Carlo I Malatesta(June 1368 – 13 September 1429) (alsoCarlo of Rimini) was an Italiancondottieroduring theWars in Lombardyand lord ofRimini,Fano,CesenaandPesaro.He was a member of the powerfulHouse of Malatesta.Carlo's wife was Elisabetta Gonzaga; they were married in November 1386.[1]Francesco I Gonzagamarried Carlo's sisterMargherita Malatestain 1393, cementing ties between the families.[2]Carlo was the brother ofPandolfo IIIandAndrea Malatesta,with whom he fought in numerous occasions.
Carlo I Malatesta was one of the most respected condottieri of the time; he enlarged the Riminese possessions and restored the port.
Life
editCarlo Malatesta was the son of thecondottieroGaleotto I Malatestaand Elisabetta da Varano, daughter of the condottierioRodolfo II da Varano.
After Galeotto's death in 1385, the Malatesta lands were divided among his four sons. Carlo inheritedRimini. In 1385 he was named vicar forRomagnaby thePope Urban VIand, two years later,Gonfalonier.
In 1390 he defeated a Bolognese corps led byAlberico da Barbiano.In his early years he fought mainly against theMontefeltrofamily, but later allied with them through a double marriage arrangement. In 1394, he was placed in charge ofRocca Contrada,a town important in the local balance of power, located at the border of the Marca di Ancona, Umbria, and the Duchy of Urbino. That same year, he and his youngest brother Galleotto receivedBertinoroas security for a loan made to the papacy.[3]
Formerly aligned with the Visconti, the marriage of his sister Margherita drew him closer to the Gonzagas. In 1397 in the war between theViscontiand the Gonzaga of Mantua, he defeated the Visconti leaderJacopo Dal VermeatGovernolo,but whenGiovanni da Barbianoand others refused to advance against Brescia, he retired in disgust to Romagna. In 1398, he successfully arbitrated a truce between the parties.[4]
Malatesta resumed service with the papacy, and in 1402 led an allied force including his brother Andrea of Cesena, the Florentines, a number of lords of the papal states and the troops of the papal legateBaldassarre Cossaagainst Milan. He then negotiated a settlement with Francesco Gonzaga as representative of theDuchess of Milan,by which Bologna, Perugia, and Assisi were returned to the papacy.Pope Boniface IX,not wishing to prolong an expensive conflict, later accepted the terms, despite opposition from both Florence and Bologna.[5]
In 1406 he was named governor of Milan. From 1409 Carlo fought constantly for thePapal States,not only asCaptain General of the Churchbut also as diplomat. In the chaotic situation created by the presence of three popes at the same time, he backedGregory XII,whom he also housed at Rimini, until his abdication at theCouncil of Constance.[6]The resignation letter was read by Carlo himself.
After his brother-in-law's (Francesco I Gonzaga) death in 1407, Carlo protected Francesco's young sonGianfrancesco I Gonzaga,his nephew through his sister Margherita.[2]Gianfrancesco would become the firstMarquis of Mantua.
In 1412 he becamecapitano generale(commander-in-chief) of theVenetianarmy, fighting against the Hungarian invasion of KingSigismund.However, he was wounded in action at theBattle of Motta,and had to cede his position to his brother Pandolfo.
On 12 July 1416 Malatesta was defeated byBraccio da Montoneat theBattle of Sant'Egidio,wounded and taken prisoner. Pandolfo paid 80,000ducatias ransom. Later, his territories were invaded by the Visconti army. Carlo lostForlìandGradara,and was subsequently defeated atZagonara.Again taken prisoner, he was housed as a guest by the Duke of MilanFilippo Maria,and later freed without harm.
TheCarlo Malatestawho married Vittoria Colonna, niece of Pope Martin V, was the son ofMalatesta dei Sonettiwho was lord of Pesaro.Guillaume Du Fay's ballade "Resvellies Vous" (Awake and be merry) was written for the marriage of this younger Carlo in 1423. Carlo Malatesta of Rimini provided the newlyweds with a "most sumptuousnozze"in Rimini.[7]
Malatesta died in 1429, having obtained byPope Martin Vthe legitimation of his sons, who inherited the seigniories of Rimini and Fano, while the sons ofMalatesta dei Sonettireceived Pesaro and his nephewDomenicoreceived Cesena.
References
edit- ^Anna Falcioni,La signoria di Carlo Malatesta(Rimini: Bruno Gigli Editori, 2001).
- ^abRobert Tavernor(1998).On Alberti and the Art of Building.New Haven and London:Yale University Press.p. 125.
- ^Jones, P. J. (2005).The Malatesta of Rimini and the Papal State.Cambridge University Press. p. 113.ISBN9780521023641.
- ^Jones 2005,p. 115.
- ^Jones 2005,p. 120.
- ^Creighton, Mandell (1907).A History of the Papacy from the Great Schism to the Sack of Rome.Volume I. London: Longmans, Green, and Company. p. 223
- ^Cesare and Clementino Clementini,Raccolto istorico della fondatione de' Rimini, e dell' origine e vite de' Malatesti(Rimini, 1617-1627), 105.
Sources
edit- Rendina, Claudio (1992).I capitani di ventura.Rome: Newton Compton.