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A review by cupiscent
The Tigress of Forlì: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de Medici by Elizabeth Lev
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This was as interesting and fun as I was expecting. I think I came to this via extra-reading bibliography in Guy Gavriel Kay's recent novels, because some of the people and events recounted in here seemed very familiar, but this was also abutting various other historical and intellectual areas of interest (hello to Machiavelli, to Brunelleschi, to Medicis and Borgias, to Charles V and of course to Venice).
I also, amusingly, ran into my husband's Guicciardini-inspired dislike of the Sforzas, and many discussions were had about their perfidy (in inviting the French into the clusterfuck that was Italy at the time) versus the sheer seething mess in general. Honestly, this book gave excellent incidental context for why Machiavelli might have written The Prince, because Jesus everloving fuck, guys, can you just try? Just a little? Yikes.
Anyway, this sometimes felt a little overly starry-eyed or even hagiographic about Caterina, who was surely a lady who lived hard and boldly and sometimes not with her best reasoning, but who was also surely a fascinating figure, both at the time and now.
I also, amusingly, ran into my husband's Guicciardini-inspired dislike of the Sforzas, and many discussions were had about their perfidy (in inviting the French into the clusterfuck that was Italy at the time) versus the sheer seething mess in general. Honestly, this book gave excellent incidental context for why Machiavelli might have written The Prince, because Jesus everloving fuck, guys, can you just try? Just a little? Yikes.
Anyway, this sometimes felt a little overly starry-eyed or even hagiographic about Caterina, who was surely a lady who lived hard and boldly and sometimes not with her best reasoning, but who was also surely a fascinating figure, both at the time and now.