{"id":14662,"date":"2022-06-27T10:18:13","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T08:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitrimini.com\/?post_type=punto-interesse&p=14662"},"modified":"2023-08-10T13:06:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T11:06:00","slug":"the-malatesta-temple","status":"publish","type":"punto-interesse","link":"https:\/\/www.visitrimini.com\/en\/point-of-interest\/the-malatesta-temple\/","title":{"rendered":"Malatesta Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"
Malatesta Temple <\/strong>(Tempio Malatesta or Duomo<\/strong>) is an authentic jewel of the Italian Renaissance<\/strong>. It was commissioned by Sigismondo Malatesta around the middle of the 15th century to perpetuate his family’s and his own glory. It was Leon Battista Alberti<\/strong>‘s first architectural work. It was begun in 1447 and, even though it was never finished, it remains a great manifesto of Renaissance architecture.<\/p>\n Alberti transformed the pre-existing church of San Francesco into a work of shocking novelty<\/strong>. The reference to the classical style is evident in Alberti’s intervention: the great arch of the fa\u00e7ade, inspired by the Arch of Augustus and bearing, on the frieze, the Latin inscription ‘Sigimundus Pandulfus Malatesta Pan F,V. Fecit Anno Gratiae MCCCCL”; the arches on the sides recalling the Tiberius Bridge; the 7 sarcophagi honouring the memories of illustrious poets, philosophers, scientists and distinguished citizens of Rimini, which are placed in each of them; the strongly plastic solution of the volumes constitute the typological characteristics of the new spatial concept of Humanism.<\/p>\n The entire building stands on a podium crowned by a band on which many Malatesta heraldic elements<\/strong> can be seen: from the actual family coat of arms (with the chequered band) to that with Sigismondo’s personal coat of arms (S and I), alternating with shields with the four-petal rose and the elephant.<\/p>\n Inside of Malatesta Temple, particularly noteworthy are the Chapel of the Angels<\/strong> (or of Isotta), which contains the sepulchral ark of Sigismondo’s wife, Isotta, and Giotto’s Crucifix<\/strong>, painted on a panel in 1300; Piero della Francesca’s fresco<\/strong>, painted in 1451 and depicting Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta genuflecting before St Sigismondo; the tomb of Sigismondo himself, located to the right of the entrance; the Arch of the Ancestors, where Sigismondo wanted to place the bones of his ancestors and descendants; a large canvas by Vasari<\/strong> depicting St Francis receiving the stigmata.<\/p>\n Malatesta Temple is now the Cathedral of Rimini<\/strong>. It is dedicated to St Columba, like the old city cathedral, demolished in the early 19th century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":22928,"template":"","poi_category":[90],"yoast_head":"\n