This is Caterina Sforza , one of the most infamous people of Renaissance Italy . She had many feud , the most prominent of which was with the Borgia family . This feud resulted in an interesting rumor — that she weaponized the Plague , and tried to assassinate the Pope with it .
No one claims that Caterina Sforza was a nice char , but she did n’t live during a courteous time . The girl of a family of condottieri ( aka a group of violent mercenary thugs ) , she became the wife of the notoriously vicious Girolamo Riario , the Lord of Forli .
Caterina eventually became known as theTigress of Forli — a reputation she earn when her husband was pour down by rebels . She persuaded the freedom fighter to lease her into a fortress being held by people loyal to her hubby , claiming she could get the drawing card to surrender the fortress to them . Once inside , she ensure the fortress and yell dirty word at the maverick . The Reb , who had kept her child as insurance against her doing exactly what she did , brought out her kids and threatened to belt down them . Caterina yanked up her dress and screamed , “ Kill them . I can make more . ”
That was the first of her life history as a warlord . Her second most famous feat total towards the end of her career — a calling spent murdering , torturing , and feud with everyone around her . Pope Alexander VI ( also eff as Rodrigo Borgia ) was in spot . She did n’t like him . In 1499 , shesent him some letter , wrapped in scarlet cloth , and completely enclosed within a wooden cane .
Some claim that Caterina either soak the material or the letters with poison . Perhaps it was a slow - acting poison that could be dissolve through the pelt , or maybe it was meant to kill the Pope via poisonous smoke that would flare when the letters were burn . It is possible that she poison the varsity letter somehow . Caterina was a noted alchemist , who kept conducting chemistry experiments after she was removed from power .
Others intend that the material was infect with the Plague — meaning Caterina was not only attempting the world ’s first character assassination of a political figure via biological weapons , but probably endeavor to take out half the people in Alexander ’s retinue . If this is true , what would have been most interesting about it is Caterina ’s noesis of the Plague . The 15th 100 was n’t famous for its medical knowledge . If nothing else , she could have send off Alexander the bedding from a Plague victim .
Of course there are some who say that Caterina never endeavor to poison the Pope at all . At the time , she did n’t need the kind of natural action that came with menace the Pope . And the Borgias were n’t above claiming that someone had taken the first shot at them and then declaring war . In the end , she wasdeposed and lag by Alexander ’s boy , only to be let out after Alexander die out of raw effort . She spent the rest of her life in semi - retirement , doing her chemistry experiment and coaching her shaver and grandkids on how to be just as terrifying as she was .
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