Caterina Sforza, married at 10 and dead at 46 having outlived 2 additional husbands, was exceptional in many ways and not just for her time and gender. She fought and schemed, survived the Borgia's efforts, and had men vying for her favors into her 40s. She leaves behind a record full of inconsistencies which is not surprising as though she lived by deft political maneuvers where possible, after her second husband's death she reacted with violence remarkable even at the time which nearly destroyed her own power base. Her third marriage gave her the association with the Medici which became, other than her own reputation, her lasting legacy. ( )

Maps,

This was really interesting and well written.
The only issue I have is the author's framing of the statutory rape of Caterina at age 10. This clearly causes trauma in Caterina and was really only allowed because as a bastard she had no mother to speak for her or protect her.
The fact that she doesn't blame her father fits for the time she lived in. However we know understand much more about trauma like this. It seems wrong to pretend this was normal when it wasn't even for the times in which she lived.
Sigh ( )

This is the first life of Caterina Riario Sforza de' Medici, countess of Imola and Forli, known chiefly for her brave though ultimately unsuccessful stand against Cesare Borgia. Before that, she had successfully defeated her husband's assassins and ruled Imola/Forli as regent for her son for over a decade. Eventually she became the grandmother of the first Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany and through him the ancestor of several kings of France and Spain, including the current Spanish king. The author is a serious Italian scholar, though the one is more popular biography than dry scholarship. ON the whole she is sympathetic to Caterina, while admitting she made some bad mistakes. She dismisses the rumors about Caterina's many lovers as unreliable gossip, which much of it probably was. ( )

An interesting history of what life was like for a woman of priviledge at the time of the Italian renaissance period during the reign of the Borgias. Although Caterina Riario Sforza de'Medici's life may not be typical of an average woman of this period the book gives a good account of the politics and military posturing used to gain property and improve fortunes. A good read that enables the reader to gain a good understanding of the ever changing and dangerous politics of the Italian Renaissance. ( )

Subtitled Renaissance Italy's most courageous and notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza De'Medici was more than an animal she was a monster. After the murder of her lover Giacomo Feo she took reprisals, 38 people were killed including many women and children related to suspected conspirators, many more were imprisoned and tortured. Pope Alexander VI commented "Unheard of bloodthirstiness to satisfy her passions." Earlier after escaping from the Orsis family who threatened to kill her children in order to wrest power from her, she is said to have shouted from the battlement of her castle "Do it you fools, I am already pregnant with another child and I have the means to make more." Finally when under siege by Cesare Borgia's army she was willing to sacrifice all her subjects in a bid to keep her castle and inheritance. It is little wonder that her two eldest children had little time for her when she was a prisoner of the Borgias.

Caterina the monster is a view we might take from the perspective of behavioural norms in the 21st century, but in renaissance Italy the lust for power and the pride in the family name was almost a pre-requisite for successful rulers of the city states. Machiavelli's treatise "The Prince" makes this abundantly clear and when we take note of Pope Alexander's comment about unheard of bloodthirstiness and realise that this is Roderigo Borgia speaking; a man who had far more blood on his hands, then Caterina's actions take on even more perspective. It is to Elizabeth Lev's credit that she does not gloss over the worst of Caterina's actions, but in continuously praising her courage and steadfastness, she is in danger of presenting us with an heroic figure, but finally it is up to the reader to come to their own conclusions as Lev has done an excellent job of presenting the evidence.

Caterina Riario Sforza's story is an extraordinary one, made even more extraordinary by the fact that Caterina was a woman in a man's world. In some respects she comes across as similar to Lucrezia Borgia. In Italy and in most other countries women of noble birth, were used as pawns in the game of marriage stakes, either as a reward to favourite men for services rendered or as a way of cementing ties with powerful families. Both women proved stronger than the men to whom they were married and survived their husbands to wield power in their own right. Both were expert in using their feminine charms to obtain what they wanted and both were torn to some extent between their lust for power and prestige, and concern with saving their souls. The big difference was in Caterina's martial prowess and her fortitude in adversity.

The strength of Lev's book is in the details that she manages to convey of life in renaissance times: in her introduction she says that she has used contemporary chronicles by two local men, Leone Cobelli and Andrea Bernadi, who eye-witnessed many of the events in Imola and Forli as well as other sources and so we find a paragraph like this:

Meanwhile, among the crowd stood the barber Andrea Bernadi, recording the conversation that ensued,
"My lady" Feo asked, "what do you want"
Caterina took a deep breath and in a rush of words, broken by tears and sobs, implored him to "give the fortress to these men, so they will free me and save my children" Slowly and respectfully, the loyal keeper shook his head. His duty he explained, was to hold the castle for the heir of Girolamo. Caterina, with mush handwringing, wailed that not only would she be killed, but all of her children would be brutally slaughtered by these criminals, who would stop at nothing to control Forli.

Lev has already explained that Feo and Caterina were involved in a stage managed charade to fool the onlookers, but I could not help wondering how much of Caterina's expressed emotions like "Caterina with much handwringing" or "in a rush of words broken by tears" have come from the chroniclers or have been made up by Lev to build drama into her story. In the final analysis I suppose it depends on how much the reader believes and whether or not Lev's interventions feel intrusive or inaccurate. Most of the time I was happy with her dramatization of the story, but occasionally I felt that her intrusions into Caterina's thoughts and emotions felt a little false, perhaps too much of a 21st century viewpoint, but this did not stop me from enjoying her book.

Elizabeth Lev is a scholar of renaissance art and culture and a professor of art history in Rome. Her book is well researched and has notes and sources as well as a very good index. It could easily be enjoyed by the general reader as her prose flows nicely and she seems to effortlessly transpose the reader into the Italian renaissance period. There will be some surprises and her story is packed with stirring events. This is a very good biography and a four star read.

I am pleased to say that not once in my review did I make reference to a feminist hero. ( )

My blog post about this book is at this link. ( )

The Tigress of Forli covers the life and death of one of the most fascinating women of the Renaissance. While Ms. Lev strives to present as impartial a picture of Caterina as possible, citing both the negative and positive depictions and rumors that occurred both during her life and well after her death, her appreciation for this remarkable woman peeks through her words. A reader is not bothered by this partiality however, as Caterina’s courage and tenacity at standing up to the most powerful and dangerous men of the time are both astonishing and extremely admirable. Caterina Riario Sforza’s exploits are enough to make women everywhere proud to call her a sister.

Using as many written documents, diaries, and portrayals of Caterina as possible, Ms. Lev drives home the challenges Caterina faced as a woman and as a ruler. Ms. Lev does not apologize for Caterina’s seemingly erratic or ruthless behavior at certain crossroads in her life but rather attempts to explain it using the best data available. The reader is left with a very clear picture of this remarkable woman and greater insight into what drove her to make the decisions she made.

Renaissance Italy was an absolute mess, but Ms. Lev does excellent work explaining the factions, betrayals, families, and everything else that comprised Italy during the reign of the Borgias. Understanding these political machinations are not necessary to understanding the novel or anything else but make the entire biography more enjoyable and heighten the reader's admiration for Caterina.

The Tigress of Forli is an excellent example of a biography done right. Enjoyable and easy to read, it has a real-life heroine who, while ruthless and at times vengeful, still manages to inspire modern day women everywhere. Feminism has nothing on Caterina Riario Sforza.

Acknowledgements: Thank you to NetGalley and HMH Galleys for my e-galley!

What better match-up could one hope for than author/art historian Elizabeth Lev and the venerable Renaissance countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de Medici? Under Lev’s artistic eye, the countess herself and the age in which she lived, late fifteenth and early sixteenth century Italy, pulse with life.

Caterina is, without any doubt, one of history’s most amazing women. In a time and place where alliance with the ruling party of the moment was a matter not just of prosperity, but of survival, and the pyramid of power held all the stability of an edifice built on quicksand, Caterina thrived. As a woman, her task was much more difficult; time and again she was subjected to the poor decisions of the men in her life. Other times she took the reins in her own hands and rode for the battlements. Literally. Widowed Renaissance women were recycled by their fathers or brothers into further marriage alliances, often marrying several times under these circumstances. Not Caterina-she made one such marriage and then married twice for love, once into a very advantageous joining with the de Medici clan. Born a Sforza, with all the warrior spirit of her father, Caterina was forced to watch in powerless frustration as her children and those given guardianship over them exhibited their spineless Riario tendencies in the face of she who burned to fight.

Elizabeth Lev’s portrayal of Caterina is very balanced. It is clear that she greatly admires her subject, but she realizes that there were times in her life when Caterina made some serious errors in judgement and when she let her passionate nature, both for love and vengeance, get the better of her. Due to the author’s background, extensive coverage is given to the art, architecture and fashion of the times. It is a marvelous eye to have cast on the era-I especially love the descriptions of the extravagant gowns worn by the countess.

Overall, this is a well-written, easily digested biography. There were a couple of things which kept it from being a five star book, but by a very narrow margin (I would give the book four and a half stars if I could). First, the cast of players is huge and many of the characters are interrelated by marriage and blood. A list of characters and some genealogical charts would have been most appreciated, as there were many instances where I lost the thread of things. As mine was a review copy, this issue might very well be resolved in the final printing. My copy only had a very basic map of the Italian states, which was not near as useful as these other aids would have been. Do not let this one element deter you from picking up this page-turner of a narrative history, however. Caterina was an incredible woman, and Elizabeth Lev is an author I hope to see more from in the future. ( )

The astonishing life of a long-misunderstood Renaissance virago
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 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 the Renaissance, The Tigress of Forlì reveals Caterina Riario Sforza as a brilliant and fearless ruler, and a tragic but unbowed figure.