Small biography of a great castle

Already in the Bavaro Code (VII – X century) there is news of the existence, towards the end of the IX century, of a “chastrum sancti arcangeli” on Mons Iovis. A fortification that served, as a backdrop and silent spectator, to intense and tormented conspiracies, like the centuries-old struggle between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, and the disputes between the lords of Malatesta and Montefeltro.

The dominion of the Malatesta (1295 – 1500) was decisive: Dante’s “Mastin vecchio” presided over the castle during his passage at the head of the Guelph party. Perhaps it’s for this last event that some academics have set the famous Dante’s tale of Paolo and Francesca within the walls of the Castle of Santarcangelo.

It was in the 14th and 15th centuries that the Malatesta succeeded in acquiring the undisputed dominion over the vast area surrounding Rimini. And it was thanks to Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta that the fortress of Santarcangelo, at the end of the works in 1447, took on its final form that it still preserves today.

Over the centuries the castle has undergone a clear change in its structure. Only a few traces of its original form remain embedded in the walls of the present Castle. In 1386, on the ruins of the ancient castle, a huge tower – called Mastio – among the highest in Italy, was built by Carlo Malatesta for protection against the attacks its enemies. It was Sigismondo Pandolfo who shortened the tower and, with the resulting material, built the present structure of the Castle, more suitable for facing the new military techniques.

In 1462 the castle was taken by Federico da Montefeltro, reconquered by Roberto, son of Sigismondo Pandolfo, and set on fire by Cesare Borgia in 1498. When Borgia also fell and was abandoned by the Malatesta, the Castle passed to the Venetians who ceded it to the Holy See in 1505. From that date, until the Unification of Italy, it was given in emphyteusis to various lords, including the Zampeschi family, who opened the large windows, that still today shine light on the three rooms of the Court.
In 1800 the Castle was bought by the Baldini counts, as stated on the marble plaque that is on the wall of the Court in front of the entrance. In 1880 it became the property of the Massani family who transformed the Castle and its surrounding areas into a large agricultural centre.

In 1903 it was bought by Countess Eugenia Rasponi Murat, nephew of Princess Luisa Giulia Murat, daughter of Carolina Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon and of Gioacchino Murat. Having no children, Countess Eugenia left the Castle to her cousin, Count Giovanni Battista Spalletti Trivelli, grandfather of Princess Marina Colonna di Paliano, who inherited it definitively in 1992.