The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza De' Medici [J0314]

2012 PB in nice clean condition. 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. 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.

From recent-ish Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This book definitely brings Caterina to life, while remaining firmly grounded in historical sources. An excellent work."; "This book successfully ties multiple renaissance personas into a cohesive story. Caterina's interactions with Lorenzo the magnificent, the borgias, the king of France and everyone in between."; "Reading about amazing women is such a joy and such a privilege. Caterina was remarkable and Elizabeth Lev does her story great justice. I found myself thinking about Caterina for days--her defiance, her youth, her pursuit of knowledge."