peashooter85:The Banquet of Chestnuts — The Papal Orgy of 1501,On October 30th, 1501 Pope Alexander
peashooter85:The Banquet of Chestnuts — The Papal Orgy of 1501,On October 30th, 1501 Pope Alexander VI hosted one of the most scandalous and depraved parties in Papal history, perhaps in all of human history. Organized by his son, Cardinal Cesare Borgia, the banquet was hosted at the Papal palace, and featured large amounts of wine and food. But it wasn’t the wine and food nor the luxurious setting which made the party so scandalous. The only first hand source of the “Banquet of Chestnuts” come from the priest and Master of Ceremonies Johann Burchard, who describes what occurred after the feast in his diary,“On the evening of the last day of October, 1501, Cesare Borgia arranged a banquet in his chambers in the Vatican with fifty honest prostitutes, called courtesans, who danced after the dinner with the attendants and the others who were present, at first in their garments, then naked. After the dinner the candelabra with the burning candles were taken from the tables and placed on the floor, and chestnuts were strewn around, which the naked courtesans picked up, creeping on hands and knees between the chandeliers, while the Pope, Cesare, and his sister Lucretia looked on. Finally prizes were announced for those who could perform the act most often with the courtesans, such as tunics of silk, shoes, barrets, and other things.” -- source link