The Banquet of Chestnuts: A centuries-long church scandal
In 1501, an event took place in Vatican City that still shocks people to this day. At a party held at the Papal Palace by Borgia Pope Alexander VI’s son, Cardinal Cesare Borgia, numerous jaw-dropping things occurred. These included food, wine tastings, dancing, and live music performances throughout the evening, but there was also an orgy.
The party games at the feast weren’t Pin the Tail on the Donkey or Truth or Dare, but 50 sex workers were swarmed to dinner, and the person who would have sex with the most of them was to be awarded by the Pope himself! For centuries, scholars and writers have debated the rumored participation of all clergymen in scandalous acts with Roman courtesans. This party, known as the Banquet of Chestnuts, entailed dancing women picking up chestnuts thrown at them by watching men. While the Catholic Church has tried disproving it ever happened, concrete evidence still stands today.