Violence and Diplomacy in Roberto Malatesta’s Reign
Roberto Malatesta (Roberto il Magnifico)
Lord of Rimini, Cesena, Meldola, Sarsina, Bertinoro, Bellaria, Rocca delle Caminate, Montevecchio, Collinello, Ranchio, Perticara, Sapigno, Polenta, and Verucchio. He was the illegitimate son of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, father of Pandolfo Malatesta and Carlo Malatesta, nephew of Domenico, son-in-law of Federico da Montefeltro, brother-in-law of Carlo di Montone and Rodolfo Gonzaga, and father-in-law of Ranuccio da Marciano.
Born: 1437, September
Death: 1482, September
| Year, Month | State, Mercenary Company | Adversary | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Taken and Other Significant Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| … | Marche | Lives in Fano with his mother Vanna Toschi in the house of his uncle Domenico. | |||
| … | Romagna | He is introduced by his father to state affairs. Acts as lieutenant of Rimini during his father’s absences. | |||
| 1457 | |||||
| … | Rimini | Naples | Romagna | His military training leads him to defend his father’s holdings from the incursions of Federico da Montefeltro, Count of Urbino, and Jacopo Piccinino. | |
| Dec. | Campania | In Naples with Alfonso d’Aragona, King of Naples, to negotiate peace on behalf of his father, Sigismondo Pandolfo. | |||
| 1458 | |||||
| Feb. | Campania | Returns to Naples: the King demands the return of 27,000 ducats previously given to his father and another 25,000 ducats as war indemnity. He meets with the emissaries of Montefeltro: his son Buonconte and Bernardino degli Ubaldini della Carda. During his stay, the brothers of Fiucio Spina attempt to kill him to avenge the death of their relative, who was possibly poisoned by his father. | |||
| 1459 | |||||
| Jan. | Marche | Meets in Fano with Roberto da San Severino, returning from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. | |||
| … | Campania | Returns to Naples for continued peace negotiations. | |||
| 1460 | |||||
| Feb. Mar. | Campania | Returns to Naples. In March, he leaves the city definitively without any results. | |||
| Summer | Ancona | Jesi/Church | Marche | The people of Ancona give his father 3,000 ducats; he is sent to assist them against the inhabitants of Jesi, responding to their raid in the territory of Camerata Picena. He devastates the countryside, captures many prisoners, and seizes a large amount of booty; finally, he reaches the city gates. | |
| Nov. | Marche | Leaves Fano with 1,200 cavalry and 500 infantry. He turns against Mosciano, captures 80 men nearby, and obtains the surrender of the castle, which is sacked. The prisoners are sent bound to Ancona. Malatesta assaults the castle of Barbara. | |||
| Dec. | Marche | Attacks Morro; he is unable to capture the center because his troops scatter in search of loot. He is confronted by Cicco Brandolini and Ludovico Malvezzi, who force him to abandon the camp near the town. | |||
| 1461 | |||||
| Jul. | Rimini | Church | Marche | Participates in the battle of Nidastore where he commands the eleventh squad: he routs the adversaries and plunders their camps. | |
| Aug. | Angiò | Naples | Abruzzi | He is enlisted by John of Anjou, the claimant to the Kingdom of Naples. He supports Giosia Acquaviva against the Aragonese. | |
| Oct. | Jacopo Piccinino sends him 4,000 ducats for his needs. | ||||
| 1462 | |||||
| Aug. | Rimini | Church | Marche | Defeated by Federico da Montefeltro at the Cesano River crossing, he retreats with Cicco Brandolini (now fighting for the enemy) and Guido Benzoni to the fortress of Mondolfo after putting up a fierce resistance. He is besieged in the fortress of Mondavio by Montefeltro and Napoleone Orsini with 65 men-at-arms and 120 foreign infantry. Eventually, he moves to defend Fano. | |
| Sept. | Marche | Conducts numerous sorties from Fano against the adversaries. | |||
| 1463 | |||||
| Jun. | Marche | In Fano. He foils a plot orchestrated by his enemies: some conspirators are hanged, others are imprisoned or manage to flee. | |||
| Aug. | Marche | A ship (hired in Venice) moves from Rimini with numerous infantry (recruited in Abruzzi), ammunition, and provisions. It is escorted by two galleys and other boats. A papal galley and another boat intercept them; after a fierce battle, the ship and one boat are captured while the other manages to take refuge in Fano. The captured ship is sent to Ancona; the crew stops near Fano for the night. Fifty men-at-arms board the ship while the captured infantry are kept below deck. At dawn, four Venetian galleys arrive; they approach the boat and capture the crew and men-at-arms. The infantry are freed; provisions and ammunition are introduced into the besieged city. The bishop of Teano, Cardinal Niccolò Forteguerri, and Federico da Montefeltro protest in vain in Venice to obtain the release of the men-at-arms. | |||
| Sept. | Marche | Federico da Montefeltro and Cardinal Forteguerri lead a general attack against Fano, which ends only because the ecclesiastics run out of arrows. Malatesta receives additional reinforcements and leads 150 inhabitants in an energetic sortie against a bastion positioned towards San Patrignano. The siege tightens, the papal forces break into the city; the inhabitants surrender. Malatesta takes refuge in the fortress. He surrenders it to Montefeltro after three days. | |||
| Oct. | Marche | Upon leaving the fortress of Fano, Montefeltro meets him and offers to protect him and his family: his mother and sisters embark with their belongings for Ravenna to escape, as contemporary sources report, the wrath of Sigismondo Pandolfo. | |||
| 1464 | |||||
| Nov. | Milan | Lombardia | At the service of Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan. In the city, he receives letters from his uncle Domenico naming him his heir. | ||
| 1465 | |||||
| Winter | Lombardia, Romagna, and Lazio | Rumors spread of his father’s death in Morea: he immediately leaves Milan and goes to Cesena, hoping to return to Rimini with his uncle’s support. His father’s wife, Isotta degli Atti, opposes him strongly, arrests the chancellor Giacomo dal Borgo, and obtains the confession of some conspirators who supported Roberto Malatesta to take over the lordship of the city. When he learns that, contrary to his expectations, his father is alive, he goes to Rome and then returns to Milan to serve the Sforza. He refuses an offer from the Venetians. | |||
| Aug. | Romagna | In Cesena, upon hearing that his uncle Domenico is dying. | |||
| Nov. Dec. | Cesena | Church | Romagna | Upon his uncle’s death, he takes control of Cesena and Bertinoro. He sends Gian Francesco da Piagnano to Rome to request the Pope grant him the state. All efforts are in vain. Montefeltro besieges him in Cesena: he surrenders when he finds himself abandoned by potential allies (Florentines and Venetians). He returns the fortress to the Church; in exchange, he is granted a small lordship among the Valli del Bidente e del Ronco (Sarsina, Meldola, Dogura, Tarcino, Montevecchio, Rocca delle Caminate, Coglianello or Collinello, Ranchio, Gaibana, Turrito, Perticara, Sapigno, Casalbono, and Polenta), a pension of 3,000 ducats, and another 2,500 ducats as compensation for the ammunition contained in the fortress. | |
| 1466 | |||||
| Oct. | Church | Lazio | Reported at Pontecorvo. | ||
| 1467 | |||||
| Jun. | Church | Venice | Emilia | Joins Federico da Montefeltro against the Venetian troops commanded by Bartolomeo Colleoni. | |
| 1468 | |||||
| Oct. | Lazio and Romagna | Upon his father’s death, he presents himself to the Pope with a letter from his father’s widow and his half-brother Sallustio, asking him to return to Rimini to defend the city against papal ambitions. Instead, he offers to hand over the city to the Church without resorting to war: he only asks to return to expel Isotta degli Atti. Pope Paul II agrees and promises him the lordship of Senigallia and Mondavio if he succeeds in his mission. He also receives 1,000 florins for expenses. Malatesta goes to Rimini with Raimondo Malatesta and the castellan Pietro dei Gennari, enters Castel Gismondo, eliminates the Venetian garrison, and takes control of the fortress. | |||
| 1469 | |||||
| Jun. | Rimini | Church | Romagna | He is attacked by 5,000 men (2,500 cavalry and as many infantry) who besiege him in Rimini under the command of Alessandro Sforza and Napoleone Orsini. He exits with a few men through the Porta di San Giorgio and attacks the papal forces at dawn as they are about to enter the city: 50 infantry are killed among the papal troops; many more are wounded. The adversaries occupy the borgo of San Giuliano. To gain time, Roberto Malatesta secretly meets Alessandro Sforza at night to negotiate the surrender. | |
| Aug. | Romagna | He receives part of his pay from the ducal authorities and is given 500 ducats. With the arrival of expected reinforcements from Milan, Florence, and Naples, led by Federico da Montefeltro, Count of Urbino, he can leave Rimini. In a few days, he captures nine castles with bombards. Montefeltro hints that he is constrained and cannot attack Sforza due to the alliance’s restrictions: Malatesta then besieges Mulazzano to provoke an attack and thereby provoke a reaction from the allies. Alessandro Sforza falls into the trap, receives reinforcements from the Venetians, and attacks Montefeltro. The battle lasts from dawn to dusk, marked by the decisive intervention of Malatesta, who launches his offensive when the adversaries show signs of fatigue. The papal forces suffer the capture of 300 men-at-arms, including notable figures such as Virginio Orsini and Gian Francesco da Piagnano. With victory, he gains control of Montescudo, Gemmano, Monte Colombo, Albereto, Saludecio, San Clemente, Cerreto, Cerasolo, San Giovanni in Marignano. | |||
| Oct. | Marche | He takes control of Mondavio, Montegridolfo, Coriano, and Meleto. The war ends with the return of the castles he conquered. The peace conclusion is delayed by the Pope Paul II‘s hostility towards him. | |||
| 1470 | |||||
| Aug. | Romagna | He decides to get rid of his half-brother Sallustio. He lures him into an ambush, during which his relative is killed. He orders the wounded and bleeding body to be placed in a manure pit next to the Marcheselli palace, where his lover lives. The sword is found in the house; Giovanni Marcheselli is killed by an angry mob while being taken to the castle; the other family members manage to escape. The next day, he sends a message to the Dieci di Balia in Florence, expressing his sorrow for his half-brother’s death, who is solemnly buried in the Tempio Malatestiano. Isotta degli Atti’s death is also suspected of being due to poisoning by him. Similarly, he does not hesitate to kill his half-brother Valeriano and his sister Margherita. On the romantic front, he behaves in the same way. He falls in love with two married women and takes them from their respective husbands: the Ravenna native Elisabetta Aldovrandini (married to a citizen of Faenza) and the Rimini native Elisabetta degli Atti. The latter’s husband is found hanged for protesting against him. | |||
| Sept. | Campania | He is invited to Naples by Ferrante d’Aragona, King of Naples. He signs a 48-day truce with the papal forces. | |||
| Nov. | Romagna | His half-brother Valerio is ambushed and killed by his assassins while traveling to Longiano. Malatesta is also accused of poisoning his stepmother Isotta degli Atti. In the same year, he is contacted by the Sforza to join the service of the Duke of Milan. | |||
| 1471 | |||||
| Apr. | Marche and Romagna | He goes to Urbino; defines the terms of the relationship between the Malatesta and the Montefeltro families. Upon his return to Rimini, festivals and tournaments are organized in the city. | |||
| Jul. Sept. | Romagna and Marche | Upon the Pope’s death, he invades the countryside of Rimini and the vicariate of Mondavio: in a few days, he captures 16 castles, including Santarcangelo di Romagna, Scorticata, Montebello, Bellaria, and Mondaino. Federico da Montefeltro intervenes. With the accession of Pope Sixtus IV in mid-September, he is forced to return everything to the Church. | |||
| Nov. | Naples | Campania | In Naples. He is well-received by Ferrante d’Aragona. He is knighted and granted a command. | ||
| 1472 | Florence | Volterra | Tuscany | ||
| 1473 | |||||
| May | Umbria | At the request of the King of Naples and his future father-in-law, the Duke of Urbino, he officially obtains from the Pope the recognition of his lordship over Rimini and Bellaria. He is reported in Gubbio with Costanzo Sforza and Montefeltro to pay homage to Cardinal Pietro Riario. | |||
| 1474 | |||||
| Jan. | Romagna | Welcomes Bartolomeo Colleoni to Rimini, on his way to the sanctuary of Loreto. | |||
| Jun. | Church | Città di Castello | Umbria | ||
| Jul. | Marche | In Fano for a war council. | |||
| 1475 | |||||
| Jun. | Romagna | Marries Elisabetta, daughter of Federico da Montefeltro: the dowry is set at 12,000 ducats. Among the celebrations, a castle battle is organized, in which a team led by Giovanni della Rovere aims to capture a castle defended by Baldaccio da Pontoglio and Malatesta. The castle’s defenders all wear green livery. During the same occasion, a grand joust is held in Rimini. The first prize is a whole piece of gold brocade in crimson. The Florentines gift him drapes and silverware worth 200 ducats. At the wedding banquet, 8,600 pairs of chickens, 45,000 eggs, 180 hams, 40 wheels of Parmesan cheese, 13,000 oranges, and 120 barrels of wine are consumed. The total cost of the ceremony is 30,000 ducats. | |||
| Aug. | Romagna | In Verucchio. Contacted by Galeazzo Maria Sforza to join the Duchy of Milan’s service with an annual salary of 20,000 ducats. | |||
| Oct. | Umbria | Under the orders of Federico da Montefeltro. With Costanzo Sforza, he repels an incursion by Niccolò Vitelli from Città di Castello. | |||
| 1476 | |||||
| Aug. | Romagna | Welcomes with magnificence in Rimini the procession headed to Naples, sent by Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. | |||
| 1477 | |||||
| Aug. Sept. | Church | Mercenary Company | Umbria | Takes up arms against his brother-in-law Carlo di Montone; besieges Montone for thirty days. Convinces his sister Margherita, wife of the condottiero, to submit to the Pope and surrender the castle and fortress on a day when Bernardino di Montone is camped outside the walls. The agreements are not honored by the papal forces. | |
| Oct. | Church | Manfredi | Romagna | Stations in the Faenza region to support the lord of Faenza, Carlo Manfredi, attacked by his brothers Galeotto and Lancelot. He goes to Granarolo with five squadrons of cavalry to capture the locality: he lodges at Donegaglia with the men of Girolamo Riario; he plunders the territory. He leaves the enterprise and returns to Rimini. | |
| 1478 | |||||
| Jul. | Church | Florence | Umbria | In Perugia. Prepares to invade Tuscany on behalf of the papal forces. | |
| Aug. | Tuscany | Furiously assaults Brolio; obtains the surrender of the defenders: the allies, however, under the orders of Alfonso d’Aragona, Duke of Calabria, sack the locality. This causes him great irritation. | |||
| Sept. | Tuscany | Supports Federico da Montefeltro in the siege of Monte San Savino. | |||
| Oct. Nov. | Tuscany, Romagna | In the field. In November, he returns to Rimini due to the harsh winter. | |||
| 1479 | |||||
| Feb. | Florence | Church, Naples | Persuaded by the Florentines, with Costanzo Sforza and Antonello da Forlì, to change sides due to his hatred of the Duke of Calabria: the latter has not only offended the three condottieri but also defrauded them of their share of the loot. Roberto Malatesta‘s contract is doubled, and he is granted an annual salary of 44,000 ducats in wartime and 36,000 in peacetime; his properties are also protected by the allies. | ||
| Apr. | General Captain | Tuscany | In Florence. In Santa Colomba, he is given the command insignia. The ceremony is attended by his captains Pietro d’ Erba, Giorgio Albanese, Giovanni da Gradara, Buglione da Fano, Castellano da Castello, and Pietruccio da Sant’Arcangelo. | ||
| May | Romagna, Umbria | Commands 12 squadrons of men-at-arms. With Costanzo Sforza, he besieges Santarcangelo di Romagna; he then moves to Città di Castello with 400 men-at-arms and 3,000 infantry. | |||
| Jun. | Tuscany, Umbria | Joins forces with Carlo di Montone; from Val di Chiana, he conducts a diversionary raid into the Perugian region at the head of 40 squadrons of cavalry and many infantry. In a few days, more than 20 castles surrender without a fight; Perugia does not rise; Carlo di Montone, the mastermind behind the offensive, dies in Cortona. Malatesta is repelled by Braccio Baglioni. Montefeltro leaves the theater of operations; Malatesta takes advantage of the new situation, occupies the castle of Borghetto, besieges Passignano on Lake Trasimeno, and nearby, at Magione, he attacks Matteo da Capua, Giulio Cesare da Varano, and Giovanni Francesco da Bagno, who are camped at Monte Colonna. The forces that clash are of equal strength; the enemy commander, Matteo da Capua, wants to spare some troops for the decisive moment; his squads are thus overwhelmed in two hours and routed. The victors storm the enemy camp, plunder it, and take many prisoners. These, deprived of arms and horses, are soon released. The losses for the Aragonese amount to 160 men, both dead and wounded. For the victory, the Florentines reward Malatesta with 25,000 florins. | |||
| Jul. Sept. | Umbria, Tuscany | He joins forces with Ludovico Gonzaga, captures and burns the castles of Romazzano and Fratta Todina. He moves into the countryside of Gubbio, reaches Ponte San Giovanni, forcibly takes the castle of Assisi; he seizes Cannara, Bastia Umbra, and Spello, which belong to the Baglioni family. He also burns three mills and some houses near Perugia, then returns to the camp with 150 ransomable prisoners and 500 head of large cattle and many smaller ones. With Bernardino di Montone, he devastates the Chiugi and puts other castles to the sword and fire; he assaults Castiglione del Lago, where Carlo da Pian di Meleto is defending; begins to besiege the fortress of Cortona. He moves towards San Casciano in Val di Pesa, joins Costanzo Sforza, but cannot prevent Montefeltro from moving into Val d’Elsa. Forced to retreat due to the numerical inferiority of his forces, he reaches Montepulciano, where the rest of the Florentine troops who escaped the defeat at Poggio Imperiale (Poggibonsi) are gathered. He approaches the latter locality and moves from there to aid the defenders of Colle di Val d’Elsa. | |||
| Oct. | Tuscany | The lack of agreement among the various captains, jealous of him, and the resulting disorders in the camp lead to no results for the allies. | |||
| Nov. | Venice | General Captain | The war ends; Montefeltro once again intervenes on his behalf with the Church; the excommunication is lifted. At the end of the month, in Venice, in the Collegio dei Pregadi, it is decided to hire him and appoint him as captain general with a salary of 40,000 florins in peacetime and 60,000 in wartime. His command includes 360 men-at-arms with four horses each, 50 mounted crossbowmen, and 300 provisioned troops, 200 of whom are assigned to defend Rimini. The contract lasts two years, with one year of respect; he is obliged to undergo only one inspection, and only at the request of the Venetians. | ||
| Dec. | Romagna | He receives the banner and staff of command secretly in Ravenna from Antonio Donato; he also sends an emissary to Florence to collect 1,000 ducats in unpaid wages. Lorenzo de’ Medici reveals that he is aware of his contacts with the Venetians. | |||
| 1480 | |||||
| Apr. | Veneto | The Senate grants Roberto Malatesta Venetian citizenship and enrolls him in the nobility of the republic on the condition that he receives a nobleman with the title of podestà in Rimini. He travels to Venice, where he is received by Doge Giovanni Mocenigo aboard the bucintoro. For each day of his stay in the city, he is given 50 ducats for expenses. The doge hands him the commander’s staff, and Renato da Trivulzio gives him the banner. | |||
| Jun. | Marche, Friuli | Attempts to seize Gradara through the efforts of Gianni da Gradara. He is sent by the Venetians to Friuli to counter possible Turkish incursions in the region. | |||
| Aug. | Venice | Church | Romagna | Defends Forlì, which, after the death of its lord Pino Ordelaffi, is threatened by Girolamo Riario. | |
| Oct. | Veneto, Friuli | In Venice. Sent back to Friuli to monitor the movements of the Turks advancing in Croatia. | |||
| Dec. | Veneto, Romagna | In Venice and Rimini. | |||
| 1481 | |||||
| Mar. | Romagna | Obtains the removal of the interdict placed on Rimini by Pope Sixtus IV in September 1479. | |||
| Mar. | Obtains the removal of the interdict placed on Rimini by the Pope in September 1479. | ||||
| Nov. | Rimini | Faenza | Romagna | Urged by the papal forces to act against Galeotto Malatesta. | |
| 1482 | |||||
| Mar. | The Venetians hire Roberto da San Severino. Roberto Malatesta is not pleased with the news; Provveditore Giacomo di Mezzo advises him to prepare for the upcoming campaign against the Estensi. He offers some delays, which he tries to justify with the late payment of his dues. | ||||
| Apr. | Venice | Ferrara, Florence, Naples | General Captain | Veneto, Romagna | In Padua, he is gifted a horse worth 200 ducats by the Signoria. He commands the troops in Romagna. He is sent 11,000 ducats to organize his companies. He leaves Ravenna and assaults Bagnacavallo, defended by Giovanni Vitelli and Pasquale d’Arezzo. Repelled, he ravages the countryside; he surprises some Estensi cavalry who had left the locality to raid Vescovado in the Ravenna region. He tries to seize Traversara, makes a sudden assault on Fusignano, and is repelled by Teofilo Calcagnini. |
| May | Romagna | Similarly unsuccessful in his attack on Lugo; he constructs a wooden bastion at the Mezzanino point towards Ferrara and withdraws from the Estensi territory. Summoned to Rome by the Pope, who is in difficulty against the troops of Alfonso d’Aragona and the Colonna family, who have invaded the Papal States. He leaves Romagna with 2,400 cavalry, 200 Venetian crossbowmen, and Provveditore Piero Diedo. | |||
| Jun. | Umbria | Commands 3,000 cavalry. Along the way, he lingers near Città di Castello, where Niccolò Vitelli has returned; he captures some low-value castles while he must acknowledge his inability to take others, like Verna, Montemigiano, and Montone, in a short time. The Florentines try to convince him to defect without success. | |||
| Jul. | Gonfaloniere of the Church | Lazio | Enters Rome; many cardinals meet him at the city’s entrance at Porta del Popolo: he goes to the Vatican and St. Peter’s. Sixtus IV lodges him in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. He is appointed Gonfaloniere of the Church, replacing Giovanni della Rovere. | ||
| Aug. | Lazio | Moves from Rome at the head of 34 squadrons of cavalry, two squadrons of mounted crossbowmen, and more than 9,000 infantry. He leaves the camp near the aqueducts outside Porta San Giovanni, reviews the troops at the tomb of Cecilia Metella, and heads towards the Alban Hills. He recovers Albano and Castel Gandolfo on the way; from Lanuvio, Alfonso d’Aragona marches towards Torre Astura and camps near San Pietro in Formis, protected by wooded plains, marshes, and two streams. The battle takes place at Campomorto, where 4,500 cavalry, including 300 archers, and 6,000 infantry on one side, and 2,500 cavalry and 1,500 infantry on the Aragonese side, clash. Roberto Malatesta divides the army into seven squadrons and takes command of the sixth squad; the Duke of Calabria places the cavalry in the center, the infantry on the wings, and the artillery on the high ground. In the morning, the attacks by the papal infantry are repelled first, and later by the cavalry; Malatesta replaces the exhausted ranks with fresh troops and strikes the enemy again. The Aragonese counterattack but are forced to retreat behind the second stream: at this point, the decisive phase of the battle occurs. Two hundred light cavalry and 1,500 infantry led by Jacopo Conti manage to cross the marshy and wooded area and flank and attack the Neapolitans from behind. The battle, which lasts six hours, is one of the bloodiest of the second half of the fifteenth century, with about 1,200 dead left on the field: the Aragonese, in particular, suffer the loss of 1,000 men, dead and wounded, and 300 men-at-arms are captured. Some companies of Turks, in the service of the Aragonese and returning from the war of Otranto, are forced to surrender: they immediately join the papal forces and are employed in Rome for public order tasks. The Duke of Calabria escapes with 100 cavalry to Terracina or Nettuno; Malatesta, whose horse was killed by artillery fire during the battle, goes to Velletri, leaves the wounded there, and refreshes the army, exhausted by the marches and the battle. | |||
| Sept. | Lazio | Besieges Cave; soon falls ill and moves to Valmontone to seek treatment. From there, he returns to Rome, where he is hosted in the palace of Cardinal Stefano Nardini of Milan or the Palazzo del Governo Vecchio. He enters the city in triumph, welcomed by Pope Sixtus IV: the procession includes many prisoners, such as the Duke of Amalfi Antonio Piccolomini, son-in-law of the King of Naples Ferrante d’Aragona, Jacopo Caldora, and Rossetto da Capua. He dies of fever or, as it is said, of poison administered out of envy by Girolamo Riario, on the same day that his father-in-law Federico da Montefeltro also passes away. After solemn funerals in St. Peter’s, attended by the Pope and ten cardinals (funeral oration by Bishop Giovanni Battista Giudici of Ventimiglia), he is buried in the Vatican Grottoes among many banners, including one with the motto “Veni, vidi, et vici, victoriam Sixto dedi, mors invidit gloriae”. The Pope will commission an equestrian monument, sculpted by Paolo Mariano, which was lost during the renovation of St. Peter’s Basilica. A fragment of this monument is in the Louvre in Paris. Roberto Orsi dedicates the poem “De obsidione Tiphernatum” to him. He is mentioned by Luigi Pulci in “La giostra”. A street and a square in Rome are named after him. His widow Elisabetta retires to the convent of Santa Chiara in Urbino, taking the name Chiara. |
Sources and notes
-“Godeva opinione di essere uno de’ migliori capitani del secolo.” SISMONDI
-“Generoso e virtuoso.” MURATORI
-“Ed era uno home molte inteliziente, amatore dal bem comuni; in al fate del’arma pareva uno conte Rolando.” BERNARDI
-“Fu il più simile a Sigismondo di tutti i suoi figli, quello che con le migliori ragioni poteva proclamarsi il suo erede: nella virtù e nell’abominazione, nella figura e nel carattere, nella freddezza degli occhi e nel tumulto dello spirito..Militare fortunato, intelligente diplomatico, conversatore acuto, dilettante entusiasta dell’arte e della cultura, anfitrione non migliorabile, cavaliere audace, prodigo signore, Roberto fu l’ultimo dei Malatesta la cui indiscutibile autorità poté dare del tu ai grandi d’Italia; l’ultimo che conobbe la gloria e che ebbe il tempo di farla sedere alla sua mensa e goderne.” COUSTE’
-“Fu molto dissimile dal padre, ma simile nel maneggiar l’armi.” ALBERTI
-“Clarus militie imperator.” GHERARDI
-“Era valentissimo homo.” PONTANI
-“Hebbe da lui (il padre) sì illustri documenti di guerra, che in essa si meritò fama singolarissima..Haveva Roberto mezana statura, volto bianco; occhi azzurri e capelli castagnicci.” ROSCIO
-“Pianto e sospirato da ogni uno; percioché in tutte l’imprese belliche o civili, mostrò grandezza di spirito generoso e d’animo invitto: facendo maravigliar gli huomini di lui, così ne casi aversi come felici. Il suo nome d’era sparso per tutta l’Italia e si celebrava per fatti illustrissimo..Fu molto dissimile al padre, ma simile nel maneggiar l’armi.” SANSOVINO
-“Robertum Malatestam, Arimini principem, bellorum eximium decus, et Martis invicta gloria inter praeclarissima belli numina retulit..Nemo domi consultior, nemo in castris belli praeceptus instructior, nemo in pugna fortitudine, prudentia ac industria praestantior habitus.” N. GRASSI
-“Fu..molto riputato Capitano nelle guerre d’Italia.” TARCAGNOTA
-“Roberto fu condottiero valoroso e fortunato, umano molto con il soldato; il quale per i suoi pregi riponendo in lui stima ed affetto, lo seguiva dovunque gli piacesse condurlo. Ascese al trono con modi astuti e violenti, vi si consolidò con i delitti; pur non ostante riuscì buon principe e fu molto amato dai sudditi. Tenne splendida corte, e per ogni lieve circostanza allietò Rimini con grandi feste e con straordinari spettacoli: ciò che, unito alla molta sua generosità, gli valse l’appellativo di Magnifico.” LITTA
-“Era ben diverso dal padre suo. Di Gismondo riteneva la fortezza e il valore, non la fierezza, la mala fede, le libidini bestiali.” UGOLINI
-“Giovane di spirito ardente e valoroso.” BERCHET
-“Giovine pieno d’ottime qualità, valoroso e amato dal popolo.” PIGNOTTI
-“Virum magnanimum.” RIPALTA
-“Robertus..aetate nostra longe clarissimus fuit, cuius indolens tanta, talisque semper est habita, ut omnes qui pueri ipsi occurrerent, non possent illum sine admiratione spectare. In illo duplex virtutis specolum liquido cernentes, et summae probitatis, et rei militaris excellentem gloriam, ut facile illi evenerit.” EGNAZIO
-“Known as the “magnificent” and highly esteemed all over Italy.” JONES
-“La cui morte è sta iactura a tutta Italia, havia apena 40 anni, si ‘l havesse vixò l’arte militar in Italia, che per lunga desuetudine era smarrita, sotto di lui saria nela pristina gloria redutta.” SANUDO
-“Giovin robusto, e, comprendeasi al ciglio,/ animo in lui, prudentia e signoria,/ vago de far el campo ognihor vermiglio./ (Assediato in Rimini)/…/ E veramente el dì l’alta sembianza/ mostrò del suo vallore e del futuro/ la vertù sua e altissima possanza/ pur stando noi l’assedio tanto duro.” SANTI
-“Giovane valoroso e dotato di maggior senno e prudenza di quel che fosse il di lui padre.” AMIANI
-“Nel male fo dissimile al patre, neli facti d’arme illustrissimo, docto, prudente, liberale et benivolo et maxime neli facti d’arme.” NOTARGIACOMO
-“Celebre Capitano.” ROSCOE
-“Robert avait le coup d’oeil d’un capitaine.” YRIARTE
-“Fu guerriero prestantissimo.” PARTI
-“Magnifico et prestantissimo ne le armi.” FANTAGUZZI
-“Among the most respected military commanders of their day.” SHAW
-“Havea Roberto la mezzana statura..volto bianco: occhi azurri: e capelli castagnicci.” CAPRIOLO
-“Soldato nominato dagl’Istorici della sua età.” UGHELLI
-“Era valent’uomo.” G.GIUSTI
-Celebrazione delle nozze di Roberto Malatesta “Il rito, con tutte le cerimonie di accompagnamento, feste e sontuosi apparati, consacra non solo i legami di una ritrovata amicizia fra le famiglie dei Malatesta e dei Montefeltro già rivali per lungo tempo, ma anche i rapporti con i vari potentati italiani, con la popolazione, e dà la misura della realtà politica della signoria soggetta a Roberto Malatesta. Si procede alla sistemazione della città di Rimini, allestita per ricevere gli ospiti, tutta addobbata sontuosamente di drappi, sete, fiori, quadri e cosparsa di essenze per accogliere l’illustre sposa e il suo seguito..La scenografia lungo le vie, ad opera di illustri ingegneri, mandati appositamente a chiamare da Roberto stesso presso varie corti amiche (Napoli, Milano, Firenze), vede allestiti archi trionfali, di carattere classico, disseminati lungo il percorso del corteo nuziale, mentre nella piazza maggiore si ha un grande castello artificiale di legno che sarebbe servito per la giostra, in quella della rocca una splendida fontana con angeli e delfini…Il matrimonio di Roberto Malatesta con Elisabetta da Montefeltro..ha spesso attirato l’attenzione per la magnificenza di una grande festa rinascimentale. Roberto è certamente un magnifico condottiero; ma occorre domandarsi per quale motivo gli sia stato attribuito un appellativo sostantivato cos’ importante che lo colloca a fianco di altri, come Lorenzo dei Medici, detto il “magnifico”. L’aggettivo magnifico è un attributo di signore, accompagnato e collocato di seguito nello stile epistolare ed oratorio; è una qualifica abbastanza usuale e come tale ritorna nella cronachistica coeva, basta prendere in mano la “Cronaca universale” di Broglio o gli ordini e offici delle nozze dello stesso Roberto; anche in un elenco di 109 uomini o personaggi famosi, ognuno dei quali è accompagnato da un motto, il Malatesta compare come “magnifico Ruberto di Rimini” (caratterizzato da una significativa riflessione morale: “Ciascun dì è da ordinare sicome ultimo”, illuminante un certo senso dell’ordine delle cose e della fragilità umana). Roberto nella sua apologia afferma con orgoglio la propria nobiltà come titolo di garanzia nel mantenere gli impegni assunti al di là delle congiunture.” TURCHINI
-“Riassunse in sé i caratteri del valore e della violenza che caratterizzarono lunghi tratti della stirpe malatestiana, destinati a svelarsi anche sotto forma di atti proditorii compiuti con la naturale propensione a giustificare la ragion di Stato; ebbe l’appellativo di magnifico per la sua abilità in battaglia che gli consentì di ricevere l’ammirazione del popolo, il plauso del pontefice, il rispetto degli alleati.” MORESSA
-“Who had become lord of Rimini by poisoning his step-mother and two half-brothers. The times were dangerous, and the Malatesta were among the most murderers of the dynastes.” BARTLETT
-“Prode capitano…(La morte) Il Malatesta era ritornato a Roma malato. Si parlò, come al solito, di veleno: ma per l’opposto egli era stato sorpreso da una di quelle malattie di palude, che tanto danno avevano recato in ambedue i campi. Circa due settimane dopo sdella sua vittoria, egli moriva sul principiar di settembre. Proprio quando spegnevasi la vita di Federico d’Urbino, mentre il Malatesta chiudeva la sua gloriosa carriera: ed erano passati pochi giorni dacché era morto un altro illustre capitano, Pier Maria Rossi.” CIPOLLA
-“L’essere risalito dal baratro del nulla, riconquistando fortunosamente uno Stato, l’averlo consolidato facendolo capace di vita sua propria e legando ad esso tutte le potenze italiane, interessate alla sua esistenza Venezia, Milano, Firenze e financo il lontano regno di Napoli, questo costituiva già cosa tale che dava un suo particolare rilievo..(a questo) capitano.” FRANCESCHINI
-“Fu assai illustre, e nato dall’antichissima famiglia Malatesta le conferì dignità in modo straordinario col proprio illustre valore.” MADRIGNANO
-Sulla sua tomba compare il seguente epitaffio “Roberto son, che venni, vidi e vinsi/ L’inclito Duca, e Roma liberai/ Et lui di honore, e me di vita stinsi.” Per alcuni autori questo è stato accompagnato dal seguente ricordo “La virtù fu compagna della vita/ la gloria della morte/ a Roberto Malatesta di Sigismondo/ da Rimini/ capitano degno d’esser paragonato/ ai più grandi capitani/ della passata età/ per aver salvata Roma dall’assedio/ Sisto IV Pontefice massimo/ memore del di lui amore/ e benevolenza/ lagrimando pose.”
Featured image: wikipedia
