Virginio Orsini Gentile Virginio Orsini ( c . 1434 – 8 January 1497 ) was an Italian condottiero and vassal of the papal throne and the Kingdom of Naples , mainly remembered as the powerful head of the Orsini family during its feud with Pope Alexander VI ( Rodrigo Borgia ) . Though best known as Lord of Bracciano , during his lifetime he bore many titles , among which Count of Tagliacozzo , Vicovaro and Anguillara , Lord of Cerveteri , Knight of the Order of Emellino ( 1463 ) , Constable of the Kingdom of Naples and Gonfalonier of the Roman Church . The aforesaid feuds were all confiscated in favor of the Colonna or the Borgia family during Virginio ' s conflict with Naples and the Pope . Genealogy and military career . Gentile Virginio was the son of Napoleone II and Francesca Orsini . On the death of his uncle Carlo ( 1485 ) , he obtained the reins of his prominent house , at the time an enemy to the King of Naples and an ally of the pontiff . Pope Sixtus IV appointed him general of his forces , which Virginio led to a victory over the Neapolitan army at the Battle of Campo Morto ( 1482 ) . Almighty due to pontifical benefices , Virginio took advantage of the disorder which followed Sixtus ’ s death ( 1484 ) in order to exterminate the Roman house of Colonna , something he didn ’ t manage completely due to the Sacred College ’ s restoring the order . During the reign of Innocent VIII ( 1484 – 1492 ) , the Orsini family reached the peak of its power and held significant influence over the Roman Curia through Virginio ' s cousin , Cardinal Gianbattista Orsini of Monterotondo . The ascension of Alexander VI to the papal throne ( August 1492 ) changed the status quo in the Roman politics . Conflict with the Pope and Naples . Afraid of the new Pope ’ s intentions to curb the power of his audacious barons , Virginio approached King Ferdinand I of Naples , who was suspicious of Alexander ’ s relations to King Ferdinand II of Aragon , his formal overlord . It was with Neapolitan financial help that Virginio bought the Roman castles of Cerveteri and Anguillara from Franceschetto Cybo , the son of Pope Innocent VIII . It seems that Alexander VI had already reached an agreement with Cybo over the two fortresses and their unexpected purchase by his chief vassal with Neapolitan money ( 40 , 000 ducats ) was considered by the Pope as an act of treason . Nevertheless , Alexander and Ferdinand were reconciled in the summer of 1493 . When Charles VIII of France seized Rome in the December 1494 , demanding from the Pope to crown him monarch of Naples , the Orsini family hosted his troops in its fortresses and clamored for Alexander VI ' s deposition together with the Colonna family and most of the Cardinals . Thus Virginio , who had also been named Constable of Naples , betrayed both the Pope and the Aragonese dynasty of Naples . Hoping to gain benefits for his house by the French king , Virginio followed the French on their campaign in Naples . After the defeat of the French in the Battle of Fornovo ( 6 June 1495 ) and the restoration of the Aragonese in Naples the same month , Virginio was arrested and imprisoned by Ferdinand II of Naples , the new Neapolitan king , with the consent of the Pope . He died probably of poison in the Castel dell ' Ovo , in Naples ( 8 January 1497 ) , while Alexander VI was confiscating the Orsini strongholds in the Papal States in favor of the Borgia family . Posterity . Virginio Orsini had two sons , Gian Giordano Orsini , later Prince Assistant to the Papal Throne , by his wife Isabella Orsini ( of the Salerno line ) , and Carlo Orsini , an illegitimate .