Antonio Giustiniani was the Republic of Venice's ambassador to France. In 1498, he met with the French general Cesare Borgia, who told him that the Kingdom of France would award Venice with the cities of Cremona and Ghiara d'Adda if the Doge supported King Louis XII of France's invasion of Italy and held off a German invasion. Giustiniani initially refused to go to the Doge to tell him of this offer, as he wanted personal gain, but Borgia sent two fierce dogs to attack him. Giustiniani appeared, scarred on the face, before King Louis, and he told him that he would go to the Doge with the proposal. In 1500, he was sent to Rome to protest Borgia's conquest of Rimini, but he was escorted out by Johann Burchard after Giulia Farnese entered the room to talk to Pope Alexander VI about Silvia Ruffini's potentially fatal pregnancy.