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Pope Alexander VI, born Rodrigo de Borja (Valencian: Roderic Llançol i de Borja, Spanish: Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja), was Pope from 11 August 1492 until his death. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, partly because he acknowledged fathering several children by his mistresses. Therefore his Italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his pontificate. Two of Alexander's successors, the controversial pontiffs Sixtus V and Urban VIII, described him as one of the most outstanding popes since Saint Peter. |
