tempio malatesta

the history of the tempio malatestiano begins in 1447, when sigismondo malatesta, lord of rimini, commissioned alberti to reconstruct the exterior of san francesco’s church as a shrine to the malatesta family and court members. in the facade, huge niches were planned to hold the sarcophagi of his mistress isotta and himself. while on the long side of the temple seven round-headed niches were to contain tombs for the members of his court. as for the chapels inside the temple these were designed for memorial services for his ancestors or liturgy and cult.

unfortunately the construction of the malatestiano temple was forced to halt in 1450 by sigismondo’s decline in fortunes, and so the temple was left incomplete. had the temple been completed, it would have been a masterpiece. we know of alberti’s intention by a medal cast by matteo de pasti in 1450. alberti intended to build a very large dome, hemispherical in shape; on the upper part of the facade he was to repeat the large arched opening above the doorway using it as a window. one of the greatest difficulties during the construction of the temple was to obtain sufficient supplies of stones and marble.