Childhood
Caterina Sforza was born in Milan.
It is believed that she spent the first years of her life with the family of her natural mother. The close relationship between mother and daughter was never severed; Lucrezia was always beside her daughter in the crucial moments of her life, even in her final years in Florence.
Upon the succession of Galeazzo Maria Sforza as Duke of Milan in 1466, following the death of his father Francesco, Galeazzo arranged for his four children to be brought to court: Carlo (born in 1461), who later became Count of Magenta; Caterina (born in 1463); Alessandro (born in 1465), who later became Lord of Francavilla; and Chiara (born in 1467). By her first marriage, Chiara became Countess dal Verme di Sanguinetto and Lady of Vigevano; by her second marriage, she became Lady of Novi. All four of these children were mothered by Galeazzo's mistress Lucrezia Landriani. The children were entrusted to their paternal grandmother, Bianca Maria Visconti; subsequently, all were eventually adopted by Bona of Savoy, who became Galeazzo Maria's second wife on 9 May 1468.
At the Sforza court, frequented by writers and artists, Caterina and her siblings received a humanistic education. At that time, in the Italian courts, daughters of noble families received the same education as their brothers. In addition to Latin and the reading of the Classics, which were imposed by the teachers, Caterina was taught, in particular by her paternal grandmother, to be proud of her warlike ancestors, to be bold in the application of arms, and astute in the skill of government. From her adoptive mother, she received her share of the maternal warmth and affection that Bona of Savoy poured over all of the children of her husband; this continued after Caterina had left the Milanese court in the form of correspondence between the two women.
The Duke's family resided in Milan and Pavia, and often stayed at Galliate or Cusago, where Galeazzo Maria devoted himself to hunting. It was likely at one or the other of the two places that Caterina also acquired her lifelong passion for hunting.
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