Giulia and decided to make her his mistress. What is known is that Adriana de Mila eventually gave her approval to Rodrigo Borgia and Giulia Farnese's relationship in order to win a higher status for her son within the Vatican. By November 1493, Giulia was living with Adriana de Mila and the Pope's daughter Lucrezia Borgia, who she became a friend of, in a recently built palace next to the Vatican from where the Pope could easily make his clandestine visits. The affair was widely rumored among gossips of the time, and Giulia was referred to as "the Pope's whore" or sarcastically as "the bride of Christ". However, writers like Michael de la Bedoyere dispute her alleged status as mistress. Giulia enriched herself as a result of her relationship with the Pope. For instance, Lorenzo Pucci noted in 1494 that "she has an intent goldsmith that makes rings for one thousand ducati." Through her intimacy with the Pope, Giulia was able to get her brother Alessandro (the future Pope Paul III) created Cardinal in 1493. Even so, Alessandro had a precarious financial situation. Records from the Apostolic Chamber from autumn of 1500 put Alessandro's annual income at just two thousand ducats, making him one of the poorest members of the Sacred College. Consequently, Giulia almost certainly helped sustain her brother financially, enabling him to purchase Cardinal Pedro Ferris' Roman palace in early 1495 for 5,500 ducats - a purchase otherwise outside of Alessandro's means. On 30 November 1492 Giulia gave birth to a baby girl who was named Laura. It is not clear whether Laura's father was Orsino or Alexander. Maria Bellonci believes that there is evidence that she did have a physical relationship with her husband. Whatever the case may be, Giulia claimed that Laura was indeed the Pope's daughter, but this may have been to raise the status of the child for future marriage considerations. In 1494, she angered the Pope by setting off to Capodimonte to be at the deathbed of her brother Angelo. She remained away from Rome, even after her brother's death, at the insistence of her husband. He eventually capitulated to papal pressure, however, and she soon set off on the journey back to her lover. This occurred at the same time as the French invasion of Italy under Charles VIII. Giulia was captured by the French captain Yves d’Allegre, who demanded from the