The Malatestian Fortress

A large Renaissance fortress set in the heart of Cesena, the Malatestian fortress dominates the city from the top of the Garampo hill. The history of this castle is long and winding: its presence is attested for the first time in the XII century, but it is supposed that it can even date back to the VIII century, when it was built on the hill to replace the previous roman settlement at the bottom of the valley – which offered a less efficacious defense – and was therefore placed in an excellent point to control the entire valley.

Of this first construction, called "rocca Vecchia", today only a few remains can be observed including the so-called "owl eyes": two large holes on a ruined wall on the top of the Garampo hill, which look down the city like a pair of big watchful eyes. They are located on a stretch of the raised walkway that remained, together with a tower, in the west area, a reminder of the ancient structure of the rocca Vecchia between the ruins of the Torre dell’Imperatore and the current Porta Montanara.

The "rocca Nuova" born in 1380, following the defeat that cardinal Albornoz, appointed by the pope to bring that territory back under the government of the Church, inflicted on Cia degli Ordelaffi, and of the "Sack of Bretons", which twenty years later it had caused serious damage to the rocca Vecchia.

The Nuova was built at the behest of Galeotto Malatesta, and the work was then carried on by descendants up to Domenico Malatesta Novello. The latter was a man of war, for whom finishing the construction of a fortress like that was of primary importance.

So, he also decided to ask for advice of some importance, such as that of Brunelleschi, whose visit to the city dates back around to 26-27 September 1438. Firearms had not yet entered the scene, so the constructive solutions adopted by Brunelleschi did not represent decisive innovations.

Among the prestigious signatures of the guests of the Malatestian fortress, it should also be listed the one of Leonardo da Vinci, who visited the city in 1502 when Cesare Borgia commissioned him to review the fortifications of the recently conquered jurisdictions, and who executed the complete survey of the walls of Cesena.

His notes are very precise and this allows us to define, by comparing his maps with the current tracks, which have been the changes and improvements adopted following his inspection.

The new bastions changed the polygonal shape to a circular one, while the old ones were equipped with openings at the base of the shoe walls and vent pipes for the positioning of the bombards.

Close to Piazza del Popolo there is the Rocchetta di Piazza, the defensive element located further down the valley, consisting of the Loggetta Veneziana, the Torre di Piazza, the torrazzo and the corridor wall. According to historical sources, the construction of this murum, which connects the Palazzo del Governatore to the fortress, was overseen in 1466 by the pontifical governor Lorenzo Zane, who, from 1475, under the pontificate of Sixtus IV, played a decisive role in encouraging the conclusion of the works on the fortress, which in 1480 could be said to have been completed.

In the 19th century the walls suffered significant changes: the city was in the midst of a phase of changes that looked to the future and to carry out these interventions it was necessary to open arches and doors or demolish certain old structures if these were an obstacle to urban progress. But overall, the general layout of the walls has not been excessively altered, and above all the whole foundations have been preserved, since the fact that parts of the surface have been mostly swept away.

Finally, the 20th century also marked the character of the fortress with its passage: after the First World War the memorial to the Fallen was inaugurated, while during the Second, anti-aircraft shelters were built under the walls, to which there were two entrances that opened in the retaining wall of the Parco della Rimembranza. After the end of the war, the allies used these shelters as a warehouse for spare parts for military vehicles.

The wall is equipped with a Ghibelline battlement that protect the patrol walkway and with brick towers. The curtain walls and the towers are connected by an internal gallery, with secondary streets and spiral staircases to move on the various levels.
The towers were all named with names that could indicate their function or proximity to other environments: the Torrione del Forno; the Torrione di San Domenico; the Torrione del Nuti...

Matteo Nuti was Malatesta Novello's personal architect and played an important role in the construction of the fortress. He himself oversaw the construction of the eastern bastion, which served as a model for the other two. This bastion - called "new tower" because it was erected after the others - is the only one that has a spiral staircase inside to move on three floors, while the other towers are composed only of a low casemate with a spherical roof and a terrace upper with perimeter walkway.

Inside the Rocchetta we find the Maschio (the Maestra tower) and the Femmina (which would be the castle of the castellan). These two towers were surrounded by a wall and flanked by other buildings that served to make the Rocchetta autonomous.

It is possible to distinguish the Maschio from the Femmina by the taller and more slender profile of the first and the lower and more compact appearance of the latter. They were built in order to be able to isolate themselves from the walkways in case of defensive needs and be independent of each other. In the event of a siege, it was therefore possible to withdraw to the Rocchetta, then to the Femmina and finally to the Maschio, which performed the task of the last bulwark of defense.

The entrances to the fortress were originally four: the main one was the Porta Maestra, to the north. The second was an access to the north-east, called "corridore", used by the military - but very little remains of this way. There was also an underground passage, which has completely disappeared, and finally, the last entrance was located to the south, equipped with a drawbridge, and was used for supplies and military reinforcements; currently this plays the role of main entrance.

In the basement there are the tools for breeding and means of transport while on the ground floor the rooms of the Romagna farmhouse have been reconstructed.

On the first floor there are objects that the peasants used for the trades carried out in the winter period, and two entire rooms are dedicated to the wheat cycle. On the second floor, instead, we see the rooms that concern the cycle of the vine and wine.

Inside the Maschio there is also no shortage of museum spaces: on the second level four armors, tournament saddles and modern reproductions of ancient weapons are exhibited. The armors are authentic and made up of pieces dating back to different eras (from the 15th to the 18th century).

Finally, in the spaces of the Loggetta Veneziana, at the base of Colle Garampo, the Museum of Natural Sciences has been set up, consisting of historical artifacts relating to science teaching given by the classical high school "Vincenzo Monti" of Cesena, and the exhibition also includes an outdoor section showing the rocks that form the hilly soil adjacent to the city, and a splendid botanical garden located in the Parco della Rimembranza.

In addition to this, in the lasts years many other initiatives have been undertaken to exploit the most the various parts of this fascinating and ancient fortress: a wide range of cultural, tourist and artistic activities take place within the walls and in the courtyards of the fortress in different seasons, to ensure that everyone, tourists and locals alike, can fully enjoy these centuries-old spaces so suggestive and rich in history.