The Life and Times of Rodrigo Borgia

In 1457 Rodrigo was made Vice-Chancellor of the Holy See as a reward for his services in connection with the disturbances in central Italy. During the hostilities between Filippo Visconti and Alfonso of Aragon, Francesco Sforza had taken possession of nearly the whole boundary-line dividing their States. Hard pressed by Piccinino and other generals, he cast himself upon the domain of Ascoli and appointed Giovanni Sforza as his governor. But a young man named Giosia instigated a conspiracy, banished Sforza from Ascoli, and himself took the reins of authority. Exasperated by his tyranny, the citizens drove him away and appealed to the Church for protection. Giosia, with the help of a few bandits, seized a castle in the neighborhood of Ascoli and laid waste the surrounding country. The Pope dispatched Rodrigo to quell the disturbance, and he performed the errand with so much success that he took the castle and brought Giosia in chains to Rome. On July 4, 1455, the Cardinal of Siena informed the Cardinal of Sant Angelo of the capture, and the Cardinal of Pavia, in his commentaries, speaks of the skill and decision with which Rodrigo managed the affair.
As long as Calixtus lived Rodrigo seems to have kept his vicious tendencies more or less within bounds. Eneas Silvius Piccolomini, afterwards Pope Pius II, indeed refers to him in the following approving words: “Our Chancellor, Rodrigo Borgia, the Pope's nephew, is young, it is true, but his conduct and good sense make him seem older than his years; in wisdom he is equal to his uncle”. But, as will shortly appear, with the advent of the next Pope he began to change his manner of life...