Caterina Sforza

The "Tiger of Forlì" - Caterina Sforza - is a powerful ruler with a passion for hunting, warfare and alchemy. She left her children in the care of the Orsis to persuade the castellan, Tommaso Feo, to surrender the fortress of Ravaldino. Once inside, Sforza turned against the Orsis and promised vengeance upon them. The Orsis threatened to kill her oldest son, and she responded "Fatelo, se volete. Impiccateli pure davanti a me... qui ho quanto basta per farne altri!" ("Do it, if you want to. Hang them well in front of me...I have the mold to make more!") and showed her intimate lower parts to the besieging army. Her response shocked the Orsis and they did not dare touch Sforza's children. Sforza and her uncle Ludovico il Moro managed to defeat her enemies and regained possession of her dominions. Since her retrieval of her dominions, her political power has increased by exchanging gifts with the lords of the neighboring states and negotiating marriages for her children. She has shown both military and economical prowess by controlling her realm's spending and dealing in person with the training of her militia.