Tempio Malatestiano
Palace
Tempio Malatestiano
Monumental tomb in Rimini
Tempio Malatestiano was constructed as a Gothic church in the 13th century originally devoted to Saint Francis. The single-nave church might have originally harboured frescos of Giotto in the three apses.
Without further ado, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, the most famous and most militant descendant of the Malatesta family in Rimini, had the church reconstructed into a monumental mausoleum for himself and his mistress, his third wife-to-be Isotta degli Atti, in 1447. The at-the-time star architect Leon Battista Alberti was the master builder. The snow-white front resembles a Roman triumphal arch – the upper part of the front remained unfinished. The large dome, too, which was supposed to cap the Pantheon in Rome, was never built. The grand interior was decorated by Renaissance artists Agostino di Duccio and Piero della Francesca.
Among the highlights on the inside are, aside from the sarcophagi of Sigismondo and Isotta, a crucifixion scene by Giotto and a fresco by Pierro della Francesca depicting Sigismondo kneeling before his titular Saint.
Tweet