Caterina Sforza was born into one of Renaissance Italy’s hardest dynasties, and she ruled like she understood exactly what power cost. By the late 1490s she was the formidable lady of Forlì and Imola, fighting to keep her state alive while Italy became a chessboard for French armies, papal ambitions, and mercenary captains. Then came Cesare Borgia—the pope’s son, backed by papal authority, money, and artillery, determined to carve out a principality in Romagna. In the winter of 1499–1500, Borgia