October 31, 1501 went down in history for witnessing a papal orgy being organized by Pope Alexander VI for his clergy and 50 invited courtesans. Arranged for his son, Cardinal Cesare Borgia, this scandalous affair even had plenty of diary accounts to attest to its happenings.
Post a sumptuous meal at the Apostolic Palace, the candelabras were cleared from the table and rearranged on the floor with chestnuts strewn around. The naked courtesans were then seen to crawl and pick up each and every chestnut.
The colorful affair was recorded by several eyewitnesses, one highly reliable source was the book, Liber Notarum, written by the Pope's Master of Ceremonies, Johannes Burchard. According to Burchard, the affair soon turned into an orgy. "Prizes were announced for those who could perform the act most often with the courtesans, such as tunics of silk, shoes… and other things."
"Servants kept score of each man's orgasms, for the pope greatly admired virility and measured a man's machismo by his ejaculative capacity," A World Lit only by Fire (1992), William Manchester
The Catholic Church even today, argues that these were false allegations attempted to maim the reputations of the Pope and the highly influential Borgias family.
Barbara W. Tuchman, The March of Folly. New York: Knopf, 1984; p. 106 ISBN 0-394-52777-1; another issue has ISBN 0-349-13365-4
Burchard, Johann (1921), Glaser, F.L. (ed.), Pope Alexander VI and His Court: Extracts from the Latin Diary of Johannes Burchardus, New York: N.L. Brown, pp. 154–55.
Johannis Burchardi Argentinensis. capelle pontificie sacrorum rituum magistri diarium, sive Rerum urbanarum commentarii (1483-1506). vol. 3, Paris, 1885, p. 167
Manchester, William (1992). A World Lit Only by Fire. Boston, New York & London: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 79–80.
The Borgia Myth. Catholic World, New York: Paulist Fathers, The Catholic Publication Society, vol. 44, p. 13, 1886.