Rodrigo Borgia
Giulia Farnese (mistress of Rodrigo and wife of Orsino)
Vannozza Catanei (mother of Juan, Cesare, Lucrezia, and Goffredo)
Juan Borgia (son of Vannozza and Rodrigo)
Cesare Borgia (son of Vannozza and Rodrigo)
Lucrezia Borgia (daughter of Vannozza and Rodrigo)
Adriana De Mila [Caretaker of the Borgia children and manager of their household in Rome, mother of Orsino Orsini (husband of Giulia Farnese)]
Francesc Gacet (aid to Rodrigo)
Alessandro Farnese (friend of Cesare and Giulia Farnese’s brother, he would eventually become Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano, Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, and Pope Paul III)
Giovanni De Medici
Orsino Orsini Migliorati
Virginio Orsini
Guiliano della Rovere
Nannia Colonna (wife of Fabrizio Colonna — he clubs her to death after finding her with Juan)
Fabrizio Colonna
Marcoantonio Colonna
Giovanni Colonna
Gianbattista Orsini
Virginio Orsini
Oliviero Carafa
Johann Burchard
Season 1, Episode 1
—Begins March, 1492
—Italy threatened with invasion from France and Muslim Turks
—Italy, meanwhile, is itself divided into ten warring kingdoms (only these are pictured: Genoa, Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, and Sicily)
—The papal states, ruled by Pope Innocent VIII, are at the center
—Rome is divided into warring factions: the Orsini, Colonna, and Borgia
—2:53: Cesare flagellates self for fighting someone. In flashback, his lover stops him from dealing a final blow to the man he is fighting.
—4:22: Lucrezia wakes to find she has begun menstruation.
—5:13: A meeting with the College of Cardinals. Vice-Chancellor Rodrigo Cardinal Borgia speaks of a report from Ferdinand and Isabella. Their armies have driven the Muslims from Granada, uniting Spain. Rodrigo suggests they be granted title of “Most Catholic Majesty.” Next, Dean of the sacred College, Giuliano Cardinal della Rovere says this will anger other monarchs and that King Charles of France is no less deserving. Rodrigo says that the pope has asked Charles to help defend the coast of Italy from Muslims, but Charles “equivocates.” Rodrigo then says that Lorenzo de Medici has made a request regarding his son Giovanni de Medici.
—7:42: Pisa. There is a theological debate going on about what god demands of humans. Alessandro says god commands us, to “think, observe, and create”; Cesare responds that god commands us to perform unselfish service. Giovanni de Medici receives a letter naming him a cardinal.
—9:06: Card game. Rodrigo talks of threats of invasion by French, Germans, the Muslim Turks while Italy squabbles internally. Virginio says that the threat of war between Naples and Milan grows stronger daily. Fabrizio says the Orsini made things worse by signing a contract with Naples. Virginio counters by saying that they only outbid the Colonna.
—11:30: Lucrezia worries about whether someone will find a husband for her.
—12:10: Juan brings news to Rodrigo that Pedro Luis is dead.
—14:00: Juan finds Cesare in Pisa. He says that Pedro Luis’s assassins were “the Moors, of course, in retaliation for our brother’s victory at Rando.”
—Rodrigo says that god is punishing him for his sins. “Last year, he took my daughter, Jeronima and now Pedro Luis.” He says he wants to bring Lucrezia home. Vannozza asks if he will legitimize his children. He says he’s susceptible to slander, abuse, and ridicule.
—17:44: Rodrigo talks to Juan and Cesare. They must keep the Colonna and Orsini focused on a single enemy: Cardinal della Rovere. He tells them that only one of them can succeed Pedro Luis and Duke of Gandia. He sends Juan to the Orsini and Cesare to the Colonna.
—19:12: Rodrigo tells Francesc that he (Rodrigo) can’t leave Gandia without a duke for long because Gandia will be swallowed up by someone else’s kin. So, Juan or Cesare must become Duke and marry the Princess Maria Enriques de Luna.
—19:43: Cesare is with the Colonna. He says that Padishah Bajazet cannot be trusted. Marcoantonio says that a Muslim attack on Rome is impossible while there’s a war in Turkey. Cesare says that Innocent will not live out the year. Cesare ends up spitting in Marcoantonio’s face. Juan succeeds in his mission and is named Duke of Gandia.
—22:29: At a party Cesare finds Lucrezia curious about dinner conversation in a nearby room. Cesare says they’re talking about the price of alum, “the dye that comes from the papal mines near Civitavecchia.” “Innocent’s greed has glutted the market and the price of alum has hit a breathtaking low.” Juan enters just then to say, “I hear he will pawn the papal tiara to pay his son’s gambling debts.”
—25:43: Orsino (Rodrigo calls him Monoculus) requests permission to go to Viterbo to recruit men to the Papal Guard in case Naples declares war on Milan. Rodrigo says that this won’t happen and that Carafa will find a way to peace.