The Malatesta Temple

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turismo@provincia.rimini.it www.riviera.rimini.it

The Cathedral of Rimini

I - 47900 Rimini, piazza Malatesta 28 tel. +39 0541 716371 - fax +39 0541 783808

Provincia di Rimini Assessorato alla Cultura Assessorato al Turismo

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edizione inglese

Riviera di Rimini Travel Notes

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A Chapel of the Martyrs, or of Our Lady of the Waters

The Church in the eleventh century “Our Lady at the Crossroads”, Benedictine (order of Pomposa) church

B Chapel of the Fallen

The Church in the thirteenth century Built by the Franciscans and dedicated to St Francis

D Chapel of St Joseph, or of the Muses and the Liberal Arts

The Church in the fifteenth century Malatesta alteration and enlargement The Church in the sixteenth century Alterations to the apse The Church in the eighteenth century Further and final alterations to the apse

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C Chapel of St Gaudentius, or Children’s Games Chapel

E Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament F Chapel of the Planets G Chapel of St Michael Archangel, or of Isotta H Cell of the Relics I Chapel of St Sigismund

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Provincia di Rimini Assessorato alla Cultura Assessorato al Turismo Agenzia marketing turistico Riviera di Rimini Diocesi di Rimini

Pier Giorgio Pasini The Malatesta Temple The Cathedral of Rimini

in collaboration with

Coordination: Valerio Lessi Graphic Design: RelĂ¨ - CODEsign Photography: L. Liuzzi, T. Mosconi, Paritani Translation: Gillian Forlivesi Heywood, Link-Up, Rimini Revision by: Marino Campana, Caterina Polcari Page Layout and structure: Litoincisa87, Rimini Licia Romani First Edition 2005 Reprinted 2008

Index

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The Cathedral of Rimini

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Combining tradition with modernity

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From Franciscan church to Malatesta Temple

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The Chapel of St Sigismund

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The Cell of the Relics

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The Chapel of St Michael Archangel, or Chapel of Isotta

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The Chapels of the Planets and the Liberal Arts

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The Chapel of St Gaudentius, or Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Games Chapel

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The Chapel of the Martyrs, or Chapel of Our Lady of the Waters

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Classic Style for a Christian Church

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Restoration Work, 1950 and 2000

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Before starting your journey, visit: www.riviera.rimini.it

The Cathedral of Rimini

Rimini via IV Novembre, 35 tel. +39 0541 51130 (sacristy) +39 0541 439098 (diocesan office) www.diocesi.rimini.it diocesi@diocesi.rimini.it • Weekday opening: 8:30-12:30/15:30-19:00; Sunday and public holiday opening: 9:00-13:00/15:30-19:00 • Mass: Sundays 11:00/17:30 Weekdays 10:30/17:30

Facing page: the facade, never completed, was inspired by classical models in both overall design and details, and subtends elegant perspective effects. The ornate severity of the exterior has a hint of triumphalism in the richness of the carvings and in the controlled sobriety of its decorations. 4

The present Cathedral of Rimini is usually known as “the Malatesta Temple”, a name which came into use in the eighteenth century. “Temple” here stands for “church”, and is based on the Latin term “templum”, a term in constant use in Humanistic Latin; while the name “Malatesta” is a reminder, and in some ways a celebration, of the aristocratic family to which Sigismondo Pandolfo belonged. About the middle of the fifteenth century, the Malatesta family made extensive alterations to the existing church, giving it the majestic Renaissance forms which can still be seen today, and which make it one of the greatest works of art of the time, almost a symbol of the Humanistic period. But the history of the Malatesta Temple is not only the history of Humanism and of the fifteenth century, nor is it linked solely to the Malatesta family: on the contrary, it is a long and difficult history, tormented by alterations and destruction. The Temple has been a Cathedral dedicated to St Columba for only two centuries; previously it was for over five hundred years a Franciscan convent church, dedicated to St Francis of Assisi, and still earlier it was a Benedictine (order of Pomposa) church dedicated to the Madonna, Our Lady at the Crossroads. The former Cathedral of Rimini stood in what is now Piazza Malatesta, close to the Palazzi Comunali and to Castel Sismondo. A basilica in the Ravenna Byzantine style, its foundation dated from the sixth century. Suppressed by Napoleon in 1797, it was first used as a barracks and subsequently demolished in the early nineteenth century.

Combining tradition with modernity

The page on the left shows one side of the Temple, with spacious arches in the classical style in which are placed the tombs prepared by Sigismondo to receive the mortal spoils of the court Humanists. Even after their deaths, the poets, writers, philosophers, sages, and captains who graced his court were to stay close by their lord and continue to lend lustre to his name. Below: low relief with the insignia of Sigismondo (SI). 7

All the external stonework, carried out between 1450 and 1460, is by Leon Battista Alberti. It was intended to confer “modern” stateliness and solidity to a simple Franciscan church already the burial place of the Malatesta family. The work was inspired by Imperial Roman architecture, of which Rimini could boast two much admired monuments, the Augustus Arch and the Tiberius bridge; and it constitutes the first example of a “classical” interpretation of a Christian church. The Latin inscription on the façade and the two Greek inscriptions along the sides tell us that Sigismondo built the church in the Holy Year 1450 in fulfilment of a vow, and that it is dedicated to God and to the city. Sigismondo’s original ideas were modest: merely the building of two aristocratic chapels on the right-hand side of the existing church, and the work - absolutely traditional in style - was begun in 1447. Prince Sigismondo then became influenced by a number of considerations: religion (his vow); propaganda (a great dynastic “mausoleum”); and perhaps also statics (the addition of the two chapels might have undermined the stability of the church); and he decided to make alterations to the entire building, calling on Leon Battista Alberti, the famous architect and Humanist, to supply the overall plans. Inside the church, however, work continued in the same style already adopted for the first two chapels on the right, where the masonry work had already been carried out. Thus the present building is a contrast between the classical exterior and a Gothic interior representative of the traditional decorative style reflecting courtly tastes, slightly tempered by “correctives” probably suggested by Alberti himself. The only element unifying the two parts is a clear intent to celebrate Sigismondo: the exterior of the church celebrates the new man who dominates history and is conscious of his nobility of intellect; the interior celebrates the prince who delights in his wealth and in his court filled with men of learning and with a train of military captains, for whom he has already planned stately tombs along the sides of the building. The building is visibly incomplete, both externally and internally; work was interrupted in 1460 or 1461 owing to the dispute between Pope Pius II and Sigismondo and to Sigismondo’s rebellion, which led to his excommunication in 1460 and to his defeat and the loss of much of his state in 1463.

From Franciscan church to Malatesta Temple

The interior of the church has a vast nave with visible trusses, eight side chapels and a spacious apse. It appears that Alberti had planned a barrel-vault for the nave, and a huge domed rotunda in place of the apse. Unfortunately, the plan and the model, designed by the architect and approved by Sigismondo (and of course by the Franciscan brothers, who were still the legitimate owners of the church) have not survived; there is only a medal, designed and struck by Matteo de’ Pasti, to show us how the completed building should have looked. The apse, rebuilt after the second world war, now houses the only notable relic of the original church: a huge crucifix by Facing page, above: the Giotto, painted on wood around the year 1300; while in the interior of the Temple, ending chapel next to it on the left (this too rebuilt) is the only in a vast unadorned apse in remaining evidence of the church’s original dedication to St the style of the eighteenth Francis of Assisi: a painting of St Francis receiving the century, should be “read” Stigmata, the work of Giorgio Vasari, painted in 1548 and slowly, savouring all the grace intended to hang in the apse. and charm of its details. The first six chapels date from the fifteenth century, and Below left: a Malatesta are notable for their tall projecting marble balustrades, medal, the work of Matteo Gothic arches and windows, marble facings, bas-reliefs and de’Pasti, gives some idea of statues. All the sculptures in the Temple are the work of the Leon Battista Alberti’s original Florentine artist Agostino di Duccio and his workmen, who plans for the Temple. Notice spent about ten years here, until 1456 at least. the arch which should have The architectural-decorative structure is the work of crowned the façade, and the Matteo de’ Pasti of Verona, designer of medals, miniaturist, huge dome which was to have architect and overseer of all the buildings commissioned by completed the nave. Sigismondo. The themes on which the decorations of the Below right: the great chapels are based were suggested by the learned men of Crucifix, sadly without its Sigismondo’s court, and were accomplished in accordance apices, hangs in the apse. with research carried out by Humanists of the calibre of It was painted by Giotto for Guarino da Verona, Basinio da Parma, Roberto Valturio, and the Franciscans, in 1299 or Poggio Bracciolini. early in 1300 (the year of the first Jubilee). The presence in Rimini of this work had great influence on local artists of the fourteenth century, who appreciated its innovative qualities and considered it a peerless masterpiece. 8

The Chapel of St Sigismund

The first chapel on the right was the first to be founded, in 1447, and was solemnly dedicated to St Sigismund in 1452; however, it was in effect completed by 1449, except for the frescos with which, according to the tradition of the time, it should have been decorated. But instead of frescos, the chapel was panelled in marble, perhaps on the advice of Leon Battista Alberti. The painter who should have decorated the chapel, Piero della Francesca, was instead put to painting a fresco (signed and dated 1451) in the small room adjacent to the chapel, known as the Cell of the Relics. On the altar of St Sigismundâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chapel is a statue of the saint enthroned, his throne resting on two elephants. The elephant was the Malatesta familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite heraldic animal: pairs of elephants support the pillars, on which are represented the cardinal and theological Virtues. Next to this chapel, which had originally been planned as an aristocratic funeral chapel, is the marble tomb of Sigismondo, who died in 1468 at little over fifty years of age (the inscription specifies: 51 years, 3 months and 20 days).

Left: the Chapel of St Sigismund. The first to be built, it was planned as an aristocratic funeral chapel for Sigismondo Malatesta and was consecrated in 1452. In the niches of the pillars can be seen young pages with the insignia of the House of Malatesta, and allegories of the theological and cardinal Virtues; all of which are the work of Agostino di Duccio. 11

The Cell of the Relics

Between the first and second chapels is the Cell of the Relics, originally intended to be a vestry and treasury: here were kept fine liturgical vestments and precious relics donated by Sigismondo and, later, by others. This little room now houses marbles from the Temple itself and from the ancient Cathedral, St Columba; treasures from the tomb of Sigismondo and, most important, the so-called “sinopite” by Piero della Francesca. This is actually the “arriccio”, with just a few preparatory marks for the fresco which was fortuitously detached by the events of the Second World War and which is now displayed in the fourth chapel on the right. This is the first surviving fresco by the great artist, and one of the first significant masterpieces of his mature years. In its rigorous organisation of space, ordered by calculated geometry but softened by the warmth of its serene light, this fresco contrasts sharply with the archaising Gothicism and with the vivacity of the decorative sculpture in the Temple, and is a splendid example of that “rational” poetry typical of the best Humanism.

Above: St Sigismund venerated by Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, painted by Piero della Francesca and dated 1451. Below: detail of the face of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta in the painting by Piero della Francesca. Below right: on the balustrade of the Chapel of Isotta a row of cherubs hold small shields decorated with Malatesta heraldic symbols and coats of arms. The shield showing three heads is the family’s “speaking coat of arms”. 12

The Chapel of St Michael Archangel, or Chapel of Isotta

The second chapel has a marble statue of St Michael Archangel in the central tabernacle; the pillars are adorned with beautiful delicate panels, carved with angels playing musical instruments and singing; delightful baby angels (the “Malatesta Putti”) decorate the balustrade. On the left-hand wall is the tomb of Isotta degli Atti, mistress and later third wife to Sigismondo, supported by elephants and crowned with a Malatesta coat of arms having as its crest a double elephant head and the biblical motto Tempus loquendi, tempus tacendi. Recent restoration work has brought to light the fine decoration, made to imitate fabric, which forms the background to the tomb of Isotta. The gilded plaque bears the date 1450, but this - like all the others in the Temple - is a commemoration of the Holy Year and not a real reference, since Isotta died in 1474. This chapel also houses the tomb of Rimini’s bishops.

The Chapel of St Michael Archangel, with the tomb of Isotta degli Atti, third wife of Sigismondo. The picturesque corpus of architecture and decorations in the courtly style is probably the work of Matteo de’Pasti of Verona, while to the Florentine Agostino Duccio we owe all the graceful sculpture, often reminiscent of Duccio’s master, Donatello. 15

The Chapels of the Planets and the Liberal Arts

The third chapel is faced throughout with red Verona marble and was perhaps to have been dedicated to St Jerome. It is known as “the Chapel of the Planets” because it is decorated with figures representing the planets and their relative signs of the zodiac, which are among the foremost masterpieces of Agostino di Duccio and indeed of fifteenthcentury Italian sculpture. Their placing on pillars is a faithful illustration of the firmament as it was conceived in the Middle Ages, and evokes the harmony and perfection of the heavens. A harmony and perfection for which all men should strive in everything they do: and so the Chapel of the Planets finds its mirror image in the chapel known as the “Liberal Arts Chapel”, directly opposite on the other side of the nave. This chapel is now dedicated to St Joseph and is adorned with a bronze statue by Enrico Manfrini, dated 1999. The fine carvings on the pillars represent the Muses and the Arts, and are among the last works made by Agostino di Duccio in Rimini; they date from 1456. So fine are they that they were believed to be ancient Greek carvings brought home by Sigismondo Malatesta during his last campaign against the Turks (1464-1466).

Facing page: the pillars of the Chapel of the Planets are decorated with images of all the celestial bodies together with their zodiac signs, signifying the harmony of the firmament. Carved in low relief, these panels had a blue background and touches of gilding, and are among the most vivacious and captivating of the works of Agostino di Duccio, who carved them at the suggestion of the learned men of the Malatesta court. 16

The Chapel of St Gaudentius, or Children’s Games Chapel

Next to this is the “Children’s Games Chapel”, originally dedicated to the Archangel Raphael, decorated with basreliefs of angels and cherubs at play; in form and in meaning it is in perfect symmetry with the chapel of St Michael Archangel opposite. It appears that this chapel was the burial place for the women and children of the House of Malatesta. The fifteenth-century niche now contains the silver reliquary of St Gaudentius, bishop and martyr, patron of the city; the reliquary is the work of the German silversmith Franz Rupert Lang (1735), and was donated to the cathedral by Pope Pius IX in 1857. On the right-hand wall is a panel painting by the Rimini artist Bartolomeo Coda, Pentecost (1510), which originally hung in the ancient Cathedral of St Columba.

Left: angels playing in the water. This is one of the eighteen bas-reliefs adorning the pillars, all representing baby angels at play (piggy-back; ring-o’-roses; in mocktriumphal procession; with dolphins; and on a little boat). The theme of children at play, particularly relevant considering that the Chapel is dedicated to the Archangel Raphael and to the Guardian Angels, seems to have awakened the most vivacious imaginative depths of the sculptor Agostino di Duccio, who worked on the carvings together with a number of collaborators. 19

The Chapel of the Martyrs, or Chapel of Our Lady of the Waters

The following chapel (preceded by the Chapel of the Fallen, in symmetry with the Cell of the Relics opposite) is the last one as you go towards the facade of the Temple; originally dedicated to the Martyrs, or rather, to the Martyrdom of Christ, it is now dedicated to Our Lady of the Waters, who is invoked to guard against natural disasters. The alabaster image in the central niche, a PietĂ showing the Virgin seated with the dead Christ on her knees, is a German work dating from the first half of the fifteenth century. The pillars, supported by elephants like those of the chapel opposite, are carved with figures of the Sibyls and Prophets who foresaw the incarnation and death of Christ; in the lower dado are two portraits of Sigismondo. The tomb of the forefathers and descendants of Sigismondo, placed within sumptuous Gothic-style carved drapery on the lefthand wall, has two bas-reliefs symbolising the merits of the Malatesta family in the field of culture (The Triumph of Minerva) and their glory obtained through military victories (The Triumph of Scipio). The chapel was renewed in 1862 to plans drawn up by the architect Luigi Poletti, resulting in the resplendent gilding and brilliant blues we can admire today. But certainly the whole Temple was originally conceived as a sumptuous array of colour: the interior was to be blue and gold, and also red, green and white (the Malatesta colours), rich in painted ornamentation and glittering with gilding.

Facing page: view of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Waters, which also houses the tombs of the ancestors and descendants of Sigismondo. The original gilding and colours of this chapel were ruined during the 1860s. 20

Classic Style for a Christian Church

The mark of the Malatesta is clear in all those parts of the building dating from the fifteenth century: in the heraldic symbols, in the carvings and in the Malatesta initials (“SI”). It is this imprint and the ostentation of classical forms and learned allusions which earned for the building the title of “pagan Temple”, a title accepted and emphasised by Pope Pius II, who included the Temple among Sigismondo’s many real and presumed misdeeds. In effect it is a first, innovative attempt to lend classical forms to a Christian building and to sculptured figures traditionally Christian: even the most apparently profane images, those which express the beauty and perfection of the firmament (the planets and the zodiac) and of the work of man (the liberal arts), had in point of fact been found in churches ever since late mediaeval times. But certainly they had never before been portrayed in forms so imaginative and at the same time so charged with reminders of antiquity. After the fall of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta the Franciscans had to complete the building, left without roof, apse, and bell tower, as best they could with the means at their disposal. After the suppression of the Franciscans and the destruction of the ancient Cathedral of St Columba, Napoleon ordered that the title of Cathedral be given to the Malatesta Temple (1809). Low relief showing Rimini as it appeared in the midfifteenth century, with the palaces of government and the fountain in the square; with walls and watch-towers along the beach, and with Sigismondo Malatesta’s castle dominating the dwellings and all traffic on land and sea. This view is the background to the zodiac sign of Cancer, in the carving by Agostino di Duccio in the Chapel of the Planets. 23

Restoration Work, 1950 and 2000

During the second world war the building was hit by a number of bombs which took off the roof and demolished the apse, the eighteenth-century chapels, the sacristies and the antique liturgical furnishings; balustrades and altars were shattered and some of the bas-reliefs and part of the external face were damaged. The Franciscan convent next to the Temple, much of which was used as a museum, was destroyed. Rebuilding and restoration work, made possible partly by a substantial contribution from the American committee for the restoration of monuments, was completed with the re-consecration of the Temple in 1950. On the occasion of the Jubilee Year, which coincided with the 450th anniversary of the official foundation of the Temple and the 50th anniversary of its rebuilding, renovation work was implemented throughout, with the aid of the State and the Rimini Cassa di Risparmio Bank Foundation, restoring the original ornamentation of the Malatesta Temple and part of its original colours. On completion of the restoration work, the chancel was adapted to comply with current liturgical norms, and the eighteenth-century High Altar (originally in the Theatine church, now destroyed) was moved to the last chapel on the right, which already housed a fine Neo-Classical monument, the work of Giacomo De Maria (1828). In the year 2002, the Cathedral of Rimini was honoured with the tile of Basilica.