The Borgias preview, Neil Jordan and Jeremy Irons talk Italian Renaissance

By April MacIntyre Jun 19, 2010, 19:38 GMT

Corruption of the already sullied Catholic Vatican hierarchy, incest, poisonings, orgies, torture, political intrigue and cruelties unheard of, The Borgias were Italy\'s reigning terrors who dominated the Renaissance period with their power and wealth.

Corruption of the already sullied Catholic Vatican hierarchy, incest, poisonings, orgies, torture and political intrigue, the wealthy Borgia clan committed these acts of unspeakable arrogance and cruelty and were Italy's reigning terrors dominating the Renaissance period.

Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather and The Family books, based his writings on research of the unsavory aristocrats.

Showtime has mined their rich history for a series coming in 2011.  The creatives who brought the award winning 'The Tudors' will create the world of the infamous Italian clan who terrorized Europe and were at the zenith of their power in the auspicious year of 1492, when another Italian, Christopher Columbus, set sail for the New World thanks to the largesse of 'The Tudors' Henry VIII first wife Catherine of Aragon's royal parents, Isabella and Ferdinand.

Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons will star in the epic drama series as Rodrigo Borgia, the manipulative patriarch of The Borgia family who ascends to the highest circles of power within Renaissance-era Italy as Pope.

Academy Award winning director Neil Jordan will create and executive produce the series as well as direct the first two episodes.  The network has cast Joanne Whalley as Vanossa, mother of the Borgia children who were fathered by Rodrigo Borgia (Irons) before he became one of history's most infamous popes. Vanossa once was a courtesan with a disreputable past.  Colm Feore is cast as Giuliano Della Rovere; Holliday Grainger is cast as Lucrezia Borgia and David Oakes was cast to play Juan Borgia, the elder brother of Cesare and Lucrezia.

The series begins as the family's patriarch Rodrigo (Jeremy Irons), becomes Pope, propelling him, his two Machiavellian sons Cesare and Juan, and his scandalously beautiful daughter, Lucrezia, to become the most powerful and influential family of the Italian Renaissance.