Caterina Sforza, the illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo…
1480 CE
Caterina Sforza, the illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza by his mistress, Lucrezia Landriani, had been betrothed in 1473 to Girolamo Riario, the son of Paolo Riario and Bianca della Rovere, sister of Pope Sixtus IV.
Caterina had replaced her cousin, the eleven-year-old Costanza Fogliani, as Girolamo's bride because, according to some historians, Costanza's mother Gabriella Gonzaga (illegitimate daughter of Marquis Ludovico III of Mantua) had refused to allow the consummation of the marriage until Costanza reached the legal age—at this time fourteen—while Caterina, although only ten years old at the time, had agreed with the demands of the groom; other sources instead reported that the marriage of Caterina and Girolamo had been celebrated on January 17, 1473, but consummated four years later when Caterina reached the age of fourteen, without giving further details about the broken betrothal with Costanza.
Pope Sixtus IV had given Girolamo the Lordship of Imola, already a Sforza city, but at the time a fief of the Riario family.
After a triumphal entrance into Imola in 1477, Caterina had gone to Rome with her husband, where he will live for many years in the service of his uncle, the Pope.
The following year, in March 1478, Caterina had given birth to her first child, a daughter named Bianca after both Girolamo's mother, Bianca della Rovere, and Caterina's paternal grandmother, Bianca Maria Visconti.
Caterina will subsequently give birth to five more children in the next nine years.
Rome at the end of the fifteenth century is no longer a medieval city, but not yet the important center of artistic endeavors it will become a few decades hence as one of the most important cities of the Renaissance.
Upon her arrival in May 1477, Caterina had found a city full of cultural fervor, with a desire for renovation.
The atmosphere is a mix of intrigue and power, which is pursued without scruples, with material interests far exceeding the spiritual.
Caterina had been banned by her husband from meddling in politics, but she had quickly integrated—owing to her extroverted and sociable character—into aristocratic Roman society.
As evidenced by correspondence from this period, Caterina had immediately become admired as one of the most beautiful and elegant among noble Roman women.
She is welcomed everywhere, treated with great respect and lavishly praised by all of society including the Pope, and she had soon transformed from a simple adolescent into a refined and powerful intermediary between the Roman court and other Italian courts, especially Milan.
Girolamo had been given a leading position in the expansion policy of Pope Sixtus IV after the premature death of the Pope's favored nephew, Cardinal Pietro Riario.
His power had grown daily, and he had soon displayed increasing ruthlessness towards his enemies.
In 1480, the Pope, with the objective of attaining a strong domain in the land of Romagna, assigns Girolamo the lordship of Forlì, which has remained vacant after it had been sequestered from the Ordelaffi family.
The new Lord tries to earn the favor of the populace by erecting magnificent public buildings and churches, and by abolishing taxes.
Images
Sixtus IV with his nephews and courtiers. Girolamo Riario is the second figure from the left. Melozzo da Forlì: Pope Sixtus IV appoints Bartolomeo Platina prefect of the Vatican Library (1477). Fresc
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