Tempio Malatestiano

It began as the Gothic church of San Francesco, where the Malatesta family were buried. In the mid-15th century, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, lord of Rimini, decided to transform it into a monument to his dynasty and to the new culture of the Renaissance. He entrusted the exterior to Leon Battista Alberti, who designed a façade inspired by the forms of the Roman triumphal arch.

The Istrian stone base is decorated with garlands bearing the Malatesta emblems: the elephant, the chessboard and the intertwined initials S and I, for Sigismondo and Isotta, the woman he loved. Along the sides, seven great arches: those on the right house the sarcophagi of members of the court, whilst those on the left remain empty.

The interior, with a single nave, was renovated by Matteo de' Pasti with sculptures by Agostino di Duccio: in the Cappella dei Pianeti you'll find the signs of the zodiac and the oldest surviving view of Rimini. Here you'll also see the Crucifix painted by Giotto and Piero della Francesca's fresco showing Sigismondo kneeling before Saint Sigismund.

In 1460 the money ran out, and after the papal excommunication of 1462 the work stopped for good: the façade remains unfinished at the top and the great dome designed by Alberti was never built. Since 1809 it has been the city's cathedral, dedicated to Saint Columba. Admission is free.