Sigismondo Malatesta - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (19 June 1417 – 7 October 1468), popularly known as the Wolf of Rimini, was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, a member of the House of Malatesta

House of Malatesta

The House of Malatesta was an Italian family that ruled over Rimini from 1295 until 1500, as well as other lands and towns in Romagna.Malatesta da Verucchio The House of Malatesta was an Italian family that ruled over Rimini from 1295 until 1500, as well as (in different periods) other lands and...

and lord of Rimini

Rimini

Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...

, Fano

Fano

Fano is a town and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort 12 km southeast of Pesaro, located where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea...

, and Cesena

Cesena

Cesena is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. It is at the foot of the Apennines, and about 15 km from the Adriatic Sea.-History:Cesena was originally an Umbrian...

from 1432. He was widely considered by his contemporaries as one of the most daring military leaders in Italy and commanded the Venetian

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

forces in the 1465 campaign against the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. He was also a poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

and patron of the arts.

Biography

Sigismondo Pandolfo was born in Brescia

Brescia

Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...

, northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, the elder of the two illegitimate sons of Pandolfo III Malatesta

Pandolfo III Malatesta

Pandolfo III Malatesta was an Italian condottiero and lord of Fano, a member of the famous House of Malatesta.-Biography:...

and Antonia da Barignani. His younger brother, Malatesta Novello

Malatesta Novello

Domenico Malatesta, best known as Malatesta Novello was an Italian condottiero, a member of the Malatesta family.-Biography:He was born at Brescia, the son of Pandolfo III Malatesta and Antonia da Barignano...

, was born in Brescia on 5 August 1418. An elder (and also illegitimate) half-brother, Galeotto Roberto Malatesta

Galeotto Roberto Malatesta

Galeotto Roberto Malatesta was an Italian condottiero.He was the son of Pandolfo III Malatesta and succeeded him in the lordship of Rimini in contrast with the local bishop; after the people rose against the latter, he obtained by Pope Martin V that his father's lands were entrusted to him and his...

, born in 1411, was the issue of the relationship of their father Pandolfo III with Allegra de' Mori.

Following the family's tradition, Sigismondo after the death of his father debuted as man-at-arms at the age of 13 against his relative Carlo II Malatesta, lord of Pesaro

Pesaro

Pesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....

and Pope Martin V

Pope Martin V

Pope Martin V , born Odo Colonna, was Pope from 1417 to 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism .-Biography:...

's ally, who aimed to annex Rimini, Cesena and Fano to his territories. After his victory, Sigismondo obtained, together with his brothers Galeotto Roberto and Domenico, the title of Papal vicar for those cities. In 1431, albeit with inferior forces, he repelled another invasion by the Malatestas of Pesaro. When, soon afterwards, his elder brother abdicated, he became lord of Rimini, at the age of 15.

In 1432 he accepted the command of a papal corps, defeating the Spanish condottiero Sante Cirillo and thwarting Antonio I Ordelaffi

Antonio I Ordelaffi

Antonio I Ordelaffi was lord of Forlì from 1433 to 1436 and again from 1438 to 1448. He was a member of the noble family of Ordelaffi....

's attempt to capture Forlì

Forlì

Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...

(1435-36). However, the following year Sigismondo occupied the papal city of Cervia

Cervia

Cervia is a town and comune in the province of Ravenna , central Italy.-History:Originally called Ficocle, it was probably of Greek origin and was located midway from current Cervia and Ravenna...

and was excommunicated; he was soon pardoned and created commander of the papal army. Later he fought in Romagna

Romagna

Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...

and the Marche

Marche

The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...

alongside Francesco Sforza. In the meantime he married his niece Ginevra d'Este, Niccolò III

Niccolò III d'Este

Niccolò III d'Este was Marquess of Ferrara from 1393 until his death. He was also a condottiero.-Biography:...

's legitimate daughter by his second wife Parisina Malatesta

Parisina Malatesta

Parisina Malatesta who was known as Laura Malatesta , daughter of Andrea Malatesta, lord of Cesena, and his second wife Lucrezia Ordelaffi.-Biography:...

, first cousin of Sigismondo. On 12 October 1440 she died, and rumours spread that she had been poisoned by Sigismondo. Two years later he married Polissena Sforza

House of Sforza

Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan.-History:The dynasty was founded by Muzio Attendolo , called Sforza , a condottiero from Romagna serving the Angevin kings of Naples...

, Francesco I's illegitimate daughter; they had two children: a son, Galeotto, born in 1442 and who only lived a few months, and a daughter, Giovanna, born in 1444 and later Duchess of Camerino by marriage. In this period he fought several times against the other condottiero Niccolò Piccinino

Niccolò Piccinino

Niccolò Piccinino was an Italian condottiero.-Biography:He was born at Perugia, was the son of a butcher.He began his military career in the service of Braccio da Montone, who at that time was waging war against Perugia on his own account, and at the death of his chief, shortly followed by that of...

: first, in 1437, as a Venetian commander

Republic of Venice

, he was defeated at Calcinara sull'Oglio. Later, while defending his lands from the papal invasion army led by Piccinino, Federico III da Montefeltro and Malatesta Novello

Malatesta Novello

, he crushed them at Monteluro, managing to obtain some territories of Pesaro, although the latter was successfully defeated by Federico's forces.

In his restlessness he betrayed Sforza twice, but he also betrayed his momentary ally against him, Niccolò Piccinino. Enmity against Sforza turned into true hatred when his father-in-law bought the signory of Pesaro from Carlo Malatesta. Therefore, Sigismondo allied with Pope Eugene IV

Pope Eugene IV

Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from March 3, 1431, to his death.-Biography:He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city...

and the Sforza duke of Milan. Later, he was hired by King Alfonso V of Naples

Alfonso V of Aragon

Alfonso the Magnanimous KG was the King of Aragon , Valencia , Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica , and Sicily and Count of Barcelona from 1416 and King of Naples from 1442 until his death...

, but soon afterwards received money for a condotta to be spent in the service of Florence

Republic of Florence

The Republic of Florence , or the Florentine Republic, was a city-state that was centered on the city of Florence, located in modern Tuscany, Italy. The republic was founded in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon Margravine Matilda's death. The...

against Alfonso. In 1445 he forced the Neapolitans to raise the siege of Piombino

Piombino

Piombino is an Italian town and comune of circa 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno . It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.-Overview:...

in Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

.

In 1449 his second wife Polissena died under mysterious circumstances. Francesco Sforza claimed that Sigismondo had had her drowned by one of his servants, but this has remained unconfirmed. During his two marriages, he had numerous mistresses, but only two were well known: Vannetta dei Toschi, who bore him a son, Roberto

Roberto Malatesta

Roberto Malatesta was an Italian condottiero and lord of Rimini, a member of the House of Malatesta.-Biography:...

, in 1441, and Isotta degli Atti

Isotta degli Atti

Isotta degli Atti was an Italian Renaissance woman, who was the mistress and later wife of the condottiero and lord of Rimini Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta...

, who bore him four children: Giovanni (who died in infancy), Margherita (later wife of Carlo di Fortebraccio), Sallustio and Antonia (also called Anna) -later the first wife of Rodolfo Gonzaga

House of Gonzaga

The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708.-History:In 1433, Gianfrancesco I assumed the title of Marquis of Mantua, and in 1530 Federico II received the title of Duke of Mantua. In 1531, the family acquired the Duchy of Monferrato through marriage...

, Lord of Castiglione delle Stiviere

Castiglione delle Stiviere

Castiglione delle Stiviere is a town and comune in the province of Mantua, in Lombardy, Italy, 30 km northwest of Mantua by road.-History:During the War of the Spanish Succession, the French under the duc de Vendôme occupied it....

, who beheaded her in 1483 when she was discovered in adultery.

After 1449 Malatesta served variously under Venice, Florence, Siena

Republic of Siena

The Republic of Siena , was a state originating from the city of Siena in Tuscany, Central Italy.It existed for over four hundreds years, from the late 11th century until the year 1555, when was defeated by the rival Duchy of Florence in alliance with the Spanish crown...

, Naples and Sforza himself. The Peace of Lodi (1454), from which he was excluded, pushed the major Italian powers against him. His territories were repeatedly invaded by Aragonese, Venetian and Papal troops. In 1456 Sigismondo married Isotta degli Atti, his long-time mistress, and legitimized their three surviving children; the only son, Sallustio, was declared his heir. On 25 December 1460, a famous trial in absentia was held in Rome against Sigismondo. Pope Pius II, who considered him guilty of treachery towards Siena

Siena

Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...

arising from his long-running feud with Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino

Urbino

Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...

, excommunicated him, declaring him a heretic and attributing to Sigismondo a series of sins (incest

Incest

Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...

, sodomy

Sodomy

Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...

against his son Roberto

Roberto Malatesta

Roberto Malatesta was an Italian condottiero and lord of Rimini, a member of the House of Malatesta.-Biography:...

and others) which smeared his reputation for centuries.

Malatesta's image was publicly burnt in Rome, and a de facto crusade was then launched against him, in a league including the pope, the king of Naples, the Duke of Milan and Federico da Montefetro. He defeated the first contingent of Papal troops, led by Napoleone Orsini

Napoleone Orsini

Napoleone Orsini was an Italian condottiero.The son of Orso Orsini of Bracciano, he fought for Pope Eugene IV against Francesco Sforza in 1443. Later, in the 1450s, he flanked Ferdinand of Aragon in the struggle between the Kingdom of Naples and the Duchy of Milan...

, on 2 July 1461 at Castelleone di Suasa

Castelleone di Suasa

Castelleone di Suasa is a town and comune within the Province of Ancona, in the Marche region of Italy.It is well known for the archaeological park of Suasa, an ancient Roman town....

. In 1462 he was able to take Senigallia

Senigallia

Senigallia is a comune and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast, 25 km by rail north of Ancona, in the Marche region, province of Ancona....

, but was forced to flee to Fano after the arrival of Federico da Montefeltro. The latter followed and severely crushed him on 12 August 1462 near Senigallia at the mouth of the Cesena. The war ended in 1463, due to the intervention of Venice, with the loss of all Sigismondo's territories apart from Rimini and a territory of some 8 kilometers around it: both, however, were assigned to return to the Papal States after his death. He then sought greater fortune as a general for Venice in its war

Ottoman–Venetian War (1463–1479)

The First Ottoman–Venetian War was fought between the Republic of Venice and her allies and the Ottoman Empire from 1463 to 1479. Fought shortly after the capture of Constantinople and the remnants of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottomans, it resulted in the loss of several Venetian holdings in...

against the Ottomans, as a field commander in the Peloponnesus (1464-1466). The Venetians granted him a contingent of 150 men to defend Rimini and his other lands during his absence.

In an attempt to reverse this situation, Sigismondo appears to have intended to murder Pius' successor, Pope Paul II

Pope Paul II

Pope Paul II , born Pietro Barbo, was pope from 1464 until his death in 1471.- Early life :He was born in Venice, and was a nephew of Pope Eugene IV , through his mother. His adoption of the spiritual career, after having been trained as a merchant, was prompted by his uncle's election as pope...

(who had asked him to exchange Rimini for Spoleto

Spoleto

Spoleto is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.-History:...

and Camerino

Camerino

Camerino is a small town of 7.135 inhabitants in the Marches , in the province of Macerata, Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about 40 miles from Ancona....

), in 1468, but he lost his nerve and returned to Rimini. He died in his residence of Castel Sismondo

Castel Sismondo

Castel Sismondo is a castle in Rimini, Romagna, northern Italy.Of the original construction, begun by the lord of Rimini Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta on March 20, 1437, only the central nucleus remain...

a few months later.

He was succeeded by his legitimated son and heir Sallustio, under the regency of his mother Isotta; but one year later (1469) his illegitimate son Roberto, also a skilled condottiero, managed briefly to maintain control over Rimini.

Patron of art and reputation

Sigismondo's valour and skill as general were widely recognized by his contemporaries. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia

Catholic Encyclopedia

The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09566a.htm:

From his childhood he was a skilful and daring soldier, and throughout his life was regarded as almost the first captain in Italy

He was not a religious man, and his Tempio Malatestiano

Tempio Malatestiano

The Tempio Malatestiano is the cathedral church of Rimini, Italy. Officially named for St. Francis, it takes the popular name from Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, who commissioned its reconstruction by the famous Renaissance theorist and architect Leon Battista Alberti around 1450.-History:San...

, also known as San Francesco, built in Rimini, by Leon Battista Alberti and decorated by artists including Piero della Francesca

Piero della Francesca

Piero della Francesca was a painter of the Early Renaissance. As testified by Giorgio Vasari in his Lives of the Artists, to contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca is chiefly appreciated for his art. His painting was characterized by its...

and Agostino di Duccio

Agostino di Duccio

Agostino di Duccio was an Italian early Renaissance sculptor.Born in Florence, he worked in Prato with Donatello and Michelozzo, who influenced him greatly. In 1441, he was accused of stealing precious materials from a monastery in Florence and was banished from his native city as a result...

, was essentially a lay monument to Isotta degli Atti

Isotta degli Atti

Isotta degli Atti was an Italian Renaissance woman, who was the mistress and later wife of the condottiero and lord of Rimini Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta...

, his lover and third wife. It was a landmark Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

building, being the first church to use the Roman triumphal arch

Triumphal arch

A triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...

as part of its structure. Sigismondo also built a notable series of fortifications in his Romagna possessions, including the Rocche ("Castles") of Rimini and Fano.

Malatesta's reputation (albeit minor) was largely based on Pius II's perception of him, although numerous contemporary chronicles described him as a tyrant and a womanizer: he delved in "rape, adultery, and incest". Italian Renaissance historian Francesco Guicciardini

Francesco Guicciardini

Francesco Guicciardini was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance...

defined him "enemy of every peace and well-living". His deeds and political manoeuvers were characterized by all the typical play of violence, intrigues and subtleties typical of Renaissance Italy; however, Sigismondo was well aware of his sins, and tried to justify them in a series of love sonnets dedicated to Isotta.

In 1906, Edward Hutton

Edward Hutton (writer)

Edward Hutton was a British author of travel books and various Italian subjects.-Life and Work:Edward Hutton was born on April 12, 1875 in Hampstead, London, his father being a businessman with interests in Sheffield...

published the historical novel Sigismondo Malatesta, mostly sympathetic to its hero. It was slightly revised and reprinted under the title The Mastiff of Rimini in 1926.

Hutton's novel and Charles Emile Yriarte's Un condottiere au XV Siècle (1882) were among the main sources of American poet Ezra Pound

Ezra Pound

Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...

's Malatesta Cantos (Cantos 8-11), first published in 1923. These are an admiring howbeit fragmentary account of Malatesta's career as warrior, lover and patron.

Largely influenced by Pound, as well as by C. G. Jung, the critic Adrian Stokes

Adrian Stokes (critic)

Adrian Stokes was a British writer and painter, known principally as an influential art critic. He was also a published poet.- Background :...

devoted a study, The Stones of Rimini (1934), to the art created at Sigismondo's court.

External links

Commune di Rimini (translated)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Biography

Patron of art and reputation

See also

External links