power at the Vatican. [67], Before the death of Alexander VI, Rome was filled with political instability. On the 18th of August Alexander died at the age of 72. [38], Alexander instituted a special rite for the closing of a holy door, as well. The French king sought to claim Naple’s throne as his own. Each pope during this period inevitably found himself surrounded by the servants and retainers of his predecessors who often owed their loyalty to the family of the pontiff who had appointed them. Latin text: "Dum graviter aegrotaret, factorum conscientia punctus contrito dolentique animo ad lachrymas ut audio fusus, sacrosanctum communionis corpus sua sponte, dilutis prius diligentissima confessione peccatis, petierit, et alia sacramenta ...", "Throughout the Middle Ages a 'tradition' or 'custom' involving pillaging was attached to the death and election of high-ranking prelates. The connection began in 1470, and she had four children whom he openly acknowledged as his own: Cesare (born 1475), Giovanni, afterwards duke of Gandia (commonly known as Juan, born 1476), Lucrezia (born 1480), and Gioffre (Goffredo in Italian, born 1481 or 1482). [Note 17], In addition to the arts, Alexander VI also encouraged the development of education. Alexander was able to win over the bishop of Saint-Malo, who had much influence over the king, with a cardinal's hat. As the Bishop of Valencia, Alonso oversaw his nephew’s education. The pope, ever in need of money, now created twelve new cardinals, from whom he received 120,000 ducats, and fresh conquests for Cesare were considered. Similar rites were held at the other patriarchal basilicas. However, he still very dearly loved Vannozza, in a way he considered "spiritual", and his love for his children by Vannozza remained as strong as ever and proved, indeed, the determining factor of his whole career. The other claimed Giovanni was Cesare’s son, and therefore Alexander’s grandchild. [Note 11] The bishop of Gallipoli, Alexis Celadoni, spoke of the pontiff's contrition during his funeral oration[Note 12] to the electors of Alexander's successor, pope Pius III:[58][Note 13]. The historical value of Bishop Celadoni's funeral oration is said to be immense: "On 16 Sept 1503 Burchardus records in his diary that Alexius Celadenus or Celadonius, bishop of Gallipoli, delivered a discourse to the cardinals about to enter into conclave for the election of a successor to Pope Alexander VI. Although ecclesiastical corruption was then at its height, his riotous mode of life called down upon him a very severe reprimand from Pope Pius II, who succeeded Calixtus III in 1458. According to Burchard, the crowd which assisted at these solemnities numbered 200,000 persons. The one pleasing aspect of his life is his patronage of the arts, and in his days a new architectural era was initiated in Rome with the coming of Donato Bramante. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. This policy brought Ferdinand I, King of Naples, into conflict with Alexander, who was also opposed by Cardinal della Rovere, whose candidature for the papacy had been backed by Ferdinand.