The Tigress of Forli Read Online Free

hours would be spent in the chapel. Closer to home, Isabella d'Este, the daughter of the illustrious duke of Ferrara, would hone her literary skills and develop an art connoisseur's eye, but she would be kept from activities that required the physical exertion that is essential to the hunt. These young women, who would all serve as marital bargaining chips in the contest for political power in Europe, received an upbringing that fit the character of their court of origin. As
condottieri,
the Sforzas had fought their way to the throne and considered strength and discipline to be their greatest assets. Hunting instilled in their women the ability to master their emotions, which would serve them well as they left home at a youthful age to venture to strange lands with new husbands. It also taught children to take swift and decisive action tempered with patience. Caterina frequently set out alongside her stepmother and grandmother, both formidable hunters, to the well-stocked Pavia hunting grounds. Carrying a child-size hunting knife with fine gold chasing or a falcon sporting a tooled-leather hood decorated with gilt, Caterina chased stag, boar, hare, and even ostrich alongside her male kin.
    Most of Caterina's early life was spent at the Sforza castle in Pavia and the Milanese fortress of Porta Giovia. The high stone walls that surrounded her from infancy offered a sense of protection and security. War, and all the devastation that came with it, was a constant in Renaissance Italy. Caterina's world was a microcosm of peace and privilege, and for the moment the powerful ramparts shielded her from poverty, unrest, and danger.
    Fifteenth-century Milan was already an international center for luxury clothes and high-tech armor. Agents throughout the world flocked to the Via dei Spadari, "Street of the Swordsmiths." Early in the morning they would line up outside the large palace marked MY, the symbol of the Missaglia family, the most famous armorers in Europe. 3 Tommaso Missaglia's development of asymmetrical plates, allowing warriors greater freedom of movement, had revolutionized fighting. From France to Naples, kings sported the distinctive rounded armor bearing the MY logo. The design of this state-of-the-art equipment took into account recent improvements in firearms as well as in defense; special auxiliary plates at the back of the helmet and the center of the breastplate offered greater protection from projectiles. To fill the massive orders, Milanese manufacturers set up primitive assembly lines to mass-produce the suits. Watching her brothers being fitted for Missaglia armor, Caterina would learn to appreciate a well-made cuirass.
    Even more opulent than the specialized armor was Milan's fashionable clothing. The city's long association with France inspired its designers to create more elaborate, intricately constructed costumes than anything previously seen in Italy. Milan's primacy in silk production kept Milanese men and women shimmering in brilliant-hued robes. The nobles wore form-fitting garments covered by long overdresses called
pallande.
Sporting lengthy trains and voluminous sleeves, each robe was made from more than eighteen feet of cloth; the most extravagant incorporated gold brocade. The gowns were embroidered with jewels or pearls and also boasted a distinctive trim called "dagging," specially cut and twisted strips of cloth. This finery would later prompt Leonardo da Vinci to write, "I remember having seen them in my childhood, grown men and young boys going about with every single edge of their clothing dagged, from head to toe and down the right and left sides. At the time it seemed such a wonderful invention that they even dagged the dags." 4
    Although over the course of her life, many people would admire Caterina for her beauty and style, none would ever doubt the mettle beneath the elegance. Throughout her childhood, Caterina had been surrounded by strong-willed women. During her first years at court,