Forlì

Forlì is presented as a revealing case in the political geography of Romagna: it first falls to Cesare Borgia through French military assistance, then reappears as evidence that fortresses can delay an attack without securing a ruler whose subjects have become hostile. Its importance lies less in a complete local history than in the contrast between conquest achieved through external arms and rule made vulnerable by popular enmity.

Forlì in Cesare Borgia’s Expansion

Forlì enters the narrative during Cesare Borgia’s attempt to establish an independent principality in Romagna. He entered the province with French men-at-arms serving as auxiliary troops and, with their assistance, captured Imola and Forlì. The episode demonstrates the immediate power of foreign military support: the French force enabled rapid territorial gains that Borgia could not yet guarantee through forces of his own.

That success also exposed the weakness of relying on another power. Borgia soon judged the French auxiliaries untrustworthy and replaced them first with mercenary forces, including troops associated with the Orsini and Vitelli, and ultimately with soldiers raised under his own authority. The sequence from the capture of Forlì to the creation of an independent military base marks a political transition: possession gained through borrowed strength had to be converted into power controlled by the new ruler himself.

Fortresses and the Survival of Rule

Forlì is later used to qualify the general argument about fortifications. After Count Girolamo was murdered, the Countess of Forlì was able to use her fortresses to withstand the first onset of insurgents. The defenses bought time for her to await assistance from Milan, and she recovered her state because the circumstances of that moment prevented a foreign power from aiding the rebels.

This temporary success did not make the fortresses a reliable foundation of government. When Cesare Borgia later attacked, the people of Forlì joined the invader out of hostility to the Countess, and her strongholds proved of little avail. The same walls that had once delayed an internal rising could not compensate for the loss of popular allegiance when the attack was supported by an external force.

Political Lesson

The example of Forlì supports the distinction between physical security and political security. A fortress can shield a prince from the first shock of rebellion, but it cannot by itself prevent subjects from assisting an enemy. Its usefulness depends on circumstances, including whether foreign aid is available to the insurgents and whether the ruler retains the goodwill or fear necessary to keep the population from changing sides.

Forlì therefore culminates in the broader principle that the best fortress is the absence of hatred among subjects. Fortifications may be useful against an initial assault, yet they become an inadequate defense when a ruler’s own people regard an invader as preferable to the established government. In that sense, Forlì links the military history of Cesare Borgia’s expansion with the book’s larger distinction between conquering territory and holding it securely.