The Malatesta Temple - Emilia Romagna Tourism

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[email protected]
www.riviera.rimini.it
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The Cathedral of Rimini
The Malatesta Temple
I - 47900 Rimini, piazza Malatesta 28
tel. +39 0541 716371 - fax +39 0541 783808
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Provincia di Rimini
Assessorato alla Cultura
Assessorato al Turismo
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:
Relè - 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
> 4
The Cathedral of Rimini
> 7
Combining tradition with modernity
> 8
From Franciscan church to Malatesta Temple
> 11
The Chapel of St Sigismund
> 12
The Cell of the Relics
> 15
The Chapel of St Michael Archangel,
or Chapel of Isotta
> 16
The Chapels of the Planets and the Liberal Arts
> 19
The Chapel of St Gaudentius,
or Children’s Games Chapel
> 20
The Chapel of the Martyrs,
or Chapel of Our Lady of the Waters
> 23
Classic Style for a Christian Church
> 24
Restoration Work, 1950 and 2000
www >
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
[email protected]
• 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).
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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.
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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 Sigismund’s chapel is a statue of the
saint enthroned, his throne resting on two elephants. The
elephant was the Malatesta family’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.
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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”.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 Pietà 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.
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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.
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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.
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