Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta
Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta | |
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Born | |
Died | October 7, 1468 | (aged 51)
Nationality | Italian |
Known for | Military leadership, Patron of the arts |
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Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (19 June 1417 – 7 October 1468) was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, a member of the House of Malatesta and lord of Rimini and Fano from 1432. He was widely considered by his contemporaries as one of the most daring military leaders in Italy and commanded the Venetian forces in the 1465 campaign against the Ottoman Empire. He was also a poet and patron of the arts.
Biography
Sigismondo Pandolfo was born in Brescia, northern Italy, the elder of the two illegitimate sons of Pandolfo III Malatesta and Antonia da Barignani. His younger brother Domenico, known as Malatesta Novello, was born in Brescia on 5 August 1418. An elder (and also illegitimate) half-brother, Galeotto Roberto Malatesta, 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 and Pope Martin V'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, though having 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
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
In 1449 his second wife Polissena died under mysterious circumstances. Francesco Sforza claimed that Sigismondo 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, in 1441, and Isotta degli Atti, who bore him four children: Giovanni (who died in infancy), Margherita (later wife of Carlo di Fortebraccio), Sallustio and Antonia (later the first wife of Rodolfo Gonzaga, Lord of Castiglione delle Stiviere, who beheaded her in 1483 when she was discovered in adultery).
After 1449 Malatesta served variously under Venice, Florence,
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 Montefeltro. He defeated the first contingent of Papal troops, led by
In an attempt to reverse this situation, Sigismondo appears to have intended to murder Pius' successor, Pope Paul II (who had asked him to exchange Rimini for Spoleto and Camerino), in 1468, but he lost his nerve and returned to Rimini. He died in his residence of Castel Sismondo 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.
Reputation, patron of art
Sigismondo's valour and skill as a general were widely recognized by his contemporaries. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:[3]
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, also known as San Francesco, built in Rimini, by Leon Battista Alberti and decorated by artists including Piero della Francesca and Agostino di Duccio, was essentially a lay monument to Isotta degli Atti, his lover and third wife. It was a landmark Renaissance building, being the first church to use the Roman triumphal arch 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 was largely based on
Legacy
In 1906, Edward Hutton 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. The title of this book may be partly responsible for the notion that Sigismondo was known as "the Wolf of Rimini" by contemporaries or indeed subsequently at any point before the 21st century when this sobriquet has gained some ground. In fact, there is no evidence for its use in his lifetime and it cannot be found in any mainstream historical or biographical text on Sigismondo predating the Internet.[6] Though it appears in chapter four (page 112) of art historian Kenneth Clark's 1969 book "Civilisation," released to accompany the 13-part BBC series of the same name. ("...in the neighbouring state was Sigismondo Malatesta, the wolf of Rimini, who did things that even the most advanced theatrical producer would hesitate to put on the stage." Clark, 1969, p. 112)
Hutton's novel and Charles Emile Yriarte's Un condottiere au XV Siècle (1882) were among the main sources of American poet Ezra Pound's Malatesta Cantos (The Cantos 8–11), first published in 1923. These are an admiring albeit fragmentary account of Malatesta's career as a warrior, lover and patron.
Largely influenced by Pound, as well as by
Early in his writing career,
Henry de Montherlant's play Malatesta (1946) is about the end of Malatesta's life and his intrigues with Paul II.[8]
Notes
- ^ This accusation was probably groundless, as both the Pope and the Estes maintained good relationships with him later.
- ^ Enciclopedia Italiana. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia New Advent
- ^ Erotic Love through the ages [1] Archived 2016-02-16 at the Wayback Machine, Sardi. P. 119
- ^ Rendina, p. 181
- ^ G. Rimondini, 'Il lupo di Rimini', in M. Masini (ed.), Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta signore di Rimini (Rimini: Pandozzo, 2017), pp. 99-100.
- ISBN 978-0-00654-193-6.
- ^ Norrish 1988, pp. 53–54
References
- D'Elia, Anthony, Pagan Virtue in a Christian World: Sigismondo Malatesta and the Italian Renaissance, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2016.
- Norrish, Peter (1988). New Tragedy and Comedy in France, 1945–70. Basingstoke and London: ISBN 978-1-349-06782-4.
- Rendina, Claudio (1994). I capitani di ventura. Rome: Newton Compton.
External links
- Comune di Rimini (translated)
- The Life And Legacy Of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .