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 towns in Romagna and holding high positions in the government of cities in present-day

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

and

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

. The dynasty is considered among the most important and influential of the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

. In the period of maximum influence, they extended their domains along the

coast, up to

Ascoli Piceno Ascoli Piceno (; ; ) is a (municipality) and capital of the province of Ascoli Piceno, in the Italy, Italian region of Marche. Geography The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto, River Tronto and the small Castellano (river), River Castell ...

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and port town on Italy's Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona, in the Italian region of Marche, and lies approximately 30 kilometres nor ...

, Sansepolcro and Citerna, and to the north, on the territories of

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

and

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

History

The family's progenitor is said to be Rodolfo of Carpegna whose fighting spirit yielded him the sobriquet ''mala testa'' ("bad head"). From 1004 onward, he built a castle on the rock of Pennabilli. In the 11th century, the family had possessions in the region of Gabicce Mare, Gatteo, and Poggio Berni. Giovanni Malatesta (d. 1150) owned some land between rivers Marecchia and Rubicon, and was the first to settle down in Rimini. His son married into the Traversari family, who were lords of

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

and Rimini during the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1186, the Malatesta became lords of Torriana. Giovanni's grandsons Giovanni and Malatesta I Malatesta (1183–1248) founded the branches of the Counts of Sogliano al Rubicone (extinguished in 1640) and "della Penna" of Pennabilli and Verucchio (until 1462). In 1216, they became citizens of Rimini. File:Mura Malatestiane o Castello di Penna.jpg, Pennabilli File:Rocca di Torriana (maggio 2011).jpg, Torriana File:Panorama Verucchio.jpg, Verucchio Malatesta I became '' podestà'' (chief magistrate) of Pistoia in 1228 and of Rimini in 1239 and 1247. During the struggles between papal and imperial followers ( Guelphs and Ghibellines), he supported emperor Frederick II. His son however, Malatesta da Verucchio (d. 1312), switched sides after the emperor's defeat near Parma in 1248, and became leader of the

Guelphs The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were Political faction, factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th ...

while Guido I of Montefeltro took the lead of the Ghibellines in the

and Romagna regions. Malatesta da Verucchio made himself sole master of the city (" signore") after the expulsion of the family's Ghibelline rivals, the Parcitadi, in 1295. His hunchback son Giovanni Malatesta is chiefly famous because he murdered his wife Francesca da Polenta and his younger brother Paolo in 1285, having discovered them in adultery, and the murder is recorded in

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's Inferno as well as in a story by Giovanni Boccaccio. Malatestino I, Giovanni's brother, became ''capitano'' of the Guelphs of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1296 and of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in 1303. In 1312, he destroyed his Ghibelline cousins' castle at Sogliano, and in 1312, he followed his father as lord of Rimini. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Malatestas ruled over a number of cities in the Romagna and the Marche, including

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

Fano Fano () is a city and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by pop ...

, Cesena, Fossombrone, and Cervia. Several Malatestas were condottieri at the service of various Italian states. Malatesta Novello built the Malatestiana Library at Cesena from 1447 to 1452. The most famous was Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, who was engaged in conflict with the papacy over territorial claims, as well as with his rival Federico da Montefeltro. In the end, he lost almost all of his territories, except for Rimini which he held with the support of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. He had, however, built the cathedral of Rimini, the Tempio Malatestiano, from 1450. His grandson Pandolfo was eventually expelled from Rimini in 1500 by Cesare Borgia and the city was finally incorporated in the Papal States in 1528, after the last failed attempt of Pandolfo's son, Sigismondo. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the family still provided a number of condottieri; the Sogliano branch extinguished in 1640; the last of the Rimini branch was the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Roberto Malatesta (d. 1708), and the Ghiaggiolo branch extinguished with Lamberto in 1757. File:Wikilovesmonuments2016 - palazzo dell'arengo.jpg, ''Palazzo dell'Arengo'', Rimini File:Tempio malatestiano, esterno 03.JPG, Tempio Malatestiano, Rimini File:La rocca malatestiana di Cesena.jpg, Malatesta Castle at Cesena File:17 settembre 2016-IMG 0338-2.jpg, Malatestiana Library at Cesena

Malatesta Family Members

*(1) Malatesta dalla Penna (d.1248) *(2) Malatesta da Verucchio (d.1312) (son of 1.) - Lord of Rimini, 1295 1st generation: *(3) Malatestino 'dell'Occhio' (d.1316) (son of 2) - Lord of Rimini, 1312 *(4) Paolo 'il Bello' (d.1285) (son of 2) - murdered by 5 *(5) Giovanni 'Gianciotto' (d.1304) (son of 2) *(6) Pandolfo I (d.1326) (son of 2) - Lord of Rimini, 1317 2nd generation:
''di Malatestino'': *(7) Ferrantino (d.1353) (son of 3) - Lord of Rimini, 1326, deposed & imprisoned by 11, 1334 ''di Paolo'': *(9) Ramberto (d.1330) (son of 4) - murdered by 14 *(10) Guido the Archpriest (d.1334?) (son of 4) ''di Gianciotto'' *(8) Uberto, Count of Giaggolo (d.1323) (son of 5) - murdered by 9 ''di Pandolfo'': *(11) Malatesta II 'Guastafamiglia' (d.1364) (son of 6) - Lord of

, 1326; and Rimini, 1334 *(12) Galeotto I (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' (d. 1364) (son of 11) - Lord of Jesi *(16) Pandolfo II (d.1373) (son of 11) - Lord of

''di Galeotto'': *(17) Carlo of Rimini (son of 12) - Lord of Rimini *(18) Pandolfo III of Fano (d.1427) (son of 12) - Lord of

*(19) Andrea of Cesena (son of 12) (d.1416) - Lord of Cesena *(20) Galeotto II of Cervia (son of 12) (d.) - Lord of Cervia 4th generation ''di Pandolfino'': *(21) Ferrantino Novello (d.1352) (son of 13) *(22) Guido (d.1334) (son of 13) - imprisoned & probably murdered by 11

Family tree of Malatesta

References

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

External links