Tempio Malatestiano, Renaissance cathedral in Rimini, Italy
Tempio Malatestiano is a Renaissance cathedral in Rimini built over an earlier Gothic church and clad in a marble facade. Inside stretches a single nave with side chapels along the walls that hold altars and artworks from different centuries.
Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta commissioned the transformation of the older Franciscan church in 1450 and assigned Leon Battista Alberti to the new design. The work dragged on for decades and remained unfinished as political struggles and financial difficulties repeatedly interrupted construction.
The name ties to the Malatesta ruling family, who created their burial place here and used the building as a sign of their power. Today it still functions as a house of worship and holds paintings and reliefs that visitors can view up close.
The church sits in the historic center of Rimini and is easily reached on foot from most sights. Visitors should respect services and choose times when no liturgical celebrations take place.
Along the outer walls run deep niches where ancient sarcophagi were built in, an uncommon design for churches at that time. This solution combined the claim to classical dignity with a new function as a burial site for scholars and court members.
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