Sally Metzler Chicago, Illinois, United States   Lorenzo di Credi, Caterina Sforza, c. 1481, Pinacoteca Civica di Forlì. Fearless, beautiful, and cunning, Caterina Sforza (1462–1509) fought heroically to defend her fiefdoms of Imola and Forli until the bitter end. Even the celebrated and infamous Renaissance strategist, Niccolò Machiavelli, remarked that he had met his match…