Girolamo Riario, commander of the papal forces, …
Years: 1484 - 1484
Girolamo Riario, commander of the papal forces, starts a conflict in 1484 with the Colonna family, whose landed property Sixtus IV wishes to take over.
In the course of this feud he has the papal protonotary, Lorenzo Colonna, arrested and tortured to death, a deed that provokes much enmity against his family in the city.
The lives of Caterina and Girolamo change abruptly with the death of Sixtus IV on August 12, 1484.
Rebellions and disorder immediately spread through Rome, including looting of his supporters' residences.
Girolamo's residence, the Orsini palace in Campo de' Fiori, is stripped of its content and almost destroyed.
In this time of anarchy, Caterina, who is in her seventh month of pregnancy, crosses the Tiber on horseback to occupy the rocca (fortress) of Castel Sant'Angelo on behalf of her husband.
From this position and with the obedience of the soldiers, Caterina can monitor the Vatican and dictate the conditions for the new conclave.
Meanwhile, the disorder in the city increases.
A militia accompanies the arrival of the Cardinals.
The latter do not want to attend the funeral of Sixtus IV and refuse to enter into conclave, for fear of coming under the fire of Caterina's artillery.
The situation is difficult because only the election of a new Pope will put an end to the violence in the Eternal City.
Unsuccessful attempts to persuade her to leave the fortress fail, as she is determined to give it only to the new Pope.
Girolamo and his army occupy a strategic position at this point, yet cannot implement an effective solution.
The Sacred College asks Girolamo to leave Rome, offering in return the confirmation of his Lordship over Imola and Forlì, the military post of Captain-General of the Church, and eight thousand ducats in compensation for the damages to his property.
Girolamo accepts.
When Caterina is informed of the decisions taken by her husband, she increases the quota of her soldiers and makes preparations for resistance in order to force the Cardinals to negotiate with her.
The Cardinals again approach Girolamo, who takes up a position counter to that of his wife.
On August 25, 1484, Caterina surrenders the fortress to the Sacred College and leaves Rome with her family.
The Sacred College are then able to meet in conclave to elect the new Pope.
Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo) was born in Genoa of Greek ancestry, the son of Arano Cybo or Cibo and his wife Teodorina de Mari of an old Genoese family.
His paternal grandparents were Maurizio Cybo and his wife Seracina Marocelli.
Arano Cybo had been a senator in Rome under Pope Calixtus III.
Giovanni Battista's early years had been spent at the Neapolitan court, and subsequently he had gone to Padua and Rome for his education.
In Rome, he became a priest in the retinue of cardinal Calandrini, half-brother to Pope Nicholas V. In 1467, he had been made Bishop of Savona by Pope Paul II, but had exchanged this see in 1472 for that of Molfetta in southeastern Italy.
In 1473, with the support of Giuliano Della Rovere, later Pope Julius II, he had been made cardinal by Pope Sixtus IV, whom he succeeds on August 29, 1484, as Pope Innocent VIII.
