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The House of Borgia was an Italo-Spanish noble family, who became one of the most prominent and powerful families of the Italian Renaissance. They were very active in the ecclesiastical and the political affairs in Italy in the late 16th century. The family produced two Popes and the sinister figure of Cesare Borgia who became , one of the most notorious characters in infamous figures of the Renaissance. The family was suspected of many crimes and they have become legendary figures. This article will attempt to disentangle fact from fiction and evaluate the contribution of the Borgia Family to the Italian Renaissance and the Papacy. It will show that the family played a very important part in the evolution of the Papacy. Their ambitions helped to destabilize Renaissance Italy, especially Cesare Borgia with his attempt to create a principality for himself out of the Papal States.