She was welcomed everywhere, treated with great respect and lavishly praised by all of society including the Pope, His power grew daily, and he soon displayed increasing ruthlessness towards his enemies.
In 1480, the Pope, with the objective of attaining a strong domain in the land of Romagna, assigned Girolamo the lordship of Forlì, which had remained vacant after it was sequestered from the Ordelaffi family.
Caterina subsequently gave birth to five more children in the next nine years.
At the end of the 15th century, Rome was no longer a medieval city, but not yet the important centre of artistic endeavors it would become a few decades later as one of the most important cities of the Renaissance.
At one or the other of the two places Caterina also probably acquired her lifelong passion for hunting.
In 1473 Caterina became betrothed to Girolamo Riario, the son of Paolo Riario and Bianca della Rovere, sister of Pope Sixtus IV (in office: 1471-1484).
The latter did not want to attend the funeral of Sixtus IV and refused to enter into conclave, for fear of coming under the fire of Caterina's artillery.
The situation was difficult because only the election of a new Pope would put an end to the violence in the Eternal City.
She had a large number of children, of whom only the youngest, Captain Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, inherited the forceful, militant character of his mother.After a triumphal entrance into Imola in 1477, Caterina went to Rome with her husband, where he lived for many years in the service of his uncle, the Pope.