Bianca Riario

Who was Bianca Riario?

Bianca Riario was an Italian noblewoman, and the eldest child and only daughter of Caterina Sforza, Lady of Imola, Countess of Forlì, by the latter's first husband, Girolamo Riario, a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV.

Bianca married twice; her first husband was Astorre III Manfredi, Lord of Faenza, and her second husband, Troilo I de' Rossi, 1st Marquis of San Secondo, 6th Count of San Secondo, by whom she had eight recorded children.

At the time, the de' Rossi was one of the most prestigious noble families in Parma.

Bianca was the half-sister of the celebrated condottiero Giovanni delle Bande Nere, to whom she acted as a substitute mother while their own mother, Caterina was held prisoner by Cesare Borgia.