Gioffre Borgia

Gioffre Borgia
Prince of Squillace
A portrait of a young man, believed to be Jofré Borgia.
Spouse(s)	Sancha of Aragon Maria de Mila
Issue Francesco Borgia de Mila Lucrezia Borgia de Mila Antonia Borgia de Mila Maria Borgia de Mila
Noble family	House of Borgia
Father	Pope Alexander VI
Mother	Vannozza dei Cattanei
Born	1482 (1482) Rome
Died	1517 (1518) Squillace

Gioffre Borgia (born 1481 or 1482; died 1516 or 1517), also known as Goffredo [Italian], or Jofré Borja [Valencian] , was the youngest son of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei, and a member of the House of Borgia. He was the youngest brother of Cesare, Giovanni, and Lucrezia Borgia.

Gioffre married Sancha (Sancia) of Aragon, daughter of Alfonso II of Naples, obtaining as dowry both the Principality of Squillace (1494), and after a period of political turmoil in the Kingdom of Naples, the Duchy of Alvito (1497).

Gioffre and Sancha were 12 and 16, respectively, at the time of their marriage. The marriage was a political one. Alfonso married his daughter to Gioffre and gave the over-large dowry in return for Pope Alexander's recognition of Alfonso's claim to the throne of Naples. Almost as soon as the wedding ceremony was over, the political situation changed with the invasion of Italy by King Charles VIII of France, who claimed Naples as his own. Alfonso fled, leaving the throne to his short-lived son, and a long war between Spain, France and their Italian adherents ensued.

During this time the young couple lived mostly at Rome, where Sancha reputedly had affairs with both of her husband's elder brothers, Giovanni and Cesare, among others. In the beginning of their marriage, Sancha was somewhat domineering over her husband (due to his age) and she sought after older men.

Gioffre's relationship with his father was poor. Pope Alexander VI legitimized him, but privately expressed doubts that Gioffre was his son. He considered him a weakling because of his lack of interest in politics. In 1497 the Pope publicly exonerated Gioffre of the murder of his brother Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandia because of the many rumours that Cesare was in fact the killer, due to public antagonism between the two over Sancha.