The time when Catherine became prisoner and was carried away with gold chains

Rome, 26th February 1500

Almost two months after the surrender of Ravaldino and the fall of Catherine into the hands of the French armies and Cesare Borgia, Valentino returned to Rome triumphantly, effectively returning the dominion of the Romagna to his father, Pope Alexander VI. In the capital, as well as the Carnival, the Jubilee of 1500 was being celebrated and the city was crowded with pilgrims, masks and allegorical floats. The pontiff wanted to celebrate the return of his favorite son with solemn celebrations. Legend has it that in the procession, Madonna Caterina appeared behind the chariot of the triumphant with her wrists tied by gold chains.

Caterina enjoyed this privilege during her “imprisonment” in Forlì, however, once in Rome, Cesare Borgia took the Countess Riario Sforza to Castel Sant’Angelo. She remained imprisoned there until June 30, 1501, until she was freed thanks to the intervention of the French general Yves d’Allègre who, passing through Rome and discovered Catherine’s imprisonment, enforced the French law described above. The Borgias, however, had the foresight to have Caterina sign a document where she definitively renounced the lordship of Imola and Forlì. She reached Florence by sea, where she was reunited with her children.