BORGIA {BORGIA: FAITH AND FEAR}: ONDATA DI CALORE {HEAT WAVE} (TV)
Summary
One in this historical drama series set in Renaissance Italy about the notorious Borgia family and its patriarch, Pope Alexander VI. In this episode, set in July 1492, Cesare visits a fortune-teller who informs him that while he is not in immediate danger, his life will soon be affected by five deaths. At a dinner, Rodrigo toasts the union between Rome's powerful families, though Giovanni de Medici learns that his father has been stricken with fever. Rodrigo tells Cesare and Juan that the Muslim prince Djem has recently surrendered, and Cesare suggests bringing him to Rome. When Djem arrives, he presents Pope Innocent with the so-called Lance of Longinus, present at the death of Christ, as a gift. Cesare and Juan meet Djem and agree to be his guide, while elsewhere Lucrezia learns from her younger brother Goffredo that their mother is ill with fever. She begs to visit her, but Adriana refuses to allow her to leave Rodrigo's home and expose herself to sickness. Giovanni's father Lorenzo passes away, marking the first death mentioned by the witch, and Giovanni frets to Cesare that the monk Savonarola did not absolve Lorenzo of his sins before he died. Cesare confides in Alessandro Farnese about the "beast" within him, admitting that he is envious of both Juan and Giovanni because of their positions of power. Alessandro suggests that he should better himself by making amends to the Colonnas, but Cesare's attempts to apologize are swiftly rebuffed.
Lucrezia's new suitor, Don Gaspare de Procida, arrives to lavish her with gifts, though she is unimpressed. Juan and Cesare learn of a plot against Djem's life by his own brother and decide to uncover the truth, and when they befriend Christoforo Castanea by inviting him along to a brothel, Castanea reveals that he intends to kill Djem by poisoning a well, unconcerned about the ailing Pope Innocent or any cardinals who might also drink from it. Lucrezia refuses to marry the "peacock" Don Gaspare, and Rodrigo urges Giulia to "use her wiles" to convince his willful daughter to accept the match. Pope Innocent takes a turn for the worse and the cardinals begin to panic, knowing that whomever controls the treasury essential controls the choice of the next pope. Giulia talks to Don Gaspare and urges him to "woo" Lucrezia with more than material gifts, and Cesare leaves Juan to continue investigating Castanea and goes off with Goffredo to visit their mother. Rodrigo and della Rovere quarrel over Innocent's recently-altered will, though Franceschetto, Innocent's illegitimate son, intervenes. Rodrigo conspires to break Innocent's will and "secure" the treasury, while elsewhere Lucrezia begins to bond with Giulia as she admits that she is developing an interest in Don Gaspare after all and Giulia urges her to use her sexuality to her own advantage.
Rodrigo brings several different healers to attend to Innocent, while Cesare retrieves the fortune-teller and orders her to cure his mother. Juan imprisons Castanea and demands the names of the other conspirators, and the fortune-teller's unusual cure works and Vannozza improves. Cesare's young half-brother Ottavanio dies, however, and Cesare strangles the witch in a rage, making them deaths two and three. Franceschetto is revealed to be in on the plot against Djem and he begs Juan to lie for him, and he agrees in exchange for the money paid by Djem's brother and for a night with Franceschetto's unwilling wife. Juan gruesomely executes Castanea in public for spearheading the conspiracy, making him death number four, and Franceschetto burns his father's revised will, much to della Rovere's outrage. Lucrezia and Don Gaspare continue their flirtation, and Rodrigo refuses to flee Rome despite Gacet's urging. Innocent soon expires, making him the fifth and final death, and the Roman people attack the cardinals' homes in search of the treasury money. The Borgia family hides in their house, knowing that they are next.
Details
- NETWORK: Sky Italia
- DATE: July 10, 2011
- RUNNING TIME: 0:54:14
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 106980
- GENRE: Drama, historical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; Religion
- SERIES RUN: Sky Italia - TV series, 2011-2014
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Anne Thomopoulos … Executive Producer
- Steven Bawol … Executive Producer
- Takis Candilis … Executive Producer
- Klaus Zimmermann … Executive Producer
- Ferdinand Dohna … Executive Producer
- Barry Levinson … Executive Producer
- Tom Fontana … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Michael Schwarz … Producer
- Petr Moravec … Producer
- Aaron Seliquini … Co-Producer
- Oliver Hirschbiegel … Director
- Kyle Bradstreet … Writer
- Brant Englestein … Writer
- Cyril Moran … Music by
- John Doman … Cast, Rodrigo Borgia
- Mark Ryder … Cast, Cesare Borgia
- Stanley Weber … Cast, Juan Borgia
- Isolda Dychauk … Cast, Lucrezia Borgia
- Marta Gastini … Cast, Giulia Farnese
- Diarmuid Noyes … Cast, Alessandro Farnese
- Andrea Sawatzki … Cast, Adriana De Mila
- Art Malik … Cast, Francesc Gacet
- Assumpta Serna … Cast, Vannozza Catanei
- Nicolas Belmonte … Cast, Shahzadeh Djem
- John Bradley … Cast, Giovanni de Medici
- Marco Calvani … Cast, Christoforo Castanea
- Dejan Cukic … Cast, Giuliano della Rovere
- Karel Dobry … Cast, Giovanni Colonna
- Udo Kier … Cast, Pope Innocent VIII
- Victor Schefe … Cast, Johann Burchard
- Richard Southgate … Cast, Marcantonio Colonna
- Eva Jenickova … Cast, Striga
- Rudolf Martin … Cast, Franceschetto Cibo
- Matej Stropnicky … Cast, Don Gaspare de Procida
- Miroslav Taborsky … Cast, Gianbattista Orsini
- Adam Misik … Cast, Goffredo Borgia
- Robert Polo … Cast, Carlo Canale
- Christopher Tucker … Cast, Shouter