Pope had presented to him, the
husband of Madonna Giulia, "Christ's bride," as the satirists called
her, instead of remaining in Rome to be a troublesome witness of his
shame.

A remarkable letter of Lorenzo Pucci to his brother Giannozzo, written
the 23d and 24th of December, 1493, from Rome, discloses these and other
family secrets. He shows us the most private scenes in Lucretia's
palace. Lorenzo had been invited by Cardinal Farnese to go with him to
Rome to witness the Christmas festivities. He accompanied him from
Viterbo to Rignano, where the barons of the Savelli house, kinsmen of
the cardinal, formally received them, after which they continued their
journey on horseback to Rome. Lorenzo repeated to his brother the
confidential conversation which he had enjoyed with the cardinal on the
way. Even as early as this there was talk of finding a suitable husband
for Giulia's little daughter. The cardinal unfolded his idea to Lorenzo.
Piero de' Medici wished to give his own daughter to the youthful Astorre
Manfredi of Faenza, but Farnese desired to bring about an alliance
between Astorre and Giulia's daughter. He hoped to be able to convince
Piero that this union would be advantageous for both himself and the
Republic of Florence, and would strengthen his relations with the Holy
See. The affair would be handled so that it would appear that it was
entirely due to the wishes of the Pope and of Piero. In this the
cardinal counted on the consent of both Alexander and Giulia, and on the
influence of Madonna Adriana.

Lorenzo Pucci replied to the cardinal's confidence as follows:
"Monsignor, I certainly think that our Master (the Pope) will give a
daughter to this gentleman (Astorre), for I believe that this child is
the Pope's daughter, just as Lucretia is, and your Highness's
niece."[30] In his letter Lorenzo does not say whether the cardinal
made any reply to this audacious statement, which would have brought a
blush to the face of any honorable man. Probably it only caused
Alessandro Farnese a little smile of assent. The bold Pucci repeated his
opinion in the same letter, saying, "She is the child of the Pope, the
niece of the cardinal, and the putative daughter of Signor Orsini, to
whom our Master intends to give three or four more castles near
Bassanello. In addition, the cardinal says that in case his brother
Angelo remains without heir, this child will inherit his property, as
she is very dear to him, and he is alre