The Ghost Of Girolamo Riario

Furthermore, as you will see later, many characters and details of this story were forgotten and buried under a kind of damnatio memoriae

, that is condemned to be forgotten by people's and historical memory.

But memories cannot be completely erased and, as soon as you look at them well, they somehow seem to resurface and reaffirm their presence as if they were protesting that they had been put aside for too long.

And one could speculate that such a hunger for historical memory could create forgotten things that persist and resurface over time which can also be called ghosts of the past if you prefer.

Written quickly and fluently, halfway between essay and narration, this historical tale perhaps reveals for the first time in a frank and direct way many unthinkable facts, places and background, which happened to a person called Girolamo Riario, first husband of Caterina Sforza and nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, assassinated over 500 years ago by a conspiracy in the town hall of Forlì.

It also explains events never observed or completely forgotten for a long time which hardly anyone remembered anymore.

Here is a list of some things you will discover in this book.

Was a book of prophecy written that announced Riario's death?

Who Wrote It? On whose behalf?

Why did the ghost have his head split?

Who were the real instigators of the killers of Riario?

What had Riario done to end up murdered?

Did Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano de 'Medici, murdered ten years earlier in Florence, have anything to do with this story?

Was a company of hired assassins created to assassinate him? From who?

Why did Riario enter in church only surrounded by several guards?

What the killers of Riario do after killing him?

Is a true or a false story that Caterina Sforza would show her sex shameless from the stands of the fortress of Forlì, when her enemies asked him to surrender? What did she do instead?

And much more that you will discover and understand for yourself while reading.

So I wish you a good read and a good rediscovery of this completely forgotten historical event.

And, if after reading this book, someone accidentally encounters the ghost again, I'm sure he will understand it much better than before.

Forlì, autumn of 2010... the ghost appears

In a room not far from the historic city center, a researcher of biomagnetic phenomena, or a ghost catcher if you prefer and some witnesses of mysterious facts and presences, are interviewed by the researcher himself

“Have you seen the ghost yet, ma'am?” asked the researcher, while interviewing a lady who wished to remain anonymous.

“Yes. It looks better in the evening or maybe you see better in that hour”, replied the lady.

“Have you seen it several times?”

“Yes”, said the woman again.

“Where is he when you see him?”

“In the municipal building of Forlì. Once I saw it outside Piazza Saffi

, it was suspended outside the wall, near a window on the first floor of the municipal building”, replied the lady.

“You mean he was standing on a window sill or on a ledge of the wall?” the researcher demanded for clarification.

“No. It was outside the wall and seemed to hang in the thin air”.

“Maybe it was suspended on an ancient framework that is now no longer in that wall?” commented the researcher.

“I do not know this”.

“I understand you lady. What did he do outside the wall?” continued the researcher.

“Nothing. It just seemed to dance near a window”, replied the woman.

“Which window?”

“It was the third window of the town hall, counting from the right”, replied the woman”.

“What was the ghost like?”

“Grey, a grey shadow and his head was open and split on one side, as if he were missing or they had cut off part of his head”.

“Wow. A good business card for introduce himself to someone. I guess you were at the least surprised lady?”

“Yes, surprised. You said well”.

“Okay lady. Have you seen it again and more?”

“Yes, sometimes he is in the corridor, another time he was in a larger adjoining room”.

“Do you see it when it's dark or there is little light?” the researcher asked more curious.

“No. I always saw it in the evening but never when it's completely dark”.

“All right, lady. What else have you seen about it?”

“I heard him say and moan something”.

“What did he say?”

“I didn't understand, his voice was weak and dimmering, and as well was his image”, explained the woman.

“Okay lady. What else have you seen?”