III

Pope Alexander VI was a lawyer by training. He was among the wealthiest and most ambitious men in Europe, fond of his many mistresses and his illegitimate offspring. He indulged his worldly tastes with great vigor and was one of the most corrupt and secular popes in history. Alexander is perhaps best remembered for his Ballet of Chestnuts, in which fifty courtesans crawled naked on the floor collecting chestnuts that had been strewn across the papal apartments, following which was an obligatory orgy. Prizes were awarded to men who could make his partner(s) orgasm the quickest, and the most.
Though it was never proven that he was poisoned, after having dined with Cardinal Adriano da Corneto, Alexander started foaming at the mouth. Over the next few days his skin began to peel off, his face turned dark red and swelled, and his stomach turned to liquid. His passing was a messy one. Everything in his death room, including the carpet, had to be disposed of, as his body was said to be spewing sulfurous gas and oozing liquefied organs from every orifice. The priests of St. Peter's Basilica refused to accept the rotting corpse for burial, until forced to do so by papal staff. Although Alexander received his last rites moments before his last breath, Pope Pius III, his successor, forbade the saying of Mass for the repose of Alexander's soul.