Girolamo Riario
Encyclopedia
Imola
thumb|250px|The Cathedral of Imola.Imola is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, located on the Santerno river, in the Emilia-Romagna region of north-central Italy...
and Forlì
Forlì
Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
in the 15th century.
Biography
Born in SavonaSavona
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
, Riario was the son of Paolo Riario and Bianca della Rovere. He was a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age,...
, who granted him the seignory
Seignory
In English law, Seignory or seigniory , the lordship remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple....
of Imola
Imola
thumb|250px|The Cathedral of Imola.Imola is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, located on the Santerno river, in the Emilia-Romagna region of north-central Italy...
, as a dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
for his marriage with Caterina Sforza
Caterina Sforza
Caterina Sforza, Countess of Forlì was an Italian noblewoman, the illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan and Lucrezia Landriani, the wife of the courtier Gian Piero Landriani, a close friend of the Duke...
(daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Galeazzo Maria Sforza was Duke of Milan from 1466 until his death. He was famous for being lustful, cruel and tyrannical....
, Duke of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
) in 1473.
Four years later, just after the marriage had been celebrated, Girolamo took control of Forlì
Forlì
Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
, ousting the Ordelaffi.
In 1478 he was one of the plotters behind the Pazzi conspiracy
Pazzi
The Pazzi family were an ancient, noble Tuscan family who had given up their titles so that members could be elected to public office. Their main trade, during the 15th century was banking. They are linked to the "Pazzi conspiracy"—to assassinate Giuliano de' Medici and simultaneously attempt...
, a plot to assassinate
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
two prominent members of the Medici
Medici
The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...
family in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. In addition to conspiring, he was an intended beneficiary, once Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici had been killed. In 1484, after the death of Sixtus IV, Caterina briefly occupied Castel Sant'Angelo
Castel Sant'Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family...
in Rome on his behalf. Girolamo was Captain General of the Church
Captain General of the Church
The Captain General of the Church was the de facto commander-in-chief of the papal armed forces during the Middle Ages. The post was usually conferred on an Italian noble with a professional military reputation or a relative of the pope...
.
Riario promoted several further plots against the Medici, but they all failed. In 1488 he was the last of the main Pazzi
Pazzi
The Pazzi family were an ancient, noble Tuscan family who had given up their titles so that members could be elected to public office. Their main trade, during the 15th century was banking. They are linked to the "Pazzi conspiracy"—to assassinate Giuliano de' Medici and simultaneously attempt...
conspirators left alive, and was himself assassinated in a conspiracy led by two members of the Orsi
Orsi
Orsi is a surname, and may refer to:* Adolfo Orsi - Italian industrialist* Clodomil Orsi - Brazilian football executive* Fernando Orsi - Italian football manager and former player...
family from Forlì, supposedly over a financial dispute. On 14 April, Checco and Ludovico Orsi entered the government palace, and one of them attacked Riario with a sword. Despite the presence of the Count's guards, a total of nine assassins slashed Riario to death, eventually flinging his corpse into a local piazza, where a crowd gathered in support of the assassins. The assassins then proceeded to loot the palace.
Although assassinations were not altogether uncommon in Renaissance Florence
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
, they still had repercussions. Despite writing to Lorenzo de' Medici, who no doubt approved of the result of the assassination, they received no written support by the Medici family. Support, both military and popular, eventually sided with Riario's widow, and the Orsi brothers fled, taking what they could with them. Their remaining assets and family were soon destroyed by angry mobs.
Riario's body had been recovered from the piazza by a local friar, and once Riario's widow proved vindicated, she had the body cleaned up and laid in state for three days in the church of San Francesco.
Girolamo had six sons, Ottaviano
Ottaviano Riario
Ottaviano Riario was an Italian condottiero and Lord of Imola and Forlì.He was a son of Girolamo Riario, a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV who had obtained possession in Italy thanks to the pontiff's patronage, and Caterina Sforza. He was created lord of Imola and Forlì in July 1488 by Pope Innocent...
, who officially inherited the lordship of Imola, Cesare, Giovanni Livio, Galeazzo, Francesco, and a daughter, Bianca
Bianca Riario
Bianca Riario was an Italian noblewoman, and the eldest child and only daughter of Caterina Sforza, Lady of Imola, Countess of Forlì, by the latter's first husband, Girolamo Riario, a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV....
by his wife, Caterina, and lastly an illegitimate son by another woman, named Scipio.
In Popular Culture
In the 2009 video game Assassin's Creed IIAssassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed II is a historical third-person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is the second video game installment of the Assassin's Creed series, and is a sequel to the 2007 video...
, the Orsi brothers were actually hired by Caterina Sforza, only to later turn on her and attempt to kidnap Ottaviano and Bianca.