Marchese di San Veratrino

In the short story The Apples of the Hesperides, the Marchese di San Veratrino is an Italian nobleman who owned a gold chased goblet dating from the Renaissance, said to be used by Pope Alexander VI, Roderigo Borgia.

The Marchese put the goblet up for sale by auction. The American financier Emery Power won with a bid of some ten thousand dollars, beating his business rival Sir Reuben Rosenthal. However, on the night of the sale, the Marchese's palace was broken into and several valuable items were stolen, including the goblet.