Malatesta Family

Malatesta Family

▪ Italian family
      Italian family that ruled Rimini, south of Ravenna, in the European Middle Ages and led the region's Guelf (Guelf and Ghibelline) (papal) party. Originating as feudal lords of the Apennine hinterland, the family became powerful in Rimini in the 13th century, when Malatesta da Verucchio (d. 1312) expelled Ghibelline (imperial party) leaders in 1295 and became lord of the city. Possibly the best-known episode in Malatesta history centres on his son Gianciotto (d. 1304), who killed his wife, Francesca da Polenta, and his brother Paolo for adultery, an event recorded by Dante. By the time of the arrival of the papal legate Cardinal Albornoz in the area in 1353, the Malatesta had extended their power as far as Ascoli, 100 miles (160 km) south. Albornoz forced them to surrender many of their conquests but allowed them to remain as papal vicars in Rimini and other nearby cities (1355).

      The Malatesta were active in the 14th- and 15th-century wars of the Visconti Family of Milan. Carlo Malatesta (d. 1429) governed the Milanese state for a time after the death of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, while his brother Pandolfo (d. 1427) seized Brescia (1404) and Bergamo (1408) but had to relinquish them in 1421. Carlo was associated with Pope Gregory XII at the end of the Great Schism (Western Schism), and he presented Gregory's formal renunciation of the papacy at the Council of Constance in 1416. Carlo's nephew, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (Malatesta, Sigismondo Pandolfo) (1417–68), often regarded as the prototype of the Italian Renaissance prince, was a soldier who earned a reputation as a patron of writers and artists. Malatesta power was diminished by the end of the Great Schism (1417) and the growing power of the papacy. In 1461 Pope Pius II launched a crusade against Sigismondo and deprived the Malatesta of most of their dominions. After Sigismondo's death, his son Roberto il Magnifico (d. 1482) seized Rimini (1469) from his half brother Sallustio, though at the price of increased dependence on Venice. Meanwhile, the Malatesta family lost all popular support in Rimini. Forced to flee in 1500, when Cesare Borgia marched on the city, they were unsuccessful in three subsequent attempts to return, in 1503, 1522, and 1527–28.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Malatesta da Verucchio — Malatesta (I) da Verucchio (1212–1312) was the founder of the powerful Italian Malatesta family and a famous condottiero. He was born in Verucchio. He was originally the leader of the Guelphs in Romagna and became podestà (chief magistrate) of… …   Wikipedia

  • Malatesta Novello — Domenico Malatesta, best known as Malatesta Novello (5 August 1418 – 20 November 1465) 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. In… …   Wikipedia

  • Malatesta II Malatesta — Malatesta II (or III) Malatesta, best known as Guastafamiglia (Italian: the Ruiner of the Family , c. 1299 – August 18, 1364) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Rimini. Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 Sources 4 …   Wikipedia

  • Malatesta — may refer to: The House of Malatesta, an Italian family which ruled over Rimini from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century Errico Malatesta (1853 – 1932), an Italian anarchist Malatesta (film), a 1970 German film This disambiguation page lists… …   Wikipedia

  • Malatesta Baglioni — is the name of two Italian condottieri, both member of the noble Baglioni family of Umbria.*Malatesta Baglioni the Elder, also known as Malatesta da Cesena (c. 1390 January 1437), ruler of Cannara, Spello and Bastia Umbra. He was the father of… …   Wikipedia

  • Malatesta, House of — • The name of an Italian family prominent in the history of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, famous alike in the poetry of Dante and in the annals of the early Renaissance Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • House of Malatesta — Family Coat of Arms Family Coat of Arms …   Wikipedia

  • Malatesta, Sigismondo Pandolfo — ▪ ruler of Rimini born 1417 died Oct. 9, 1468, Rimini [Italy]       feudal ruler and condottiere who is often regarded as the prototype of the Italian Renaissance prince.       Sigismondo was one of three illegitimate sons of Pandolfo Malatesta,… …   Universalium

  • Malatesta — /malaˈtɛsta/ (say mahlah testah) noun an Italian family which ruled Rimini and other cities in the Romagna from the late 13th century until 1500 …  

  • Polenta Family — ▪ Italian family       Italian noble family, named for its castle of Polenta (located in the Romagna, southwest of Cesena), which dominated the city state of Ravenna from the end of the 13th century to the middle of the 15th. The family s… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”