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Borja family in Gandia

Gandia, La Safor, Valencia

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Borja family in Gandia

Curiosity · Gandia, La Safor, Valencia

Image of Gandia, not of the place itself.

The Borjas were a noble Valencian family, originally from the Aragonese town of Borja and settled in Xàtiva, who in the 13th century took part in the conquest of Valencia under James I. They became one of the most powerful families of the Renaissance in the Crown of Aragon and in Italy thanks to two popes: Alfonso de Borja, elected as Callixtus III in 1456, the first Catalan-speaking pope in history, and his nephew Rodrigo de Borja, elected as Alexander VI in 1492, whose children Juan, César, Lucrecia and Jofré were born before his pontificate. From Alexander VI descend the dukes of Gandia, a line divided into five branches, to which belonged Saint Francis Borgia, first marquis of Llombai and duke of Gandia, who went on to become the third superior general of the Society of Jesus between 1565 and 1572.

Photo: 19Tarrestnom65 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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