Which Renaissance architect designed the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini?

Leon Battista Alberti designed the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini.

The building was a medieval church transformed for Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, ruler of Rimini. Alberti designed the new marble façade and exterior treatment around 1453, wrapping a classical architectural language around the existing structure. The project’s name refers to the Malatesta family, while its official dedication is to Saint Francis.

The façade’s triumphal-arch form and classical details helped establish Alberti’s reputation as a theorist and architect of the Renaissance. Inside, chapels and decoration celebrated the Malatesta court, although the planned building was never completed. Alberti is sometimes mistakenly credited with personally supervising every construction stage; he supplied the design, while Matteo de’ Pasti served as a practical collaborator and building supervisor. The unfinished upper portion remains part of the monument’s distinctive appearance.