Carlo I Malatesta was an Italian

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...

 condottiero during the Wars in Lombardy

Wars in Lombardy

The wars in Lombardy were a series of conflicts fought in central-northern Italy between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan, and their different allies. They lasted from 1425 until the signing of the Treaty of Lodi in 1454...

 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...

, 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...

 and 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....

. He was a member of the powerful 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...

.

Carlo was the brother of Pandolfo III

Pandolfo III Malatesta

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

 and Andrea Malatesta

Andrea Malatesta

Andrea Malatesta was an Italian condottiero, a member of the Malatesta family of Romagna. He is also known as Malatesta da Cesena, a city he had inherited in 1385 from his father, Galeotto, together with Cervia and Bertinoro...

, with whom he fought in numerous occasions.

In 1385 he was named vicar for 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...

 by the Pope Urban VI

Pope Urban VI

Pope Urban VI , born Bartolomeo Prignano, was Pope from 1378 to 1389.-Biography:Born in Itri, he was a devout monk and learned casuist, trained at Avignon. On March 21, 1364, he was consecrated Archbishop of Acerenza in the Kingdom of Naples...

 and, two years later, Gonfalonier

Gonfalonier of the Church

The Gonfalonier of the Church or Papal Gonfalonier was a military and political office of the Papal States. Originating from the use of the Papal banner during combat, the office later became largely ceremonial and political...

.

In 1390 he defeated a Bolognese corps led by Alberico da Barbiano

Alberico da Barbiano

Alberico da Barbiano was the first of the Italian condottieri. His master in military matters was the English mercenary John Hawkwood, known in Italy as Giovanni Acuto...

. In his early years he fought mainly against the Montefeltro

Montefeltro

thumb|Coat of Arms of the Montefeltro family.Montefeltro is the name of an historical Italian family who ruled Urbino and Rimini.The family's reign began in 1267 when Buonconte I da Montefeltro was elected podestà of Urbino...

 family, but later allied with them through a double marriage arrangement.

In 1397 he was named commander of the Anti-Visconti

House of Visconti

Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...

 League, formed with 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...

 and Venice

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...

, as well as his traditional ally, the Papal States. In 1401, when his brother Pandolfo left for the Holy Land

Holy Land

The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...

, Carlo passed under Gian Galeazzo Visconti

Gian Galeazzo Visconti

Gian Galeazzo Visconti , son of Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca of Savoy, was the first Duke of Milan and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance...

 of Milan, defeating the Florentine army at the siege of 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...

, personally capturing in a duel Leopold of Austria

Leopold IV, Duke of Austria

Leopold IV of Austria, Duke of Further Austria was an Austrian Habsburg Duke of the Leopoldinian Line.He was the second son of Leopold III. His eldest brother Duke William of Inner Austria took him as his effective co-ruler, putting him in particular charge of Further Austria, which also meant...

. Later he was against the Visconti, leading a Papal army against Bologna.

In 1406 he was named governor of Milan, but his loyalty last for only one year. From 1409 Carlo fought constantly for the Papal States

Papal States

The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...

, not only as Captain General of the Church

Captain General of the Church

The Captain General of the Church was the de facto commander-in-chief of the papal armed forces during the Middle Ages. The post was usually conferred on an Italian noble with a professional military reputation or a relative of the pope...

 but also as diplomat. In the chaotic situation created by the presence of three popes at the same time, he backed Gregory XII, whom he also housed in his lordship in Rimini, until his abdication at the Council of Constance

Council of Constance

The Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...

. The resignation letter was read by Carlo himself.

In 1412 the became capitano generale (commander-in-chief) of the Venetian army, fighting against the Hungarian invasion of King Sigismund. However, he was wounded in action, and had to cease his position to Pandolfo.

On July 12, 1416, Malatesta was defeated by Braccio da Montone

Braccio da Montone

frame|Braccio da Montone.Braccio da Montone , born Andrea Fortebracci, and also known as Braccio Fortebraccio, was an Italian condottiero.-Biography:...

 at the Battle of Sant'Egidio

Battle of Sant'Egidio

thumb|320px|The Battle of Sant'Egidio, panel by [[Paolo Uccello]], [[Galleria degli Uffizi]].The Battle of Sant'Egidio was fought on 12 July 1416 at Sant'Egidio, near Umbertide between the condottiero Braccio da Montone and the troops of Perugia, under Carlo I Malatesta...

, wounded and taken prisoner. Pandolfo paid 80,000 ducati as ransom. Later, his territories were invaded by the Visconti army. Carlo lost 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...

 and Gradara

Gradara

Gradara is a town and comune in the province of Pesaro and Urbino, in the region of Marche in central Italy. It is located 25 km from Rimini and 13 km from Pesaro....

, and was subsequently defeated at Zagonara

Battle of Zagonara

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. Again taken prisoner, he was housed as a guest by the Duke of Milan Filippo Maria

Filippo Maria Visconti

Filippo Maria Visconti was ruler of Milan from 1412 to 1447.-Biography:Filippo Maria Visconti, who had become nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan in 1412. They were the sons of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Gian Maria's predecessor, by...

, and later freed without harm.

Carlo's wife was Elisabetta Gonzaga; they were married in November of 1386. The Carlo Malatesta who married
Vittoria Colonna, niece of Pope Martin V, was the son of Malatesta dei Sonetti who was lord of Pesaro. Guillaume Du Fay's Ballade "Resvellies Vous" (Awake and be merry) was written for the marriage of this younger Carlo in 1423. Carlo Malatesta of Rimini provided the newlyweds with a "most sumptuous nozze" in Rimini.

He died in 1429, having obtained by 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:...

 the legitimation of his sons, who inherited the seigniories of Rimini and Fano, while the sons of Malatesta dei Sonetti received Pesaro and his nephew Domenico

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...

received Cesena.