Synopses & Reviews
“In this insightful, fascinating portrayal, Elizabeth Lev brings Caterina Sforza and her times very much to life.”—Kathleen Turner, actress and author of
Send Yourself Roses A strategist to match Machiavelli; a warrior who stood toe to toe with the Borgias; a wife whose three marriages would end in bloodshed and heartbreak; and a mother determined to maintain her family’s honor, Caterina Riario Sforza de’ Medici was a true Renaissance celebrity, beloved and vilified in equal measure. In this dazzling biography, Elizabeth Lev illuminates her extraordinary life and accomplishments.
Raised in the court of Milan and wed at age ten to the pope’s corrupt nephew, Caterina was ensnared in Italy’s political intrigues early in life. After turbulent years in Rome’s papal court, she moved to the Romagnol province of Forlì. Following her husband’s assassination, she ruled Italy’s crossroads with iron will, martial strength, political savvy, and an icon’s fashion sense. In finally losing her lands to the Borgia family, she put up a resistance that inspired all of Europe and set the stage for her progeny—including Cosimo de’ Medici—to follow her example to greatness.
A rich evocation of Renaissance life, The Tigress of Forlì reveals Caterina Riario Sforza as a brilliant and fearless ruler, and a tragic but unbowed figure.
“A rich, nuanced portrait of a highly controversial beauty and military leader, and her violent, albeit glittering, Italian Renaissance milieu.”—Publishers Weekly
“Well-written and meticulously researched, The Tigress of Forlì recreates the world of Renaissance Italy in all its grandeur and violence. At the center stands a remarkable woman, Caterina Riario Sforza. Mother, warrior, and icon, Caterina is unforgettable, and so is the exciting story that Elizabeth Lev tells here.”—Barry Strauss, author of Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership
Review
An engrossing biography of one of Renaissance Italys most accomplished powerbrokers. Few people were better able to navigate the sea of shifting alliances and internecine squabbles that characterized 15th-century Italy than Caterina Sforza (1463-1509). All the more remarkable is that she was able to do it in an era when all of her rivals were men. Widowed by three husbands—two of them assassinated before her eyes—Sforza ruled over the province of Forlì as regent for her young son Ottaviano, and was reviled, admired and feared in equal measure by popes, foreign powers and her own subjects alike. Lev (Art History/Duquesne Univ.) deftly explores the psychological strains endured by the Countess, from her first marriage to a diffident and cowardly nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, to the murder of her beloved second husband and the merciless vengeance she took upon the conspirators, to her heroic and single-handed defense of her city from the Venetians and her ultimate imprisonment in the dungeons of Cesare Borgia. The author writes with a light touch and an eye for the pageantry and drama of the time—her subject was known as one of the best-dressed women in Italy—while colorfully recounting weighty affairs of state. In one memorable scene, Sforza gains the upper hand negotiating a military alliance with a young Machiavelli: "While Machiavelli had thought the seduction of Catarina was complete, she made it clear that the courtship was only beginning. Stung by his misreading of the situation, he showed his shock and hurt through both his words and gestures, betraying his inexperience. Only later would Machiavelli learn to conceal his true thoughts behind a mask of wit and irony."An inspiring tale of the courage and fortitude of an enigmatic and indomitable woman."--Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A rich account of a dramatic and tragic life: a tale of murder, childhood marriage, revenge, rape, accession to power by a Florentine woman, and a violent downfall. Lev offers a rich, nuanced portrait of a highly controversial beauty and military leader and her violent albeit glittering Italian Renaissance milieu." and#8212; Publishers Weekly "An engrossing biography of one of Renaissance Italyand#8217;s most accomplished powerbrokers. The author writes with a light touch and an eye for the pageantry and drama of the timeand#8212;her subject was known as one of the best-dressed women in Italyand#8212;while colorfully recounting weighty affairs of state. An inspiring tale of the courage and fortitude of an enigmatic and indomitable woman."and#8212;Kirkus "Lev continues the recent biographical trend of unearthing extraordinary women from the historical dustpile. The Renaissance is hot right now, and this well-researched biography is a welcome addition to the reexamination of the era." and#8212;Booklist
Synopsis
"A rich, nuanced portrait of a highly controversial beauty and military leader, and her violent albeit glittering Italian Renaissance milieu."--Publishers Weekly
A strategist to match Machiavelli; a warrior who stood toe to toe with the Borgias; a wife whose three marriages would end in bloodshed and heartbreak; and a mother determined to maintain her family's honor, Caterina Riario Sforza de' Medici was a true Renaissance celebrity, beloved and vilified in equal measure. In this dazzling biography, Elizabeth Lev illuminates her extraordinary life and accomplishments.
Raised in the court of Milan and wed at age ten to the pope's corrupt nephew, Caterina was ensnared in Italy's political intrigues early in life. After turbulent years in Rome's papal court, she moved to the Romagnol province of Forli. Following her husband's assassination, she ruled Italy's crossroads with iron will, martial strength, political savvy, and an icon's fashion sense. In finally losing her lands to the Borgia family, she put up a resistance that inspired all of Europe and set the stage for her progeny--including Cosimo de' Medici--to follow her example to greatness.
A rich evocation of Renaissance life, The Tigress of Forli reveals Caterina Riario Sforza as a brilliant and fearless ruler, and a tragic but unbowed figure.
Synopsis
A Rome-based American historian tells the extraordinary story of Caterina Sforza, perhaps the most prominent woman of Renaissance Italy, who was a wife, a mother, a leader, and a warrior with the courage to battle a Borgia pope, the charm to beguile a Medici husband, and the fierceness to make Machiavelli himself wince.
Synopsis
“Well-written and meticulously researched,
The Tigress of Forlì recreates the world of Renaissance Italy in all its grandeur and violence. At the center stands a remarkable woman, Caterina Riario Sforza. Mother, warrior, and icon, Caterina is unforgettable, and so is the exciting story that Elizabeth Lev tells here.”—Barry Strauss, author of
Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar and the Genius of Leadership The legendary Countess loved and jousted with many men throughout her life, including
Pope Sixtus IV, Caterina’s benefactor and uncle by marriage, who commissioned the Sistine Chapel frescoes in which she is immortalized
Count Girolamo Riario, Caterina’s first husband and an originator of the Pazzi Conspiracy, whose corrupt ways led to their flight from Rome to Forlì
Niccolò Machiavelli, the Florentine political theorist who was humiliated by Caterina as a young diplomat, and later took revenge with his pen
Giacomo Feo, Caterina’s secret second husband, a jumped-up family retainer whose assassination led to a bloodbath on the streets of Forlì
Giovanni de’ Medici Il Popolano, Caterina’s beloved third husband, who provided Caterina entrance into Florence’s culture and society, and an heir worthy of her legacy
Cesare Borgia, nephew to the ruthless Borgia pope Alexander VI, who would bring Caterina’s rule to an end with unspeakable cruelty
Synopsis
Wife, mother, leader, warrior. Caterina Riario Sforza was one of the most prominent women in Renaissance Italy—and one of the most vilified. In this glittering biography, Elizabeth Lev reexamines her extraordinary life and accomplishments.
Raised in the court of Milan and wed at age ten to the pope's corrupt nephew, Caterina was ensnared in Italy's political intrigues early in life. After turbulent years in Rome's papal court, she moved to the Romagnol province of Forli. Following her husband's assassination, she ruled Italy's crossroads with iron will, martial strength, political savvy—and an icon's fashion sense. In finally losing her lands to the Borgia family, she put up a resistance that inspired all of Europe and set the stage for her progeny—including Cosimo de' Medici—to follow her example to greatness.
Video
About the Author
ELIZABETH LEV is a scholar of Renaissance art and culture. She lives with her family in Rome, where she teaches college art history, gives tours of the city and the Vatican, and is a columnist for an international news service.
Table of Contents
Authorand#8217;s Noteand#160;vii
Prologue: Christmas Cannonsand#160;xi
Map: Kingdoms, Duchies, and Republics of Caterinaand#8217;s Ageand#160;xvi
THE EDUCATION OF AN AMAZONand#160;1
CHILDHOODand#8217;S ENDand#160;11
THE COUNTESS-IN-WAITINGand#160;21
THE TRIUMPHAL PARADE TO ROMEand#160;30
COURTIERS AND CONSPIRACIESand#160;40
THE GROWTH OF THE RIARIO DYNASTYand#160;50
THE FAIREST IN THE REALMand#160;61
THE BIRTH OF ATHENAand#160;78
THE LEAN YEARSand#160;95
TAKING CENTER STAGEand#160;110
THE RETORT AT RAVALDINOand#160;125
THE SPOILS OF WARand#160;140
FANNING THE FLAMESand#160;154
BLINDED BY LOVEand#160;170
AVENGING FURYand#160;181
INTRIGUE AND INVASIONand#160;202
ITALYand#8217;S IDOLand#160;216
THE LONG NIGHT OF CASTEL SANTand#8217;ANGELOand#160;234
SLEEP AFTER TOILand#160;249
Epilogue: Mantua, 1526and#160;266
Notesand#160;274
Sourcesand#160;284
Indexand#160;290