HERSTORY: Ruler, Matriarch, Alchemist, Tyrant. The ‘Tigress’ of Forli : Caterina Sforza

Young Caterina Sforza - Di Credi (Wikipedia)

‘Do what you want. hang them even in front of me…here I have what’s needed to make others!”

This is what Caterina Sforza, the ‘Tigress’ of Forli declared to the forces holding her children hostage, whilst lifting her skirts to expose her genitals. 

This legendary scene was recorded for posterity by machiavelli helps explain why Caterina Sforza was nicknamed the Tigress of Forli. Her story is so formidable, in equal parts shocking and heroic, that I felt it was a good one to tell here.

Botticelli's Three Graces- the model for the woman on the right is believed to be Sforza (Wikipedia)

Caterina was born in 1463, illegitimate to the Duke of Milan and his mistress Lucrezia, who just happened to be the wife of a Count in the Milanese court. Caterina was one of several illegitimate children of the Duke by Lucrezia, and she and her siblings were raised as nobles in the court of Milan, educated in Latin and the classics. Caterina received the same education as her brothers, she was  encouraged to develop skills in hunting, using arms and also apothecary. 

In 1473 at the age of 10 she was married into a powerful family when she was matched with Girolamo Riario, nephew to the Pope Sixtus IV and later, made Lord of Imola. In 1477 she moved with him to Rome and over the following decade she bore him 6 children, the first arriving when she was 15/16 years old. 

Caterina immediately made an impression upon Rome. She was beautiful, charismatic and intelligent and she commanded respect, even though just a teenager! With the support of the most powerful man in Italy- The Pope, The Riarios were a formidable power couple. But when the Pope died in 1484, they no longer had that protection. The Pope’s enemies started to rebel, looting the palaces and residences of the courtiers, including those of Caterina and Girolamo. 

Granacchi - French troops entering Florence 1494 (Wikipedia)

This was the first of many incidents that showed Caterina was a force to be reckoned with. She  was 7 months pregnant at the time, and she rode on horseback across the river to occupy the Castel Saint Angelo fortress and dictate the new conclave. As the rebellion in the city increased, the cardinals tried to persuade her to leave and allow them to take control of the conclave, but she refused. The Pope had, after all, entrusted her family to hand over the title to the new Pope.  Her husband Girolamo, however, was bribed into leaving Rome with promises of money and titles, and eventually she had no choice but to surrender and the family fled to Forli. 

With Caterina and her husband banished from Rome, Pope Innocent VIII was elected the new Pope. He was an old enemy of the Riarios and although he honoured the agreement to give Girolamo a prominent position as Captain General of Forli, Girolamo took a pay cut,  and eventually was forced to levy taxes which made him deeply unpopular.

After several failed attempts at assassination, Girolamo was killed in 1488 by a noble family of Forli, and Caterina and her children were imprisoned. It was at this point, when her children were threatened unless she helped surrender Ravaldino, a fortress stronghold, that Caterina made her legendary, defiant stand quoted at the beginning of this blog. It worked, and Caterina regained her dominion and her children. 

Caterina then became ‘regent’ of Forli - representing her eldest son who was too young to rule himself. Her first act was to exact vengeance on her husband’s assassins. She imprisoned all of the nobles who had conspired to kill him, including the women. Their houses were destroyed and their valuable distributed to the poor. Caterina was fully in charge of managing everything in her realm - from finances to military training to political negotiations, quite a feat for a young woman in her early twenties! 

1488 was quite the year for Caterina as she also secretly married Giacomo Feo, who was not a nobleman. The following year they had a son. Caterina’s family were rewarded with her husband Giacomo, previously a relative nobody, being made a baron of France.

But the power went to his head, unfortunately. He became quite cruel and tyrannical, particularly to his eldest stepson Ottaviano who was the rightful Lord of Forli (and threat to Giacomo.) But Caterina remained loyal to her husband, which was viewed as dangerous to her realm and unnatural for a mother in her community’s eyes. Plots were henceforth hatched to kill and overthrow Giacomo and restore power to Caterina and her children. The first few plots were foiled but eventually Caterina’s own children conspired with her enemies to overthrow Giacomo. In 1495, he was killed. Caterina’s rage and grief took over, and her revenge was sadistic even for the time. She had the wives and children of the conspirators -  including pregnant women - butchered. The men were then executed by quartering. 38 people in total were executed and many more imprisoned. 

Rocco di Ravaldino, 1488, where Caterina faced the French invaders. (Wikipedia)

Since the plot to kill Giacomo was motivated by an attempt to protect and preserve Caterina and her son’s rightful sovereignty over Forli, her brutal punishment lost her all loyalty from the people. 

But the Tigress was undeterred. A widow once again, in 1497 Caterina wed a third time. This time to a former De Medici, Giovanni Il Popolano, the ambassador to Forli. The following year they had a son, and amidst battles between Venice and Florence, Giovanni died two years into their marriage. Caterina was a widow a third time, at the age of just 34.

But she didn't really have time to mourn. War was raging between Venice and Florence and threatening her dominion. She assembled her troops and managed to defend her states valiantly against the invaders. She succeeded, but more trouble was coming: the French army. 

In 1499, the French sent a formidable army to conquer Italy. Many states, and the Borgia Pope did deals with the French or surrendered. Caterina was left alone to defend her territory. She sealed herself in her fortress and the two sides engaged in heavy bombardment. But eventually, in 1500, she was defeated and taken prisoner to Rome. She attempted an escape, but was recaptured. The Borgia Pope claimed that Caterina had tried to kill him with poison letters, but there was no conclusive proof, and in 1501 she was released, and sent to Florence to meet her children, but stripped of all power - not quite the Queen she was! 

Once the Pope died, his son Cesare Borgia lost all his power as OverLord of Romagna and Caterina seized her opportunity to try to get her fiefdom back. But she underestimated her lack of popularity. The people hadn’t forgotten her brutality and perceived treachery, and she was never able to regain her former position. So she spent her final years leading a rather more sedate life- dedicated to her children and her passion of pharmacology. But even here she excelled. She actually developed a manuscript of hundreds of healing, cosmetic and alchemic remedies. It was published in the 19th century after being preserved by her descendants, and named at the time as the MOST comprehensive treatise on pharmacology of its period.  

Cesare Borgia, 1513 (Wikipedia)

Caterina died at the age of 46 from pneumonia in 1509. She was buried in Florence, her final home. Even her afterlife is shrouded in drama and mystery though - as her bones disappeared from the convent where she was buried sometime in he 1840s, when the convent was converted into a prison.  She was recorded as telling the Dominican friar at her death bed ”if I could write all, the world would turn to stone”. How enigmatic! 

Caterina is quite a controversial heroine, because her story isn't pretty -  she is certainly not a saint. But that’s exactly why I wanted to profile her. She was a formidable leader: emotional, brave, intelligent, yes, but also as cruel, sadistic and ruthless as many infamous male leaders in history. You can assign responsibility for her actions to survival to a degree - the harsh, cut-throat  political landscape of Italy in the 15th century almost certainly influenced her decisions, particularly as a woman!  She was surrounded by treachery, power struggles and bloodshed. She had many personal tragedies, and who wouldn't react defensively in that type of environment? 

But even for the times, some of Caterina’s choices are extreme. Butchering innocent women and children, whilst allowing her own offspring’s lives to be risked for the sake of her lover or for her kingdom  - it is hard for me to not view this with moral distaste- to put it mildly!

Do I disapprove of her brutality from the comfort of my 21st Century life? Well, yeah.  Do I admire her as a woman who proves that you don’t have to be a man to be a warrior, a political strategist and a strong leader? Also yeah. There were many sides to Caterina Sforza, as with all of us. She was fascinating and remarkable, regardless of how you feel about her. And, as always, living in the present day, it’s easy for us to take the moral high ground when judging people from the past.

Caterina later in life - medallion dating from 1488 (Wikipedia)

And the exposing of her genitals to the army story? Very likely invented or embellished by Machiavelli. Caterina had a reputation, and remember she was a woman. Was this an attempt to defeminize and demonise her further ? Accused witches during the trials across Europe were often described as doing similar things. Machiavelli’s account of Caterina has become the dominant and enduring narrative. And we just simply don't know how accurate it was. But whether it was true or not, there’s no denying she was quite a woman! 

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