The 10 Best Churches & Cathedrals in Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna

Reviewed By asiyahnoemik - Pula, Croatia

This cathedral is the masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance. Tempio Malatestiano is a beautiful one-nave church built by Leon Battista Alberti in 1450, by order Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta. The church was supposed to represent the secular power of the client, and the impression was enhanced by a fantastic ornament in the interior with mystical and secret iconography. Reminiscence of antiquity is evident on the facade of the Cathedral. The façade repeats the motif of the triumphal arch, and on the sides of the arcade motif imitating ancient aqueduct. The sarcophagi of Sigismondo Malatesta and his mistress Isotte degli Atti were to be located in the semicircular recesses on the facade, and the recesses on the sides of the building were intended as the tombs of scholars and poets from Malatesta's court. But the Cathedral was never completed. The medal by Matteo de 'Pasti from 1450 shows the original appearance that the temple should have had, with a large rotunda covered by a hemispherical dome similar to that of the Pantheon. It is beautiful on the inside where the works of famous Italian Renaissance painters and sculptors decorate the Cathedral. We can admire the Giotto’s Crucifix ( Crocifisso di Rimini ), fresco by Piero della Francesca ( Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta in preghiera davanti a San Sigismondo (1451), a large canvas by Vasari (San Francesco che riceve le stigmate). We also enjoyed the magnificent works of the artists Leon Battista Alberti, Matteo de 'Pasti, Agostino di Duccio. Magnificent Cathedral with a lovely atmosphere.