Historical Figures

Caterina Sforza, countess and woman of power

Italian countess, Caterina Sforza (1463 – 1509) was a woman of power and influence in 15th century Italy. She has distinguished herself as much by her determination and courage as by her intransigence and even her cruelty in certain circumstances.

At the court of Milan

Born in Milan in 1463, Caterina Sforza was the illegitimate daughter of Lucrezia Landriani, already married, and the Duke of Milan Galeazzo Maria Sforza. She probably spent her early years with her mother's family, who followed her childhood closely and forged special ties with her daughter. His parents already have a son and will have, in the following years, a son and a daughter.

When Galeazzo's father dies, the new duke arranges for his four illegitimate children to join the court, under the care of their paternal grandmother Bonne de Savoie, Galeazzo's second wife, legitimizes the children by adopting them. From their adoptive mother, the children receive warmth and affection. At court, they benefit from a quality education, from languages ​​to the art of government.

A meteoric rise

In 1473, at the age of ten, Caterina Sforza was engaged and then married to Girolamo Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV. The marriage would have been consummated at the legal age of the time, four years later. In 1477, Caterina moved to Rome with her husband, who put himself at the service of his uncle the pope; in March 1478, at age 15, the girl gave birth to her first daughter, Bianca. She will have five more children.

In Rome, Caterina discovers a city of intellectual, cultural and political effervescence. Girolamo does not allow his young wife to get involved in politics, but Caterina's very sociable and outgoing character quickly opens the doors to the Roman aristocracy. Elegant and cultured, she was praised by everyone, including the Pope, and as she grew older she became an influential woman in the courts of Italy. Like that of his wife, Girolamo's power and influence grew with the pope. In 1480, Sixtus IV made him lord of Forlì.

Revolt

In August 1484, the Pope's death upset the well-established lives of Caterina Sforza and her husband. Revolts break out in the streets of Rome and insurgents invade and loot the residences of supporters of Sixtus IV. The Palazzo Orsini, residence of Girolama, is ransacked and practically destroyed. Then seven months pregnant, Caterina rode to Castel Sant'Angelo to occupy the fortress in the name of her husband. From there, assured of the obedience of the soldiers and thanks to the artillery of the castle, it controls the Vatican and the conclave.

Faced with Caterina's refusal to cede the fortress to anyone other than the new pope, the College of Cardinals negotiates with Girolamo his departure from Rome in exchange for advantageous conditions, including the confirmation of his title of lord of Imola and Forlì, and 8,000 ducats in compensation for the damage done to his residence. In reaction to her husband's departure, Caterina doubles the number of soldiers to force the cardinals to negotiate with her, but her husband then takes a stand against her. In October, Caterina is forced to leave the fortress and Rome, and the conclave elects Pope Innocent VIII.

Conspiracy of the Orsis

In 1485, Girolamo was forced to levy taxes to fill the coffers of the city, and this tax deemed excessive made him very unpopular. His enemies conspired to replace him with the illegitimate son of Innocent VIII, and in 1488 Girolamo was assassinated by order of the Orsis family. His palace is pillaged, his wife and children taken prisoner.

The fortress of Ravaldino, crucial for the defense system of the city of Rome refuses to surrender to the Orsis. To secure his release, Caterina offers to convince them to surrender and leaves her children hostage. Once free within the fortress, she sends her former jailers insults and threats of revenge. To the death threats weighing on her children, she would have replied:“do it if you want, hang them in front of me… I have what it takes to do more!” » . Shocked, the Orsis do not touch her children. With the help of her uncle, Caterina defeats her enemies and regains possession of her domains, becoming regent of Forli in the name of her eldest son Ottaviano.

Caterina's first action as regent is to order the arrest of all members of the Orsis conspiracy, to avenge her husband's death. She consolidates her power by forging alliances with neighboring lords and seeking marriages for her children. Involved in all aspects of government in her domain, she lowers taxes, cuts spending, and strives to restore peace and order.

Giacomo Feo

In 1488, Caterina Sforza married Giacomo Feo, the brother of the castellan of the fortress of Ravaldino with whom she fell in love. For fear of losing the regency and custody of her children, she keeps this union secret. Giacomo becomes castellan of Ravaldino in place of his brother and his power and influence increase, to the detriment of Ottaviano. A first conspiracy aims to take the fortress in the name of Ottaviano and to assassinate Caterina and Giacomo, but the countess unmasks the plot and has its instigators imprisoned.

In August 1495, supporters of Ottaviano and children of Caterina set up a new conspiracy; they attack and mortally wound Giacomo. The revenge of Caterina, very much in love with her husband, is terrible. It is not content with executions; the death of the conspirators must be cruel and painful. She blindly pursues their wives, mistresses and children, and has them executed. This massacre causes him to permanently lose the respect of his people.

The Italian wars

In September 1497, Caterina Sforza married the ambassador of the Republic of Florence, Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano, a member of the Medici family. This remarriage is still done in secret, but this time with the approval of Caterina's children. The marriage will not last long; Giovanni died of illness a year later, a few months after the birth of his son.

At this time, tensions grew between Florence and Venice; occupying the main road between the two cities and allied with Florence, Caterina prepares her defense against the Venetians. She takes care of the military training of the troops herself and raises funds to finance her army. She stood up to the enemy armies, so the Venetians had to find another road to get to Florence. This fierce defense will earn Caterina the nickname "The Tigress “.

The King of France Louis XII adds his claims to the Duchy of Milan to the conflict, and obtains the support of the Republic of Venice and Pope Alexander VI. In 1499, he entered Italy with his army. Caterina seeks support from her allies to defend herself, but Florence is threatened by the Pope and the Countess finds herself isolated. She strengthens her defenses, accumulates weapons, ammunition and provisions, and sends her children away. César Borgia takes possession of Imola, then of Forli, and besieges Ravaldino where Caterina has taken refuge.

Prisoner of the pope

Isolated in her fortress, the Countess refuses all offers of peace and inflicts heavy losses on the French army with her artillery. Caterina's resistance earned her general admiration, but Caesar Borgia's artillery ended up creating breaches in the walls and his army rushed into the fortress. Arms in hand, Caterina resists until she is captured and imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo.

To justify Caterina's imprisonment, Alexander VI accuses her of having attempted to assassinate her with poisoned letters. His trial will not end; Caterina was liberated in June 1501 by the French army, after signing documents renouncing all of her domains. Freed, Caterina joins her children in Florence.

On the death of Alexander VI, Caterina demanded from the new pope the restoration of his power over Imola and Forli, for her and her son Ottaviano; the pope is in favor of it, but the population opposes it and Caterina fails to recover her land. After this failure, she devoted herself to her children and grandchildren, as well as to her interest in alchemy.

In May 1509, Caterina died of pneumonia at the age of 46.