Caterina Sforza

Caterina Sforza was born in 1463, an illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, duke of Milan, and was married at fourteen into the Riario family, which ruled Imola and Forlì. When her husband was murdered in 1488 she seized the citadel and held it until the conspirators were crushed, an act that made her name.

Widowed and ruling on behalf of her son, she governed the two cities, managed their fortresses, and defended them against repeated attack. She studied medicine and alchemy, kept a court of scholars, and corresponded with the leading figures of her day. When Cesare Borgia invaded the Romagna with French and papal backing, she held out at Forlì until the walls were breached and was taken prisoner.

She was eventually released and spent her last years in Florence, where she died in 1509. Her refusal to submit to the Borgias turned her into a symbol of resistance, and her letters and household books show a ruler as practical as she was fearless.

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