Pope Alexander VI’s Banquet of Chestnuts (1501)
Rodrigo’s parties again caused a stir in 1501. Rodrigo, now deemed Pope Alexander VI, threw another notorious party. In 1501, he invited his inner circle, Roman nobility, and Church officials, to a party. The Banquet of Chestnuts featured a delicious feast and copious amounts of wine, but Pope Alexander had something else in store to entertain his guests – 50 adult entertainers. When guests had their fill of the food and were warm from the wine, the entertainers hopped onto the table to strip for the audience.
They then crawled around picking up chestnuts that had been tossed around. Although no one conclusively documented this, the women reportedly used their private parts to collect the nuts and impress the crowd. Alexander then announced a contest to see which of his guests could “entertain” the most ladies. The winner would get a prize from the Pope, although nobody recorded who won.
