Malatesta Temple

Published on: 29 January 2015

Via IV Novembre.
The Temple, masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, tells about an intense love story: that between Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta and his very young lover who soon also became his third and last wife Isotta degli Atti. Sigismondo had it built (first restoring, thenn demolishing the previous Franziscan church) with the idea of creating a mausoleum for Isotta and himself. Candid, hieratic in its marble façade, following the project of the famous architect Leon Battista Alberti, the Temple contains a series of chapels and treasures: a Crucefix by Giotto, a fresco by Piero della Francesca, the precious bas-reliefs of the angels on a blue background.

For the first time, following the Renaissance’s philosophy, the Temple doesn’t only celebrate God, but above all a man, in particular Sigismondo. A man who, however, fell in disgrace. His dream and project was never realized completely, but what came out is with no doubt a beautiful unfinished work of art.

Malatesta Tempel