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Authors: Elizabeth Lev
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assess the political stability of the city and its usefulness to Milan. He also had orders from Bona to inform the elders of Imola of the Sforza position on the question of Taddeo Manfredi.
He had been the lord of Imola until 1471, when it became apparent to all interested parties that he was losing his grip on the reins of power. With Taddeo enmeshed in quarrels with the branch of the Manfredi family in Faenza and threatened by his own immediate relatives, Imola had been ripe for the plucking. Venice and Florence were already extending exploratory tentacles into the city when Galeazzo Maria abruptly intervened. The Sforzas had ousted the Manfredi family gently: first, they invited Taddeo to Milan; then, after wining and dining him, they offered him a hefty pension if he would give up the city. In 1477, though Taddeo was safely ensconced within Milanese territory with his son, he was ever present in the minds of troublemakers in Imola. After the assassination of Caterina's father, word began circulating that there were plans to restore the Manfredi rule there. These rumors had reached Bona, who dispatched a message via Bossi to the leading families of Imola, stating that Count Girolamo Riario had the full support and trust of the duke of Milan. She warned any supporters of Manfredi that they would find themselves with more enemies than they bargained for if they made a move on Imola. At the same time, Bona assured the townspeople that she fervently wished them prosperous years of "peace and quiet" with their new lords.
Caterina's letters from her voyage reveal a dutiful daughter who knew that her childhood years were over and that she must now embark on adult life. Snippets of youthful emotion flash in her excitement over her popularity or in her wistful greeting to an old nursemaid, but she was trained to temper sentiment with obedience. Nonetheless, faint stirrings of an intuitive and impulsive nature do emerge. Despite all the splendor and amusements surrounding her, Caterina knew something was wrong. The countess had no count, the bride no groom. Girolamo had not been heard from. He had not met her in Milan nor was he here to share the honors with her in Imola. Caterina eagerly awaited the moment when she would be summoned to Rome to begin married life, but each day came and went with no news. On May 4, a rumor spread through Imola that Count Girolamo was coming to escort his bride personally to Rome. Caterina's impatience to continue her journey was noted by Gian Luigi Bossi, who wrote to the duchess of Milan that Caterina was "so desirous to find herself in the presence of his Holiness and to see her Count Girolamo that it seems to me her principal care and concern." 5 Although Caterina had supposed she would spend only a short time in Imola, she found herself delayed yet another ten days.
Bona of Savoy knew why. Letters from the Milanese ambassador at the papal court had apprised her of an attempt on Girolamo's life. The pope's favorite had already displayed a gift for making enemies, one of whom was his own cousin Giuliano della Rovere, cardinal of the Church of Saint Peter in Chains and another nephew to Sixtus IV. In Rome, two men had been captured and imprisoned for plotting to murder the count. They confessed that they had been approached by a bishop, the patriarch of Venice, in the name of Cardinal Giuliano and offered a large reward for the assassination of Girolamo. Interrogated further, however, they admitted that they had never received any such orders directly from the cardinal's lips. Anxious for Girolamo's well-being and alarmed by the rampant treachery within the very walls of the Vatican palace, the pope thought it best that the count avoid travel for a while. As an added precaution, Sixtus replaced Girolamo's personal bodyguard with the trusted Giovanni Battista da Montesecco, prized for his discretion.
The pontiff likewise deemed Rome unsafe for the young Caterina and offered the anxious young bride
He had been the lord of Imola until 1471, when it became apparent to all interested parties that he was losing his grip on the reins of power. With Taddeo enmeshed in quarrels with the branch of the Manfredi family in Faenza and threatened by his own immediate relatives, Imola had been ripe for the plucking. Venice and Florence were already extending exploratory tentacles into the city when Galeazzo Maria abruptly intervened. The Sforzas had ousted the Manfredi family gently: first, they invited Taddeo to Milan; then, after wining and dining him, they offered him a hefty pension if he would give up the city. In 1477, though Taddeo was safely ensconced within Milanese territory with his son, he was ever present in the minds of troublemakers in Imola. After the assassination of Caterina's father, word began circulating that there were plans to restore the Manfredi rule there. These rumors had reached Bona, who dispatched a message via Bossi to the leading families of Imola, stating that Count Girolamo Riario had the full support and trust of the duke of Milan. She warned any supporters of Manfredi that they would find themselves with more enemies than they bargained for if they made a move on Imola. At the same time, Bona assured the townspeople that she fervently wished them prosperous years of "peace and quiet" with their new lords.
Caterina's letters from her voyage reveal a dutiful daughter who knew that her childhood years were over and that she must now embark on adult life. Snippets of youthful emotion flash in her excitement over her popularity or in her wistful greeting to an old nursemaid, but she was trained to temper sentiment with obedience. Nonetheless, faint stirrings of an intuitive and impulsive nature do emerge. Despite all the splendor and amusements surrounding her, Caterina knew something was wrong. The countess had no count, the bride no groom. Girolamo had not been heard from. He had not met her in Milan nor was he here to share the honors with her in Imola. Caterina eagerly awaited the moment when she would be summoned to Rome to begin married life, but each day came and went with no news. On May 4, a rumor spread through Imola that Count Girolamo was coming to escort his bride personally to Rome. Caterina's impatience to continue her journey was noted by Gian Luigi Bossi, who wrote to the duchess of Milan that Caterina was "so desirous to find herself in the presence of his Holiness and to see her Count Girolamo that it seems to me her principal care and concern." 5 Although Caterina had supposed she would spend only a short time in Imola, she found herself delayed yet another ten days.
Bona of Savoy knew why. Letters from the Milanese ambassador at the papal court had apprised her of an attempt on Girolamo's life. The pope's favorite had already displayed a gift for making enemies, one of whom was his own cousin Giuliano della Rovere, cardinal of the Church of Saint Peter in Chains and another nephew to Sixtus IV. In Rome, two men had been captured and imprisoned for plotting to murder the count. They confessed that they had been approached by a bishop, the patriarch of Venice, in the name of Cardinal Giuliano and offered a large reward for the assassination of Girolamo. Interrogated further, however, they admitted that they had never received any such orders directly from the cardinal's lips. Anxious for Girolamo's well-being and alarmed by the rampant treachery within the very walls of the Vatican palace, the pope thought it best that the count avoid travel for a while. As an added precaution, Sixtus replaced Girolamo's personal bodyguard with the trusted Giovanni Battista da Montesecco, prized for his discretion.
The pontiff likewise deemed Rome unsafe for the young Caterina and offered the anxious young bride
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