The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza De' Medici - Hardcover

Lev, Elizabeth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0151012997 ISBN 13: 9780151012992

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2011

Synopsis

Wife, mother, leader, and 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 re-examines 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 the Renaissance, "The Tigress of Forli" reveals Caterina Riario Sforza as a brilliant and fearless ruler, and a tragic but unbowed figure.

About this title

From the Back Cover

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

From the Inside Flap

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 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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0151012997
• ISBN 13: 9780151012992
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320