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| Cadet Branch of the Medici Family |
Two lines of Medicis branched out from the man (Giovanni di
Bicci de’ Medici) most popularly considered the father of the grand dynasty:
the Principle line, that which included Lorenzo Il Magnifico de’ Medici, and the Cadet Branch, also known as Dei Popolani, of the people.
Little is written of this branch for two generations; they
were, for the most part, regular people living regular lives, working as part
of the Medici Banking Empire and marrying well (a union with a Calvalcanti was
a particularly prominent association). But in the same generation as Il Magnifico, the Cadet branch makes a
contribution, albeit through a marriage, that would change the prominence of
the family as no other union had.
When Giovanni dei Popolani de’ Medici married Caterina
Sforza, the Medici family could now call the Duke of Milan brethren. He
would not be her first husband and the road to the Florence court was a long,
twisting, and, at times, treacherous journey for the famed Caterina.
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| Caterina Sforza |
Caterina was born in 1463 ‘on the wrong side of the bed,’
the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Milan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, and his feisty
mistress, Lucrezia Landriani (b ca. 1440), the wife of the Duke’s good friend,
Gian Piero Landrini. By most accounts, the first three years of Caterina’s life
were spent with her mother’s family. When her father, Galeazzo inherited his
titled with his father’s passing in 1466, he brought Lucrezia and all of their
children to his court. There, surrounded by artists and writers, Caterina, and
her other illegitimate siblings, were raised in the rarefied, tyrannical air of
the Milanese court. There she received a Humanist education, the same education
as her brothers, perhaps an indication of the fiery woman she was to
become. Classic literature and Latin were taught officially. Unofficially,
Caterina learned much from her paternal grandmother, Bianca Maria Visconti, who
fostered a pride in her warlike ancestors, audaciousness in the use of arms,
and the intricacies of government. It is to her credit that Bona of Savoy,
Galeazzo’s second wife, treated all of her husband’s children as her
own, showering them all with maternal love and care, eventually adopting them
all. With this myriad mix of influences, it is little wonder that Caterina’s
personal proclivities including hunting (like her father), alchemy, and
dancing.
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| Girolamo Riario |
At the tender age of ten, Caterina was betrothed to the Pope’s
newphew, Girolamo Riario. Accounts differ concerning her usurping her own
cousin in this marriage, with disputes as to whether Caterina’s marriage was
consummated then, in 1473, or four years later, in 1477, when she reached the required legal
age of fourteen. When the Holy See conferred upon his nephew the Lordship of Imola in 1477,
Caterina went to Rome to take official residence with her husband, a man who
came to be known as “The Captain of the Vatican Ship of State.” They welcomed
their first child a year later (the first of what would become Caterina’s ten
children).
Life in Vatican City was tumultuous; power and intrigue
festered among the unscrupulous. Though her husband forbade her involvement in
the political arena, Caterina soon found her own place. She became noted as one
of the most beautiful and gracious among Roman noblewomen. Every door opened
for her, hosted lavishly, and praised by all, including the Pope. Her
heightened intellect and her multi-faceted education led her to become a
powerful intermediary between the Vatican and the other powerful city/states of
Italy. In 1480, the Pope, for his own political reasons, assigned the lordship
of Forli to Girolamo, and with it, Caterina’s own scope of influence expanded.
Their meteoric rise tumbled in August of 1484 upon the death
of the Pope.
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| Castel Sant'Angelo |
All of Rome was thrown into chaos; rebellions, looting, and
disorder became the rule of the day. In the seventh month of another pregnancy,
Caterina escaped on horseback to the fortress of Castel Sant’Angelo. Much is
debated as to the true power in this couple, many stating Caterina held the
reins rather than her weaker husband, many state she herself believed him to be
her inferior. With Girolamo away plundering other parts of Italy, Caterina, from
her position in the fortress and with the strength of the her soldiers behind
her, held the city in her grip, refusing to loosen her hold until her husband
returned and a new pope was elected. Though Girolamo bowed to the Sacred College
of Cardinals and their desire for him to leave the city in their hands,
Caterina was not so acquiescent. She increased her army. Only when her own
husband took a counterposition to her, did she relinquish the fortress and
follow her husband to Forli.
Life there was a ruse, Girolamo’s rule a shame, and in April
of 1488, after many failed attempts, Girolamo was assassinated by a conspiracy
led by the Orsis family. The lordship's palace was sacked and Caterina and her
children taken as hostages. The conspirators ordered her, by sword-point, to
order the garrison of the castle to surrender it. Using her wiles, she agreed,
asking for time for the negotiation. Once back in the palace, she followed
through on her own plans, gathering all the forces of the city in defense.
"My people, I tell you to punish and kill all enemies. For it I will consider you my good brothers evermore. Do not hesitate to act, and fear nothing, because the deeds will benefit you and your children. If you fail to act you will regret it in a few days."
When the lives of her children were threatened, she
responded as only she would, lifting her skirts and grabbing her crotch, she
bellowed, ‘Fatelo, se volete: impiccateli pure davanti a me... qui ho quanto
basta per farne altri!" ("Do it, if you want to: hang them well in
front of me...I have just enough to make more!"). With that act, Caterina
became the Lady of Imola and Forli.
Caterina acted as regent for her eldest son Ottaviano. Her
first act was to punish those who murdered her husband. No one was spared, not
even the wives and children of the conspirators or their property. For eight years
she ruled and governed all aspects of her position, taxes, building, fostering
relations with neighboring courts. She married and was widowed twice more.
Despite rumors that she was to marry Antonio Maria Ordelaffi, her second
marriage was for love, love with Giacomo Feo, the castellan who had pledged
allegiance to her after the assassination of her first husband. It was a secret
marriage, done so to protect her custody of her children. But her passionate
and abiding love Giacomo was too great, too well know, and he too fell to an
assassins blade. Caterina responded by roasting the assassin alive on a spit and
dropping his wife and children down a well. In all thirty-eight died in
response to the death of her beloved Giacomo.
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| Giovanni il Popolano de' Medici |
Enter Giovanni de’ Medici. Exiled, along with his brother
Lorenzo (yes, another Lorenzo de’ Medici) because of a rift with the leader of
the Medici family at the time, Piero, who had succeeded Il Magnifico, Giovanni found refuge in Forli, eventually occupying
the apartment adjacent to Caterina’s. Handsome, intelligent, and charming,
Giovanni soon won the heart of the passionate Caterina. The union of such two
powerful families was a dangerous act; Caterina and Giovanni were wed secretly
in September of 1497. Seven months later, in April of 1498, their son, baptized
Ludovico, was born, named after his mother’s uncle.
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| Giovanni dalle Bande Nere |
Soon afterward, relations between Florence and Venice became
volatile. Positioned directly between, Caterina sent forces, led by her husband
Giovanni, to the aid of Florence. But there Giovanni became so ill he was rushed
back to Forli, but his decline continued. Caterina brought him to Santa Maria
in Bagno, a center widely known for their thermal cures. But it was to no
avail. In September of 1498, one year after their marriage, Giovanni succumbed
to his illness in the arms of his wife. Bereft by his loss, she renamed their
son Giovanni dalle Bande Nere. Bande Nere would eventually become one of the
most famed condottiero (mercenary
military captain) of all of Italy.
Giovanni’s loss was not the end of Caterina’s struggles. She
went on to successfully defend her holdings against the Venetians, earning her
the title of La Tigre. Caterina was
not so triumphant when she came up against one of the most infamous family’s in
Italy, Spaniards by the name of Borgia. Stripped of her holdings, accused of
attempting to poison the pope, Caterina remained their prisoner for nearly
three years..
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| Caterina Sforza in later years |
Upon her release, she retreated to Florence where her
children awaited her. Though she tried once more to regain a modicum of her
former power, her attempts were in vain. Caterina lived out the rest of her
life serving her children, especially Giovanni, and her grandchildren and
donned the veil of a nun. She experimented more in alchemy and corresponded
prodigiously with family and friends in Romagna and Milan.
In 1509, Caterina was stricken by a severe case of
pneumonia, and though for a while it appeared as though she would recover, she
took her last breath in May of the same year.
To those who argue that women of the past had neither the
ambition nor the desire to become more than what they were allowed, Caterina
Sforza is incontrovertible evidence against the illogical notion. In her own
words, she denies them, “If I have to lose, although I am a woman, I want to
lose in a manly way.”
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