d from his Holiness the City
of Forli, to which end the Ordelaffi were dispossessed of it. Here again
we have a papal attempt to found a family dynasty, and an attempt that
might have been carried further under circumstances more propitious and
had not Death come to check their schemes.

The only one of the four "nephews" of Sixtus--and to this one was
imputed no nearer kinship--who was destined to make any lasting mark
in history was Giuliano della Rovere. He was raised by his uncle to the
purple with the title of San Pietro in Vincoli, and thirty-two years
later he was to become Pope (as Julius II). Of him we shall hear much in
the course of this story.

Under the pontificate of Sixtus IV the position and influence of
Cardinal Roderigo were greatly increased, for once again the Spanish
Cardinal had made the most of his opportunities. As at the election of
Pius II, so at the election of Sixtus IV it was Cardinal Roderigo who
led the act of accession which gave the new Pope his tiara, and for
this act Roderigo--in common with the Cardinals Orsini and Gonzaga who
acceded with him--was richly rewarded and advanced, receiving as his
immediate guerdon the wealthy Abbey of Subiaco.

At about this time, 1470, must have begun the relations between Cardinal
Roderigo and Giovanna Catanei, or Vannozza Catanei, as she is styled in
contemporary documents--Vannozza being a corruption or abbreviation of
Giovannozza, an affectionate form of Giovanna.

Who she was, or whence she came, are facts that have never been
ascertained. She is generally assumed to have been a Roman; but there
are no obvious grounds for the assumption, her name, for instance,
being common to many parts of Italy. And just as we have no sources of
information upon her origin, neither have we any elements from which
to paint her portrait. Gregorovius rests the probability that she was
beautiful upon the known characteristics and fastidious tastes of
the cardinal. Since it is unthinkable that such a man would have been
captivated by an ugly woman or would have been held by a stupid one,
it is fairly reasonable to conclude that she was beautiful and
ready-witted.

All that we do know of her up to the time of her liaison with Cardinal
Roderigo is that she was born on July 13, 1442, this fact being
ascertainable by a simple calculation from the elements afforded by the
inscription on her tomb in Santa Maria del Popolo:

Vix ann. LXXVI m. IV d. XII Objit anno MDX