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Riario

Riario was a noble Italian family from the Romagna region, historically influential in the 15th century with strongholds around Forlì and Imola. The family rose to prominence through strategic marriages and alliances, and its members were closely connected to the politics of the Papal States and other Italian powers of the time.

The most notable member of the Riario family was Girolamo Riario (1443–1488), a nephew of Pope Sixtus

Girolamo Riario’s death in 1488 ended the direct male line’s primacy in the region and contributed to

In broader terms, Riario is primarily recognized today as a historical Italian noble family associated with

IV.
Through
his
marriage
to
Caterina
Sforza,
a
member
of
the
Milanese
Sforza
family,
he
became
lord
of
Imola
and
Forlì.
In
Florentine
politics,
the
Riarios
were
allied
with
the
Pazzi
conspirators
in
the
attempted
overthrow
of
the
Medici
regime
during
the
Pazzi
conspiracy
of
1478,
an
event
that
shaped
subsequent
alliances
and
rivalries
in
central
Italy.
the
gradual
erosion
of
Riario
independent
power.
After
his
death,
control
of
his
territories
shifted
as
broader
political
forces—including
the
Papal
States
and
rival
dynasties—reorganized
the
borders
and
governance
of
Romagna.
The
Riario
name,
while
diminished
as
a
political
force,
continues
as
a
historic
lineage
noted
in
genealogical
and
regional
histories
of
Romagna.
Forlì
and
Imola,
emblematic
of
the
complex
dynastic
and
papal
politics
of
late
medieval
and
Renaissance
Italy.