Giovanni Sforza


 * This article is about Lucrezia Borgia's first husband. For other uses see Giovanni.

Giovanni Sforza was a cousin of Ascanio Sforza, Catherina Sforza and Ludovico Sforza, and the first husband of Lucrezia Borgia.

Information
The Lord of Pesaro, picked as the husband of Lucrezia by the pope in exchange for support from the Sforza house. A cold and brutish man, he rapes Lucrezia repeatedly at the beginning of the marriage, but breaks his leg after falling off a horse thanks to a scheme by Lucrezia. The household staff all hate him and several of them side with Lucrezia and aid her in her affair with Paolo. He betrays the alliance with the Borgias by refusing to support them against the impending French invasion. He is later humiliated by the Borgias, who convene the College of Cardinals to have the marriage annulled on the grounds of impotence. When Sforza denies the charges, the Pope declares that he must prove it before the College and two prostitutes are brought in. Sforza, unable to bear the humiliation, declares that he is impotent and is sent from Rome in disgrace. He is later killed by Cesare Borgia.

Historical notes

 * Giovanni was only 26 years old at the time he married Lucrezia Borgia, not in his 40s as the series depicts him. Also, there are no indicators to assume he raped her.
 * Cesare Borgia did not murder Giovanni. Giovanni died in Pesaro in 1510, outliving Cesare by three years.