Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (1417-1468) – Lord of Rimini
Sculptor: Andrea Iotti
Painter: Massimo Moro
Consultant: Prof. Giovanni Rimondini
A Lord of the mid-fourteen hundreds...
The figure of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (1417-1468), Lord of Rimini.
Citing a quotation of Mario Venturi: “the understanding of Italian art of the fourteen-hundreds cannot be taken into consideration without any knowledge of Milanese armour of the same period.”
This was the point of departure and arrival of a circular process which has led to the development of the figure which is the subject of this article.
A point of departure in that, through a platonic process, after an original idea proposed by Fabrizio Ciotti (from La Meridiana) to produce Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, it was essential to reconstruct the image that was to be reproduced and to try and become part of the life and mentality of that period.
During this same process we were led by the grand art of the period to the enclaves of a dantesque voyage, into a complex and fantastic world.
Our guide to Virgil’s place was Pisanello, who through the medallions produced in the Rimini period and his accuracy in depicting tournaments, knights and figures of his period, has shown us the face, armour and saddlery of Sigismondo.
In truth, other important displays have helped in our research: Piero della Francesca and Benozzo Gozzoli have shown us the colours and the damask of the short cloak; Paolo Uccello and Verrocchio have shown us the bearing of the Condottiero and the harnesses of the horse.
One cannot forget Giovanni Bellini, Mantegna, the Esperis codex of Basinio da Parma for the colours of the heraldry and the saddlery of the Malatesta, the sketches of GA Battarra who in the 18th century helped in the exploration of Sigismondo’s tomb and finally Boccia, with his “Le armature lombarde nel Santuario delle Grazie a Curtatone di Mantova” (The armoury of Lombardy at the Sanctuary of Graces at Curtatone di Mantova) which completed the work in giving a critical profile and a physical visualisation of the armoury of the period.
The end of this voyage (long and difficult, almost exhausting) instead of leaving us just tired and satisfied, has given us a sense of anticipation and curiosity that all this collection of news, images and data for this venture would not be finalised with just this production.
Andrea Iotti
The concept
(Pisanello): Medallion of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, Victorious General, 1445 (Rimini, City Museum)
Text: Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta on horseback with armour and plumed helmet with the baton of command. Horse with embossed heraldry on saddlery.
Medallion in memory of the Battle of Roccacontrada.
Sigismondo, illegitimate son of Pandolfo III Malatesta and of Antonia of Barignano, was born on 19 June 1417 almost certainly in Brescia, of which the father was Lord. At the age of 10, he lost his father, and came to Rimini with his brothers Galeotto Roberto and Domenico, to the court of his uncle Carlo Malatesta; the latter, having no heirs, welcomed the three nephews under his protection and obtained their legitimacy from the pope. In 1429, on Carlo’s death, the first born, Roberto Galeotto, inherited the title of Lord, who two years later abandoned the worldly life and left all powers to the very young Sigismondo.
In 1433, Malatesta was made knight by the old emperor Sigismondo of Luxemburg, who passed through Rimini on his return from Rome.
In 1434, he married Ginevra, daughter of Noccolo d’Este. Sigismondo, who had shown a precocious military attitude, became one of the most able and valorous captains of the papal armies and was nominated gonfaloniere (prestigious communal post) of the Holy See.
In 1437 the construction of Castel Sigismondo (Sigismondo Castle) began. In 1440, with the death of Ginevra, Francesco Sforza offered his daughter Polissena’s hand in marriage to Sigismondo. In 1444, at the end of a brilliant military campaign, he conquered Senigallia and Mondavio. In1447, due to a delay in the payment of the stipends, he abandoned Alfonso of Aragona, whom he serviced, and instead went into service for Florence. This betrayal earned him several enemies, who excluded him from the benefits of the Peace of Lodi (1454).
In 1448 Polissena had died; Sigismondo, who since 1446 was having an affair with the young Isotta degli Atti, could at last make this become public knowledge (Sigismondo and Isotta got married in 1456).
In 1449, works had started on the radical resurfacing of the interior of the Church of Saint Francis, the future Tempio Malatatestiano (Temple of Malatesta); in 1450 the exterior planning was given to Leon Battista Alberti. The years following 1450 were the most glorious years for the court of Sigismondo, who, being an intelligent and generous patron, surrounded himself with renowned artists and intellectuals: thus Alberti and moreover Piero della Francesca, Agostino di Duccio, Matteo de Pasti, Roberto Valturio, Basino di Parma and many others. In order to understand a soul inclined towards war and the indominitable spirit that distinguished him, we cite a curious episode, which happened in June 1456, when during the festivities in honour of a marquis from Este who was visiting Rimini, a tournament was organised in which 50 men armed with clubs and sticks hypotethically defend a castle, while another 50, armed in the same way, assault it: Malatesta throws himself into the scuffle at the risk of being killed during the skirmishes.
In 1459, Pio II, who had long been hostile to Sigismondo, became Pope: Malatesta had imposed humiliating conditions on him at the Congress of Mantova. His pride hurt, Sigismondo rebelled against the pope, who in 1460 excommunicated him and allied himself with Federico di Montefeltro, the mortal enemy of Malatesta. Ground down with this coalition, Sigismondo was deprived of all his domains and kept only the city of Rimini.
In 1464, he went to Morea to fight against the Turks; he returned to his homeland in 1466, on the death of Pio II, very ill and prostrate. He died on the 7th October 1468 and was buried in the Tempio Malatestiano, which the vicissitudes of the last years had not let him finish.
The heraldry of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta
In the coat-of-arms reproduced on the side, we can see certain distinctive elements of the heraldry of the Malatesta and in particular of Sigismondo. In the first and in the fourth quarter, in fact, the coat-of-arms “with chequered stripes” of the Malatesta is reproduced.
“a shield edged with six fields, three of which checked in gold and in red and the others in silver, surrounded by a border indented in gold and in black”
In the second and third quarter the initials SI are clearly evident. According to historico-graphic tradition the initials themselves seem boustrophedonic, thus can be read from left to right (and in this case this would mean Sigismondo) or from right to left (which would be IS, initial syllable of Isotta degli Atti, third wife of Sigismondo). On the four sides the quadri-petal rose or “the flower of Pandolfo” is reproduced, coat-of-arms originally given to the Scipioni family from whom, following the example of numerous stately families, the Malatesta attributed their descent, commissioning ‘historians’ of poor repute to write the family history with as prestigious origins and genealogy as their lack of foundations.
Fabrizio Ciotti
Painting instructions
· Plumed helmet in metal with band in red/white textile;
· Armour, chain mail, leggings in metal with straps in natural or coloured leather;
· Left shoulder protection: white with red rose;
· Cloak or short cloak – Sigismondo had several short cloaks in different textiles. As an example, let us quote what Elisa Tosi Brandi described in “Abbigliamento e societa’ a Rimini nel XV secolo” (Dress and society in Rimini in the XV century) with regard to the inventory of Sigismondo’s wardrobe: … one was in purple-brown velvet (dark brown colour leaning towards purple or black), one was in serge (soft woollen cloth characterized by a diagonal effect) again in purple-brown colour lined with a textile of a similar colour, one was in black cloth cattelano (red scarlet colour with oblique stripes), and one in purple-brown cloth also cattelano, nevertheless the most elegant must have been that made of black gettanino (bright silky textile similar to satin) lined with a quasi-black textile with fringes in gold and silk, just like those, very much sought after, of eastern origins, the so-called Turkish. Sigismondo had two: one was of purple-brown ciambellotto (textile initially made from camel skin then from goat skin; but also heavy silky textile or coloured woollen textile) with gold-thread buttons and lined with pine marten fur (from the weasel family); the other made of black ciendalo (very light silky textile) …
· Sword: hilt and pommel in bronze, the grip in ivory
· Scabbard: in coloured leather with metal chape
· Saddlery: white background with red rose and green shoots. S red and I green. Diamonds gold or dark leather. As an alternative blue background with gold decorations;
· Saddle: in coloured leather with metallic decorations;
· Horse tack: white with red rose
NB: in some miniatures (cfr Esperis Codex) Sigismondo is featured as riding a white horse.