[1] He was the son of Pandolfo III Malatesta and succeeded him in the lordship of Rimini in contrast with the local bishop; after the people rose against the latter, he obtained by Pope Martin V that his father's lands were entrusted to him and his brothers Domenico and the notorious Sigismondo.
Roberto Malatesta unlike his more famous brother Sigismondo was remembered as a man of great holiness and goodness.
[2] Roberto was said to have helped the poor with alms and visited the sick in their homes or in hospital for which he was fondly remembered.
[3] A deeply pious man, he led an intense prayer life and became a member of the secular Franciscans after having a vision of St. Francis of Assisi who appeared to him.
[4] He was depicted in a medieval fresco beside St. Francis in a church at Rovereto[5] which highlights the public cult he enjoyed as a saint figure following his death.