House of Malatesta
Encyclopedia
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...
from 1295 until 1500, as well as (in different periods) other lands and towns 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...
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Malatesta da Verucchio
Malatesta da Verucchio
Malatesta da Verucchio was the founder of the powerful Italian Malatesta family and a famous condottiero. He was born in Verucchio....
(d. 1312), a Guelph leader, became podestà
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
(chief magistrate) of Rimini in 1239 and made himself sole master of the city after the expulsion of the family's Ghibelline rivals, the Parcitadi, in 1295.
His hunchback son Giovanni Malatesta
Giovanni Malatesta
Giovanni Malatesta , known, from his lameness, as Gianciotto, or Giovanni, lo Sciancato, was the eldest son of Malatesta da Verucchio of Rimini.From 1275 onwards he played an active part in the Romagnole Wars and factions...
is chiefly famous because of the 1285 tragedy, recorded in Dante
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
's Inferno, when he killed his wife Francesca da Polenta
Francesca da Rimini
Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, lord of Ravenna. She was a historical contemporary of Dante Alighieri, who portrayed her as a character in the Divine Comedy.-Arranged marriage:...
and his younger brother Paolo, having discovered them in adultery.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Malatesta ruled over a number of cities in the Romagna 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...
, including 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....
, 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...
, Fossombrone
Fossombrone
Fossombrone is a town and comune in the province of Pesaro e Urbino .-History:The ancient Roman colony of Forum Sempronii took its name from Gaius Sempronius Gracchus....
and 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...
.
Several Malatesta were condottieri at the service of various Italian states. The most famous was Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, who was engaged in conflict with the papacy over territorial claims. His grandson Pandolfo was eventually expelled from Rimini in 1500 by Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...
and the city was finally incorporated in the Papal States in 1528, after the last failed attempt of Pandolfo's son, Sigismondo
Sigismondo Malatesta
Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta , popularly known as the Wolf of Rimini, was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, a member of the House of Malatesta and lord of Rimini, Fano, and Cesena from 1432...
.
Malatesta Family
- (1) Malatesta dalla Penna (d.1248)
- (2) Malatesta da VerucchioMalatesta da VerucchioMalatesta da Verucchio was the founder of the powerful Italian Malatesta family and a famous condottiero. He was born in Verucchio....
(d.1312) (son of 1.) - Lord of RiminiRiminiRimini 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...
, 1295
1st generation:
- (3) Malatestino 'dell Occhio'Malatestino MalatestaMalatestino Malatesta was the lord of Rimini from 1312 until his death....
(d.1316) (son of 2) - Lord of RiminiRiminiRimini 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...
, 1312 - (4) Paolo 'il Bello'Paolo MalatestaPaolo Malatesta was the third son of Malatesta da Verucchio, lord of Rimini. He is best known for the story of his affair with Francesca da Polenta, portrayed by Dante in a famous episode of his Inferno...
(d.1285) (son of 2) - murdered by 5 - (5) Giovanni 'Gianciotto'Giovanni MalatestaGiovanni Malatesta , known, from his lameness, as Gianciotto, or Giovanni, lo Sciancato, was the eldest son of Malatesta da Verucchio of Rimini.From 1275 onwards he played an active part in the Romagnole Wars and factions...
(d.1304) (son of 2) - (6) Pandolfo IPandolfo I MalatestaPandolfo I Malatesta , son of Malatesta da Verucchio, was an Italian condottiero and Lord of Rimini from 1317.In 1304, at the death of Pope Boniface VIII, he captured Pesaro, Fano, Senigallia and Fossombrone, which he lost and recovered in the following years.In 1317 he became lord of Rimini and...
(d.1326) (son of 2) - Lord of RiminiRiminiRimini 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...
, 1317
2nd generation:
di Malatestino:
- (7) FerrantinoFerrantino MalatestaFerrantino Malatesta was a lord of Rimini and several other lands in northern Italy, a member of the Malatesta family....
(d.1353) (son of 3) - Lord of RiminiRiminiRimini 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...
, 1326, deposed & imprisoned by 11, 1334
di Paolo:
- (8) Uberto, Count of Giaggolo (d.1323) (son of 4) - murdered by 9
di Giancotto
- (9) RambertoRamberto MalatestaRamberto Malatesta was a son of the ill-fated Paolo 'il Bello' Malatesta and brother of the Archpriest Guido Malatesta.Around 1323, Ramberto was approached by his cousin Uberto, Count of Giaggolo and invited into a conspiracy to overthrow their uncle Pandolfo I Malatesta, Lord of Rimini and head...
(d.1330) (son of 5) - murdered by 14 - (10) Guido the Archpriest (d.1334?) (son of 5)
di Pandolfo:
- (11) Malatesta II 'Guastafamiglia'Malatesta II MalatestaMalatesta II Malatesta, best known as Guastafamiglia was an Italian condottiero and lord of Rimini.-Biography:...
(d.1364) (son of 6) - Lord of PesaroPesaroPesaro 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....
, 1326; and RiminiRiminiRimini 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...
, 1334 - (12) Galeotto IGaleotto I MalatestaGaleotto I Malatesta was an Italian condottiero, who was lord of Rimini, Fano, Ascoli Piceno, Cesena and Fossombrone.-Biography:Born in Rimini, he the son of Pandolfo I Malatesta and the brother of Malatesta II Malatesta. In 1333 he was captured while besieging Ferrara, but was soon freed and...
(d.1385) (son of 6) - Lord of Rimini,&c.
3rd generation:
di Ferrantino:
- (13) Pandolfino (d.?) (son of 7)
- (14) Malatestino Novello (d.1335) (son of 7) - imprisoned & prob. murdered by 11.
di Malatesta:
- (15) Malatesta 'Ungaro'Malatesta UngaroUngaro Malatesta , born Galeotto Malatesta, was an Italian condottiero and lord of Jesi.He was the son of Malatesta Guastafamiglia, lord of Pesaro and Rimini...
(d. 1364) (son of 11) - Lord of JesiJesithumb|250px|Teatro Pergolesi.Iesi is a town and comune of the province of Ancona in the Marche, Italy.It is an important industrial and artistic center in the floodplain on the left bank of the Esino river before its mouth on the Adriatic Sea.-History:Iesi was one of the last towns of the Umbri... - (16) Pandolfo IIPandolfo II MalatestaPandolfo II Malatesta was an Italian condottiero.The son of Malatesta II Malatesta, he fought under Werner von Urslingen and Gil de Albornoz. Later served Galeazzo II Visconti of Milan, but raised the jealousy of Bernabò Visconti and fled to the Marche. Later held a condotta for Florence against...
(d.1373) (son of 11) - Lord of PesaroPesaroPesaro 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....
di Galeotto:
- (17) Carlo of RiminiCarlo I MalatestaCarlo I Malatesta was an Italian condottiero during the Wars in Lombardy and lord of Rimini, Fano, Cesena and Pesaro...
(son of 12) - Lord of RiminiRiminiRimini 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... - (18) Pandolfo III of FanoPandolfo III MalatestaPandolfo III Malatesta was an Italian condottiero and lord of Fano, a member of the famous House of Malatesta.-Biography:...
(d.1427) (son of 12) - Lord of FanoFanoFano 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... - (19) Andrea of CesenaAndrea MalatestaAndrea 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...
(son of 12) (d.1416) - Lord of CesenaCesenaCesena 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... - (20) Galeotto II of Cervia (son of 12) (d.) - Lord of CerviaCerviaCervia 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...
4th generation
di Pandolfino:
- (21) Ferrantino Novello (d.1352) (son of 13)
- (22) Guido (d.1334) (son of 13) - imprisoned & prob. murdered by 11
Sources
- J. Larner (1965) The Lords of Romagna: Romagnol society and the origins of the Signorie, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, p.243
- P. H. Wicksteed and E.G. Gardner, (1902) Dante and Giovanni del Virgilio, Westminster: Archibald Constable, p.249, 336