Castel Sismondo in Rimini, the fortified residence of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, lord of Rimini from 1432 to 1468, combined a celebratory intent with the need for defence. The demolition of the buildings between the castle and town square accentuated its dominant position so the Malatesta fortress rose above the seats of civil and religious power.
It stood out for the might of its towers and walls equipped with escarpments, the wide moat, and the grandeur of its plastered white keep which dazzled against the red entrance tower. The defensive apparatus, prepared with the advice of Filippo Brunelleschi, was equipped with guns.
The castle, as the restorations have made clear, incorporated the previous Roman walls and towers, the medieval Gattolo gate and the settlement of houses and palaces. Sigismondo, however, claims to have built it from scratch in the inscription on the entrance portal. Work began in 1437 and lasted for about 15 years, while the residence was first inhabited in 1446.
Today all that remains is the central nucleus of the original building reproduced in Sigismondo’s medals and a fresco by Piero della Francesca in the Temple. The entrance portal is surmounted by an inscription and the family coat of arms with an elephant, rose and chessboard.
Having become a papal fortress, it underwent profound changes from the 17th century onwards: the walls were demolished, the moat filled in and the furnishings removed. A prison from the 19th century until 1967, complex restoration work began in the 1970s.
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