The Borgia family, originally from Xàtiva in Aragon, came to prominence in Renaissance Italy in the 15th century. Alfonso Borgia was elected pope, taking the name Calixtus III, in 1455, and his nephew Rodrigo became Pope Alexander VI in 1492. Rodrigo's children, Cesare, Lucrezia and Juan, were surrounded by Valencian collaborators and played an important part at the pontifical court, where the Catalan language was commonly used. The Borgias were exceptional politicians and paradigms of the prevailing corruption of their times; they were also leading patrons of the arts and artists such as Michelangelo worked in their courts.