Sigismondo Malatesta
Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta , called the Wolf of Rimini (born June 19, 1417 in Brescia , † October 9, 1468 in Rimini ) was an Italian condottiere and nobleman from the Malatesta family . The Malatesta had usurped Rimini around 1300 and took Pesaro (1320), Fossombrone (1333), Fano (1334) and at times Ascoli and Ancona (1348) to themselves. They ruled these cities as vicars to the Pope.
Life
Sigismondo, an illegitimate son of Pandolfo Malatesta († 1427) was able to prevail in the struggles for the successor of his predecessor, Galeotto Roberto Malatesta (1429-1432), and was since 1432 lord of Rimini , Fano and Cesena . He was an eminent condottiere , but unreliable, which turned the Pope and King of Naples against him. Federico da Montefeltro , lord of Urbino, as condottiere and neighbor of his rival, was a bitter opponent of the Malatesta and waged a grueling war against him, which finally ended with the defeat of Malatesta at the Battle of Cesano in 1463. In 1464 Sigismondo commanded the Venetian army against the Ottomans in Morea ( Peloponnese ) in an unsuccessful campaign.
Finally, excommunicated by the Pope, he lost almost all of his possessions and was only able to hold Rimini with the help of the Venetians. Even Pius II's successor , Paul II , did not change his attitude at first, but took him into his service in 1468 and assured him of rule over Rimini. Sigismondo died in 1468 at the age of 51 from an illness that he contracted during a campaign against Norcia on behalf of the Pope. He was buried in a chapel of his unfinished Tempio Malatestiano.
Succession
Sigismondo had left 13 almost exclusively illegitimate children. He had appointed his wife Isotta degli Atti and his son Sallustio as heirs . His illegitimate son (or nephew) Roberto († September 11, 1482), whom Pope Nicholas V legitimized, seized power through intrigue and had Isotta's sons killed. During his reign he managed to partially recapture the old Malatag area. Roberto's son Pandolfo IV (1475–1534) was the last ruler of the Malatesta family. After this was expelled by Cesare Borgia , he sold Rimini to Venice after his fall in 1503. Rimini remained in the possession of Venice until 1509 and fell to the Papal States under Pope Julius II . Until 1527 there were still some more or less successful attempts by the Malatestas to take possession of the city.
Look at
Through the propaganda of his opponents, especially through Pope Pius II, Sigismondo Malatesta became the epitome of the godless and depraved Renaissance prince. He was said to have murdered his first two wives, Ginevra d'Este and Polissena Sforza , as well as that of his brother. History has exposed most of the rumors as propaganda. Sigismondo was certainly of a difficult and violent character, but his misdeeds were arguably no worse than those of his contemporaries. It was rather his - politically awkward - contentious and uncontrollable style of government that in the end isolated him from all powers that tried to find a compromise after the Peace of Lodi and whose efforts to achieve peace endangered Sigismondo.
Despite all the relativization of that exaggerated terrible image of the mass murderer "Ezzelino" (Italian: "little Attila "), his tyranny claimed countless victims.
Arts and Culture
Sigismondo Malatesta was a cultivated and educated ruler. It used all means to spread its fame and to be glorified: panel paintings, frescoes, medals and descriptions of life announced its fame.
His most important act as a patron was the renovation of the Church of San Francesco in Rimini. In 1446 he decided to transform the church into a mausoleum for himself and his then lover and later wife Isotta degli Atti. After some renovations by Agostino di Duccio, he commissioned Leon Battista Alberti to redesign the church. This gave the church a new look, whereby the facade, which is based on the type of the Roman triumphal arch, is of great importance for the architecture of the Renaissance. Originally, the sarcophagi were to be placed in niches in the facade of the building, now known as the Tempio Malatestiano . On the outer side walls of the church there were sarcophagi of various scholars and humanists, whose bones Sigismondo had brought to Rimini from various places, including that of the Byzantine philosopher Georgios Gemistos Plethon , who made Platonism known in Italy, and whose grave Sigismondo during his campaign for the Venetians in Morea. In this way, Sigismondo wanted to present himself as a patron of the humanists and be buried in a scholarly pantheon. However, the pagan character of the church met with rejection and was denounced by Pope Pius II.
Piero della Francesca created a portrait of Sigismondo, which is now in the Louvre, and a fresco in the Tempio Malatestiano that, although damaged, can still be admired today: Sigismondo Malatesta kneels in front of his namesake, who bears the features of the Emperor Sigismund . Pisanello also created at least two medals with the likeness of Sigismondo.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Malatesta, Sigismondo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | the wolf of Rimini |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian condottiere, poet and patron of the arts |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 19, 1417 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brescia |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 9, 1468 |
| Place of death | Rimini |