The Ghost Of Girolamo Riario

The Ghost Of Girolamo Riario

Italian historical novel

Ivo Ragazzini

Original title: Il Fantasma di Girolamo Riario

Translated by: Fatima Pretta

An aftermath with the Pazzi’s conspiracy that continues to resurge from history

Get ready to discover secrets of the Italian Renaissance that you didn't even suspect

The Ghost Of Girolamo Riario

Copyright © 2012 Ivo Ragazzini

First edition: 2012

English edition: September 2020

Translator: Fatima Pretta

Publisher: Tektime – www.traduzionelibri.it

https://www.facebook.com/ivo.ragazzini.3

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ivo-ragazzini/50/55/28

e-mail: ragazzini.ivo@gmail.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, including by any mechanical or electronic system, without the written permission of the editor, except for brief passages taken for the purposes of review.

This is the story of someone called Girolamo Riario, nephew or perhaps illegitimate son of Pope Sixtus IV, who ruled and was murdered over five centuries ago in the city of Forlì, but which few or none seem to remember anymore.

So this story is about a conspiracy that happened five centuries ago and since then, even if a lot has changed, it seems that sometimes the story keeps popping up.

Contrary to what one might think, this is not a new story, but an old story forgotten by everyone, which every now and then resurfaces and repeats itself over time.

It seems that, for some mysterious reason, these facts fluctuate and float over time as something that does not want to be forgotten.

Now, a question to ask to try to understand things like this could be:

Why does something that happened many centuries ago continue to fluctuate over time?

Or:

Why does something seem unwilling to cease and go beyond its time?

Well, there may be a couple of reasons for understanding these things.

One is that there are a lot of behind the scenes and things not well inspected on those facts.

And the other is that unclear and incomplete things seem to go on long and come back to the surface in time.

Which of the two will be the truth?

It could be a little one and a little the other and you will find out for yourself as you read the rest of this story.

Good discovery.

The author

Introduction

At the end of August 2010 a person, while under the town hall of Forlì, saw the shadow of a figure dancing on the external walls near a window on the first floor of that building.

Since it was evening, but it was still sunny, he believed it was a reflection on the glass and did not give it much importance.

But a few days later he saw that shadow moan with a deep cut in the head go out of a room in the city hall and run away into the corridor.

Later someone else told not only that he had seen the same shadow but also had heard it speak.

The testimonies said they saw a man with a part of his head split or missing telling and complaining about wanting to defend his lady in danger and asking for revenge against someone who had betrayed him.

Some details of these sightings were then told on January 31, 2011, on the front page in the local chronicles of Forlì and, to tell the truth, there were other people who trusted to have seen him even if they wanted to remain anonymous.

At a first glance some thought that it was Jacopo Feo, the second husband of Caterina Sforza, but according to the author, it was an old story forgotten by everyone's memory which dated back to 1488, when Riario was assassinated in the palace town of Forlì by three men who stabbed him on the first floor and then threw him in the square below, a story that many historians seem to have forgotten or put aside for some reason.

But what is known about Riario today?

Shortly. Currently it is known that an alleged image of him has remained, or rather has been saved in the Vatican, due to the fact that it was portrayed alongside his uncle, Pope Sixtus IV, by the painter from Forlì, Melozzo degli Ambrogi.

And even in Forlì, where he governed and was assassinated, almost nothing remains of him and although at the time he was the general commander of the pontifical army, very few still know today who was really this man, why he was assassinated and who were the real instigators.

Furthermore, as you will see later, many characters and details of this story were forgotten and buried under a kind of damnatio memoriae1, that is condemned to be forgotten by people's and historical memory.

But memories cannot be completely erased and, as soon as you look at them well, they somehow seem to resurface and reaffirm their presence as if they were protesting that they had been put aside for too long.

And one could speculate that such a hunger for historical memory could create forgotten things that persist and resurface over time which can also be called ghosts of the past if you prefer.

Written quickly and fluently, halfway between essay and narration, this historical tale perhaps reveals for the first time in a frank and direct way many unthinkable facts, places and background, which happened to a person called Girolamo Riario, first husband of Caterina Sforza and nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, assassinated over 500 years ago by a conspiracy in the town hall of Forlì.

It also explains events never observed or completely forgotten for a long time which hardly anyone remembered anymore.

Here is a list of some things you will discover in this book.

Was a book of prophecy written that announced Riario's death?

Who Wrote It? On whose behalf?

Why did the ghost have his head split?

Who were the real instigators of the killers of Riario?

What had Riario done to end up murdered?

Did Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano de 'Medici, murdered ten years earlier in Florence, have anything to do with this story?

Was a company of hired assassins created to assassinate him? From who?

Why did Riario enter in church only surrounded by several guards?

What the killers of Riario do after killing him?

Is a true or a false story that Caterina Sforza would show her sex shameless from the stands of the fortress of Forlì, when her enemies asked him to surrender? What did she do instead?

And much more that you will discover and understand for yourself while reading.

So I wish you a good read and a good rediscovery of this completely forgotten historical event.

And, if after reading this book, someone accidentally encounters the ghost again, I'm sure he will understand it much better than before.

Forlì, autumn of 2010... the ghost appears

In a room not far from the historic city center, a researcher of biomagnetic phenomena, or a ghost catcher if you prefer and some witnesses of mysterious facts and presences, are interviewed by the researcher himself

“Have you seen the ghost yet, ma'am?” asked the researcher, while interviewing a lady who wished to remain anonymous.

“Yes. It looks better in the evening or maybe you see better in that hour”, replied the lady.

“Have you seen it several times?”

“Yes”, said the woman again.

“Where is he when you see him?”

“In the municipal building of Forlì. Once I saw it outside Piazza Saffi2, it was suspended outside the wall, near a window on the first floor of the municipal building”, replied the lady.

“You mean he was standing on a window sill or on a ledge of the wall?” the researcher demanded for clarification.

“No. It was outside the wall and seemed to hang in the thin air”.

“Maybe it was suspended on an ancient framework that is now no longer in that wall?” commented the researcher.

“I do not know this”.

“I understand you lady. What did he do outside the wall?” continued the researcher.

“Nothing. It just seemed to dance near a window”, replied the woman.

“Which window?”

“It was the third window of the town hall, counting from the right”, replied the woman”.

“What was the ghost like?”

“Grey, a grey shadow and his head was open and split on one side, as if he were missing or they had cut off part of his head”.

“Wow. A good business card for introduce himself to someone. I guess you were at the least surprised lady?”

“Yes, surprised. You said well”.

“Okay lady. Have you seen it again and more?”

“Yes, sometimes he is in the corridor, another time he was in a larger adjoining room”.

“Do you see it when it's dark or there is little light?” the researcher asked more curious.

“No. I always saw it in the evening but never when it's completely dark”.

“All right, lady. What else have you seen about it?”

“I heard him say and moan something”.

“What did he say?”

“I didn't understand, his voice was weak and dimmering, and as well was his image”, explained the woman.

“Okay lady. What else have you seen?”

“Nothing else. That's all”, concluded the woman.

“Thanks for your information ma'am. If necessary, I will ask you more”, replied the researcher as he concluded the interview with the lady and was preparing to interview another witness present in the room.

“How did you manage to see the ghost?” asked the researcher, turning to the other witness who said he also saw it.

“I learned from friends about this presence in the building and went to look for it”.

“Why did you want to look him for?” asked the researcher curiously.

“I was only interested in seeing it”.

“And what have you seen?”

“More or less what the lady saw, but with a few more details”, replied the witness.

“What's more else details have you seen?”

“More than anything else, I heard him say something”, replied the witness.

“What did you hear saying about?”

“He was worried about his lady”.

“Did he speak directly to you?”

“No. Mostly he complained to anyone who could listen to him”, replied the witness.

“He complained about what?”

“Of what they had done to him and he wanted to take revenge against the traitors and conspirators who attacked him”, replied the witness.

“Did he tell you who his lady was?”

“No, but he said he had to rush to defend her because she was in danger in the next room”.

“So he was worried because her wife was in danger in the next room?”

“Yes, he more or less complained about it and demanded revenge for the conspirators who had done all this”, explained the witness.

“Did the ghost tell you what they had done to him?”

“He didn't say this but he knew who the conspirators were and demanded revenge them”, replied the witness.

“Did he also tell you who the hit men and the conspirators were?”

“Yes. And he also knew who were the real perpetrators”.

“Who were they?” asked intrigued the researcher.

“I'm not want to tell you that”.

“Why?”

“It's a long story and I don't think you'd understand me”.

“It is not so, but I respect your will. Anyway, do you have any idea who could be the woman he wanted to defend?” asked curious the researcher.

“Yes. She was Caterina Sforza the ancient lady of Imola and Forli”, replied the witness.

“So who would the ghost be? One of her three husbands, I supposed3”.

“That ghost was not just anyone of them but Girolamo Riario, first husband of Caterina Sforza and nephew of Pope Sixtus IV4, who was murdered in that palace 500 years ago by a conspiracy, while Caterina had locked and barricade herself up in the next room and desperately asked for help. And that is a story that has remained unclear and mysterious in many places until today”, the witness replied all in one breath.

The researcher remain slightly surprised for a while by what he had just heard. Then asked:

“But it could have been Jacopo Feo. As far I know, was he also a husband of Caterina Sforza and died in an ambush from a sword blow to the head”.

“No. It was Riario, and he was murdered in that palace. Jacopo Feo was murdered in the street in a place very far from there, halfway down Corso Garibaldi, where the Morattini bridge5 once stood” replied the witness.

“And why then did the ghost have his head smashed in one side?”

“Because someone smashed it down like that”, replied the witness.

“Why would someone do such a thing to him?” asked the researcher.

“You seem a bit naive. There may be many reasons in the world to do things like that to someone”. replied the witness smiling.

“Say them”.

“But I told you it's a long story”.

“Never mind. Recall it back”, the researcher urged him.

“All right. Officially, Riario was murdered towards evening in the nymphs room of that palace by three conspirators he believed to be trusted friends. One of them, while the other two waited outside, entered in the room, that no longer exists with an excuse and stabbed him in the body”.

“After the first stab, Riario fell to the ground and tried to take refuge under a table, but was immediately reached and finished by the other two conspirators, who took and stabbed him to death, while Caterina Sforza had barricaded herself with servants in the next room and cried out for help”.

“After about half an hour, or so, he was badly thrown out from a window by other conspirators, who in the meantime had taken the town hall and his body was torn apart by other insurgents shouting freedom as they dragged him through the square”, the witness reply in one breath.

“Sounds like a bad story”, answer the researcher, thinking about it for a moment. Then trying to guess more or less how things might have gone, he say:

“So, if I understood correctly, it could be that when Riario was thrown out the window, he fall down on his head smashing it in the soil?”

“No. I didn't say that, and I don't think it's true. In fact I believe that Riario fall down on his feet and not upside down on his head”, explained the witness.

“And how would he have gotten is head crashed out ?”

“There are many ways to crash someone's head”, replied the witness.

“So how would it have happened?”

“You need to know a few more facts to understand the whole things”.

“And you know them?”

“Many of them”, replied the witness.

“And how would you know all these things? Did the ghost explain them to you?” asked the researcher with a smile.

“No. I am the son of the son, of the son of the son, from many lives of home-born Forli people, and I have inherited something from them”, replied the witness.

“Come on... how can I believe you...” smiled the researcher again, “are you trying to hide the truth from me?”.

“No”.

“So the ghost must have told you all about it?” the researcher insisted.

“No, he only said a few things. Others happened after his death and maybe he didn't even know them”, explained the witness.

“And you know about them?”

“I already told you: several, yes”.

“Excuse me, but who is the ghost? You or him?” the researcher asked jokingly.

“Him, of course”.

“And who are you?”

“A citizen of these places” replied the witness.

“And how would you know all this?”

“I just know it and that’s all”, replied the witness who seemed not to want explain more details.

“Perhaps you've read everything in the history books?”

“Some things I have tried to verify in the history books, but a lot of them are not written in any history book”.

“So how do you know all these things?” insisted the researcher.

“I already told you. I am the son of the son of the son of the son of people here native and I have inherited something...”

“You are very curious. What else did the ghost tell you?” asked the researcher who felt more and more involved with this story.

“He promised revenge and blood to those who killed him and did this to him”.

“Did you ask him anything?”

“Yes”.

“You are also very brave. What did you ask him?”

“I demanded him for some details”.

“And what did he reply to you?”

“He didn't answer me”.

“Wait a moment. Did you done spirit sessions or something like that for ask him those questions?” demanded the researcher, beginning to suspect that something like that must have happened.

“No, I haven't. I'm not a spiritualist”, replied the witness.

“Who else enquire him then?”

“Many people as far as I know, but they didn't do a damn thing”.

“Why aren't they here in your place then?”

It's been a long time and many of them are already dead”, replied the witness.

“Who were they?”

“I'd like not tell you that”.

“Why?”

“I'm afraid you wouldn't understand”.

“Come on... you can tell me. I'm a researcher and I've seen a lot of things in my life”.

“I think I had seen more of them, but if you really want to...” the witness added.

“I do care”.

“It's okay but I warned you. Make yourself comfortable because the story isn't short”, said the witness as he prepared to tell the rest of the story.

It wasn't the first time someone had seen the ghost of Girolamo Riario in the town hall...

...the witness explained to the researcher.

“As early as 1500 it was said that the place where Riario fell remain stained of his blood forever, and almost two hundred years later, around 1650, some chroniclers even wrote about it6”.

“In the 1700s there were some who spoke of Riario's spirit or soul and in the 1800s there were some tales telling how, after his murder, his ghost wandering around looking for someone”.

“In the second half of the 1800s there was a culmination and several groups of spiritualists and Freemasons said they were in contact not only with him, but also with Caterina Sforza7 and someone else who was staying in the fortress of Ravaldino8”.

“In a few words, after his murder occurred in the room of the Nymphs, a room that was destroyed and no longer exists today, that ghost had been seen in various periods several times wandering around the palace and someone said he had seen him in the fortress of Ravaldino. Only that most people preferred to forget or keep quiet about it”.

“Even the third window on the first floor, counting from the left in front of the facade of the town hall, was in the past considered cursed by many, because someone thought it was the one where Riario was thrown down after his murder under a screaming crowd that tore his body to pieces. But that was not the real window from which Riario was thrown after his murder”.

“Where was it thrown from?” the researcher asked.

“From another window. Riario was killed in the Nymphs Room, but then his body was dragged out and taken to another room”.

“And what was the window where it was thrown from then?” the researcher interrupted him.

“The window was on the opposite side of the building facade, the third window counting from the right”.

“But that's the window where the woman said she saw the ghost dancing”, said the researcher in amazement.

“Exactly, that woman saw him in that window, only he wasn't dancing at all”, replied the witness smiling a little.

“And what was he doing then?”

“It's too early to tell that. There are many other things you should know before”, explained the witness to the researcher.

“All right, so the nymphs room wasn’t the one where he was seen dancing?” asked the researcher.

“No, that was just a window through which his body was dragged after his death. That room was destroyed by his wife Caterina Sforza after his murder and no longer exists today”.

“And after five centuries, you still know such things and details?”

“Actually, I know a more lot of it”.

“I understand, go ahead”, replied the researcher.

“Returning to the window from which he was thrown out, the spot where Riario fell on the under square was marked for a long time and many people in all ages and centuries knew this. Only today, no one remembers it anymore. Since then many people in all ages have seen his ghost and some even heard him”, explained the witness.

“How do you know all this?” asked the researcher.

“You run fast and go ahead too much. I already told you there's more to know”, replied the witness as he began to tell more.

Romagna five centuries earlier

Faenza Market in early 1488. A fencing master approached a wealthy farmer from Forlì surrounded by friends in the middle of the square. The master want delivering them a book of black prophecies to be reported in Forlì 9

The fencing master arrived in front of the farmer and his friends and asked aloud:

“Sir, I need a favour from you”.

“Who are you?” answers the farmer.

“My name is Cesare Scrimidore10 from Faenza and I am a long-time friend of Leon Cobello11, painter and chronicler of your town of Forlivio12”.

“I know it's a your friend, and I want delivering him something through you that I owed him for a long time. We will both very grateful if you do that.”

“Yes. I know the chronicler Leone Cobelli. Tell me what this is at all”, replied the farmer.

“He begged me to give him this book personally, which was given to me by a soothsayer friar minor of St. Francis, and since I don't have the opportunity to go to Forlivio, I ask you to give it for me”, said the swordsman.

“All right. Who should I tell him you are?” replied the peasant.

“Say him I am a swordsman from Faenza and I send him a book by an astrologer friar so that you know what kind of destiny is written of your lord Girolamo Riario and your lands in the heaven and in the stars”.

“But what heavenly destiny written in the stars are you talking about, sword master?” spoke a scribe of the peasant present at the speech.

“Sir, don't tense or argue with me about things decided and willed from the heights and heavenly spheres. It is all written in this book and no one can say otherwise13”.

“Reach over Sir Leon Cobello, give him this book and tell him that this is the destiny of what will happen to your lord and city and he will know what to do about it”, replied the swordsman threateningly.

“I don’t wish to discuss with you in front of everyone, but know that many of the people of Forlì already know what is happening in our lands and our Count Girolamo Riario. And they don't need soothsayers nor astrologers to know what is happening in our lands14”, replied the scribe.