| Orsini was born in Meldola, in 1819, in a fragmented Italy misgoverned by Austria and various local tyrants. |
|
| Among the fiefs destined for the duke of Gandia were Cerveteri and Anguillara, lately acquired by Virginio Orsini, head of that powerful house. |
|
| When the Orsini offered to admit the French to their castles, Alexander had no choice but to come to terms with Charles. |
|
| In this manner, he was able to take advantage of the defeat of the French in order to break the power of the Orsini. |
|
| Virginio Orsini, who had been captured by the Spanish, died a prisoner at Naples, and the Pope confiscated his property. |
|
| On 14 January 1858, an Italian refugee from Britain called Felice Orsini attempted to assassinate Napoleon III with a bomb made in England. |
|
| The Orsini, against whom the Duke had been involved in the recent campaign, were the principal suspects at the time. |
|
| A danger now arose in the shape of a conspiracy by the deposed despots, the Orsini, and of some of Cesare's own condottieri. |
|
| When Alexander VI heard the news, he lured Cardinal Orsini to the Vatican and cast him into a dungeon, where he died. |
|
| The Orsini remained very powerful, and Pope Alexander VI could count on none but his 3,000 Spanish troops. |
|
