User:NINAN01/Caterina Sforza

Article Draft
In addition to being the daughter of the Duke of Milan, she married Girolamo Riario. When she married Girolamo Riario, she was a part of the two richest courts in Italy.

In Renaissance Italy, there was a difference between a “good mother” and a “cruel mother” depending on the life that a widow chooses afterwards. A “good mother” would not remarry and would play both roles as a mother and a father figure to her children. A “cruel mother” would put herself and her interests above her children by remarrying. This would be considered abandonment of her children because of the consequences that the children are faced with behind a new family and new father figure from their mother remarrying. Sometimes the widow would take her dowry and actually abandon her children to the paternal kin. This was not the case for Caterina Sforza.

When Riario died, Sforza stepped up as a regent of Imola and Forlì for her son, Ottaviano. Caterina Sforza was a noble who lived a life maintaining her responsibilities with her family and power as a ruler in the courts. Her status was shaped by the roles she took on throughout her lifetime as a ruler, wife, widow, and mother in addition to the cultural activities she participated in during Renaissance Italy. She was educated and engaged in religious rituals and matters, commissioned works of art, and was a collector of many jewels and clothing.