The Malatesta Temple, Cathedral of the diocese since 1809, is a famous example of Renaissance architecture and maybe the most illustrious monument of Rimini. It was built by Leon Battista Alberti as a precious marble casket around the gothic church of St. Francis.
The work, wanted by Sigismondo Malatesta, Lord of Rimini, started in 1447 and ended in 1460, though uncompleted.
Leon Battista Alberti placed his ideas of rigour and proportional harmony, inspired by Classical canons, into contruction of the Temple: the regular sequence of the lateral arches echoes the openings of the Tiberius bridge and the large entrance is an evident allusion to the town’s Arch of Augustus.
Inside, it keeps a Crucifixion by Giotto, a fresco by Piero della Francesca, bas-reliefs and sculptures by Agostino di Duccio, and a painting by Giorgio Vasari.”
Rimini all year round
