Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano, had in…
September 1497 CE
Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano, had in 1496 paid a visit to Caterina as the ambassador of the Republic of Florence.
The second son of Pierfrancesco il Vecchio, he belongs to a collateral branch of the Medici family.
Along with his older brother Lorenzo, he had been sent into exile because of his open hostility toward their cousin Piero, who had succeeded his father Lorenzo il Magnifico in the government of Florence.
When Charles VIII invaded Italy in 1494, Piero had been forced to sign a treaty that had allowed the French army to move freely into the Kingdom of Naples.
The people of Florence had deposed Piero and proclaimed a Republic.
Giovanni and his brother had been able to return to their homeland in November 1495, renouncing the Medici surname and taking the name of Popolano, their support for Girolamo Savonarola gaining them the Popolano ("Populist") nickname.
The Florentine government had appointed Giovanni as ambassador to Forlì.
Shortly after coming to Forlì, Giovanni and his entourage had been housed in the apartments adjacent to Caterina's in the fortress of Ravaldino.
The rumors of a possible marriage between Giovanni and Caterina and that Ottaviano Riario has accepted the post of condottiero from Florence, which is threatened by the Venetians, has alarmed all the lords of the League and the Duke of Milan.
Caterina can't hide her wedding plans and her own feelings from her uncle Ludovico; she has truly fallen in love with the handsome, charming, and intelligent Giovanni.
The situation differs from the previous one as this time Caterina has the approval of her children and she also obtains the consent of her uncle.
The marriage of two people from such powerful families, however, is likely to arouse opposition, so they are wed in secret in September 1497.