1. Caterina Sforza was an Italian noblewoman, the Countess of Forli and Lady of Imola, firstly with her husband Girolamo Riario, and after his death as a regent of her son Ottaviano.
78 Facts About Caterina Sforza
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The descendant of a dynasty of noted condottieri, from an early age, Caterina distinguished herself through her bold and impetuous actions taken to safeguard her possessions from possible usurpers and to defend her dominions from attack, when they were involved in political intrigues.
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Caterina Sforza was educated and engaged in religious rituals and matters, commissioned works of art, stood as a fashion icon, and was a collector of many jewels and clothing.
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Caterina Sforza had many children, but only the youngest, Captain Giovanni delle Bande Nere, inherited his mother's forceful, militant personality.
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Caterina Sforza was one of the illegitimate children of Galeazzo Maria Sforza and his mistress Lucrezia Landriani who was wife to Count Gian Piero Landriani.
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Caterina Sforza followed Caterina's growing years and stayed close during crucial moments of her life, even during her final years in Florence.
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Caterina Sforza benefited from learning Latin and reading classic works of the time.
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Bona entered court with her personal apothecary, Cristoforo de Brugora, a line of work Caterina Sforza would explore later in life through her experiments.
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Caterina Sforza's father, whose family resided in Milan and Pavia, was a devoted hunter and often stayed either at Galliate or Cusago.
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In 1473, Caterina Sforza became betrothed to Girolamo Riario, the son of Paolo Riario and Bianca della Rovere, sister of Pope Sixtus IV.
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Caterina Sforza was a part of the two richest courts in Italy after marrying Girolamo and being daughter to the Duke of Milan.
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Caterina Sforza was welcomed everywhere, treated with great respect and lavishly praised by all of society including the Pope, and she soon transformed from a simple adolescent into a refined and powerful intermediary between the Roman court and other Italian courts, especially Milan.
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Caterina Sforza's power grew daily, and he soon displayed increasing ruthlessness towards his enemies.
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When Caterina Sforza was informed of the decisions taken by her husband, she increased the quota of her soldiers and made preparations for resistance in order to force the cardinals to parley with her.
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Caterina Sforza confirmed Girolamo in his lordships of Imola and Forli and his appointment as captain-general.
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Caterina Sforza's enemies began to conspire against him with a view to making Franceschetto Cybo, the illegitimate son of Pope Innocent, lord of Imola and Forli in his stead.
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Caterina Sforza offered to attempt to persuade the castellan, Tommaso Feo, to submit.
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Nonetheless, Caterina Sforza defied the social and cultural barriers that society put on female regents and became known for her successful role as a regent for twelve years.
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Caterina Sforza's first act as Regent of Forli was to avenge the death of her husband, according to the custom of the time.
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Caterina Sforza ordered that all those involved in the Orsi conspiracy were to be imprisoned, along with the Pope's governor, Monsignor Savelli, all the pontifical generals, and the castellan of the fortress of Forlimpopoli, and all women of the Orsis and other families who had assisted in the conspiracy.
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Caterina Sforza decreased taxes by reducing some and eliminating others, and sharply controlled her realm's spending.
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Caterina Sforza dealt directly with the training of her militia in the use of weapons and horses.
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Caterina Sforza knew Forli was exposed to invasion, located in a strategic position on the way to Rome.
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Two months after the death of Girolamo, a rumour was spread that Caterina Sforza was close to marrying Antonio Maria Ordelaffi, who had started to court her.
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When Caterina Sforza saw how things stood, she imprisoned those who had spread the false news.
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Caterina Sforza knew not to make it publicly known that she remarried after Girolamo's death.
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Therefore, Caterina Sforza secretly married Giacomo in 1488 to avoid losing custody of her children and the regency of her dominions.
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All the contemporary chronicles reported that Caterina Sforza was madly in love with the young Giacomo.
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The Florentine commissioner in Faenza, in describing to Piero de' Medici the "wretched condition to which Caterina Sforza had been reduced, completely dominated by her lover", reported that in 1493 Giacomo held the fortress of Forli in his own hands, that all revenues and profits passed through his hands and that all the soldiers depended on him.
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Caterina Sforza felt such an attachment to Giacomo that she declared herself ready to kill all her children and renounce the State and all her possessions rather than separate from him: "the sooner she will bury all her people and children and possessions, the sooner they will give soul to the devil, and the state to the Turk, rather than ever forsake each other".
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Caterina Sforza was unaware of the plot, and her revenge was terrible.
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Caterina Sforza was not satisfied with mere executions: their deaths had to be among the most cruel and painful.
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Caterina Sforza's fury blinded her to the politics that had inspired the plot.
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The situation differed from the previous one as this time Caterina Sforza had the approval of her children and she obtained the consent of her uncle.
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Meanwhile, affairs between Florence and Venice were getting worse and Caterina Sforza, who occupied the main route between the two cities, prepared her defenses.
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Caterina Sforza sent a contingent of knights to the aid of Florence, led by Giovanni and her eldest son, Ottaviano Riario, accompanied by men she had trained herself.
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Caterina Sforza sought relief from Florence against the approaching French army, but Florence was threatened by the Pope, so she was left alone to defend herself.
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Caterina Sforza immediately began to recruit and train many soldiers and began to store weapons, ammunition and food.
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Caterina Sforza reinforced the defenses, especially that of Ravaldino where she resided and which was already considered impenetrable.
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Caterina Sforza repeatedly refused all offers of peace, from Cesare and from Cardinal Riario.
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Caterina Sforza tried to capture Cesare when he came near the fortress to talk to her, but the attempt failed.
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For several days the artillery of both factions engaged in a mutual bombardment: Caterina Sforza's cannon inflicted heavy losses on the French army, but the French artillery damaged the defences of the main fortress.
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Caterina Sforza's troops bombarded the walls of the fortress continuously, even at night.
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The bloody battle was quick and decisive, and Caterina Sforza continued to resist, fighting with weapons in hand until she was taken prisoner.
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Machiavelli believed that Caterina Sforza had tried to poison the Pope, while other historians, such as Jacob Burckhardt and Ferdinand Gregorovius, are not certain.
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Alexander VI alleged that Caterina Sforza signed documents renouncing all of her fiefs, because in the meantime his son Cesare, with the acquisition of Pesaro, Rimini, and Faenza, was appointed Duke of Romagna.
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In Florence, Caterina Sforza lived in the villas which had belonged to her third husband Giovanni de' Medici, often staying at the Villa Medici di Castello.
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Caterina Sforza lost no time in sending letters to adherents, and pleaded her case to Pope Julius II in her own name and that of her son Ottaviano Riario.
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Caterina Sforza appeared to have recovered, but had a relapse of the disease, after which she made her will and arranged her burial.
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Caterina Sforza's body was placed in a small tomb in the chapel of Le Murate in Florence, a convent of nuns whom Caterina had befriended during her time in that city, and where she had kept a cell as a spiritual retreat.
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Caterina Sforza wore a satin robe with two arms of trawl, a black velvet caper on the French, a man's girdle, and scarsella full of golden ducats; a sickle for the use of retort next to it, and among the soldiers at the foot, and on horseback was feared much, because that woman with weapons in hand was proud and cruel.
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Caterina Sforza was the non-legitimate daughter of Count Francesco Sforza, the first captain of his time and to whom she was very similar in soul and daring, and she did not lack, being adorned with singular virtue, of some vice not small nor vulgar.
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Around 1502, according to an informant of Isabella d'Este, Caterina Sforza was "so fat that I could not make the comparison".
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Caterina Sforza had inherited from the Sforza the typical important nose, slightly bead, and the protruding chin.
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Caterina Sforza's hair had to be wavy and it seems that she kept it gathered behind her head, but it is not known for sure if she was blonde and clear in natural complexion or if she obtained these results through her own mixtures.
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Caterina Sforza was known to have had numerous lovers, although often subjects or soldiers of low social background, rough or unknown.
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Francois de Beaucaire says of he: "He was born of an obscure place, and a homunculus of the lowest strength, since as an adolescent for the superiority of beauty he was in delights with Ludovico Caterina Sforza, he had obtained an honorable military rank".
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Caterina Sforza gave him full freedom of maneuver in the political events of Forli, moreover the rumors of their relationship are present in the vast majority of contemporary sources and supported by the fact that Caterina Sforza was the only one not to reproach Casale for the loss of the fortress of Forli.
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From her first marriage with Girolamo Riario, Caterina Sforza had six children:.
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From her second marriage with Giacomo Feo, Caterina Sforza had one son:.
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From her third marriage to Giovanni de' Medici, Caterina Sforza had one son:.
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Fraser points out that whilst the murders ordered by Caterina Sforza were no worse than the massacres ordered by Isabella, historians have been much harsher in their judgment of the former.
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Fraser accounts for this by pointing out that Isabella's actions were sanctioned by the Church, as they were carried out in the name of Catholicism, whilst Caterina Sforza's were motivated by the personal, secular desire to preserve her property and rights.
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Experiments Caterina Sforza had a thirst for knowledge and had interests in alchemy, cosmetics, and medicine.
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Caterina Sforza crafted a manuscript containing 454 recipes, with the recipes and experiments listed in alphabetical order.
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Caterina Sforza created cosmetic recipes for perfume, and methods to lighten skin and hair.
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When Caterina Sforza relocated to Forli in 1484, she continued her experiments.
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Caterina Sforza had medicinal gardens constructed where she was able to develop the ingredients she needed for her recipes.
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Caterina Sforza strived, as almost all alchemists did, to find the elixir of life and the philosophers stone.
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Caterina Sforza created over 400 different alchemical recipes in her lifetime, from cosmetics to medicinal cures.
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Caterina Sforza used talc in everything from cosmetics and medicine to alchemy.
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Caterina Sforza's experiments show that talc could be used for making women more beautiful, a cure for poison, and turning gold to silver.
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For instance Caterina Sforza was regent of Forli and Imola, and needed to alleviate financial burden to further her political standing, so she utilized alchemy.
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Caterina Sforza would make metal appear to be gold by changing its weight and color via principles of alchemy.
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Caterina Sforza is one of the few women discussed by Machiavelli at length, specifically regarding the legend of her having shown her genitalia after regaining the fortress of Ravaldino.
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Caterina Sforza retold the story on multiple occasions, first in his Discourses on Livy, and then in his Florentine Histories.
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However, "the narrative of Machiavelli cannot stand against the absolute silence of such contemporaries as [Leone] Cobelli and [Bruno] Bernardi", neither of whom mention the skirt incident as Machiavelli describes it, and instead talk about the wisdom and political astuteness of Caterina Sforza, who is confronted with a losing situation yet manages to regain the upper hand.
78.
The pregnancy is believed to have been a ruse, but with the conspirators not having any reinforcements and Caterina Sforza's forces approaching, with her children's usefulness as hostages rendered meaningless, and facing threats of vengeance for the murder of her husband, they had no choice but to retreat.