Pedro "Perotto" Caldes (died 1498) was a Papal chamberlain and the lover of Lucrezia Borgia. In 1497, he slit Juan Borgia the Younger's throat after Lucrezia stabbed him nine times, and he was murdered by Cesare Borgia a year later.
Biography[]
Pedro Caldes was born in Valencia, Spain, and he served as a soldier in the Spanish Army under Gonzalo de Cordoba. Caldes fought in the Italian War of 1494-98, and he was introduced to Pope Alexander VI after assisting Guidobaldo da Montefeltro and Cordoba in liberating Rome from France in 1495. The Pope sent Caldes to entice his daughter Lucrezia Borgia to return home from a convent where she was staying, but he failed. Nevertheless, the Pope took a liking to him, and he made him a Papal chamberlain. Caldes later became a lover of Lucrezia, fathering a child with her. In June 1497, he assisted Lucrezia in killing Juan Borgia the Younger; she stabbed him nine times, while Caldes slit his throat to finish him off.
Death[]
Caldes' death
Caldes was later ordered to obey the Pope's wishes for Lucrezia Borgia to go to Spain and become a nun to take care of Juan's children; Caldes was to part with her. That night, the two slept together, but Caldes hid behind a curtain when Cesare Borgia entered the room to confront Lucrezia about Juan's murder; Cesare suspected that he himself may have killed his brother while he was drunk. Lucrezia revealed that she had murdered Juan with Pedro's help, and Cesare and Lucrezia began to make incestuous love. Cesare later noticed movement behind the curtains, and he found a semi-clothed Caldes, who began to run. Caldes burst into a room where the Pope was having a meeting, and Caldes touched the Pope's robes, begging for safety. Borgia then burst into the room and was ordered to stay his blade, but he ran Caldes through after Caldes said that he had done nothing wrong. Borgia then told all of the cardinals that he would make a name for himself, and that the world would remember the name "Cesare Borgia"; he proceeded to storm out of the room, with Lucrezia lying on the floor, crying.