Caterina lives in Florence in the villas …
Years: 1503 - 1503
October
Caterina lives in Florence in the villas which had belonged to her third husband Giovanni de' Medici, often staying at the Villa Medici di Castello.
She soon complains of being mistreated and living in a straitened financial situation.
She will for many years conduct a legal battle against her brother-in-law Lorenzo de' Medici for the custody of her son Giovanni, who had been entrusted to him during her detention.
Her son will finally be returned to her, because the judge recognizes that her confinement as a prisoner of war had not been comparable to the detention of a criminal.
With the death of Pope Alexander VI on August 18, 1503, Cesare Borgia had lost all his power.
This has reopened the possibility of restoring to power all the old feudal lords of the Romagna who had been deposed.
Caterina had lost no time in sending letters to adherents, and has pleaded her case to Pope Julius II in her own name and that of her son Ottaviano Riario.
The new Pope is favorable to restoring the lordships of Imola and Forlì to the Riarios, but the populace of both cities declare that a majority of the people oppose the return of the Countess, so that on October 22, 150, the domain passes instead to Antonio Maria Ordelaffi.
Having lost her last chance to return to her former power, Caterina will spend the last years of her life dedicated to her children, in particular to her youngest son Giovanni (her favorite and the most like her in personality and character), her grandchildren, her "experiments" in alchemy, and her correspondence with former friends of hers in the Romagna and relatives in the Milanese court.
Locations
People
- Caterina Sforza
- Cesare Borgia
- Louis XII of France
- Ludovico Sforza
- Maximilian I of
- Ottaviano Riario
- Pope Alexander VI
- Pope Julius II
- Raffaele Riario
Groups
- Papal States (Republic of St. Peter)
- Genoa, (Most Serene) Republic of
- Christians, Roman Catholic
- Tyrol, County of
- Venice, (Most Serene) Republic of
- Austria, Archduchy of
- France, (Valois) Kingdom of
- Savoy, Duchy of
- Holy Roman Empire
- Milan, Duchy of
- Florence, Republic of
