Pandolfo IV Malatesta

Pandolfo IV Malatesta, nicknamed Pandolfaccio (Bad Pandulph) (July 1475 – June 1534) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Rimini and other cities in Romagna.

Pandolfo's violence and murders gained him the hatred of his subjects: in 1497, a failed rape attempt on a young girl spurred a revolt in Rimini, which he could suppress only with Venetian intervention.

Abandoned by his subjects, Pandolfo was compelled to give up Rimini for 2,900 ducats, living in Venice in the following years.

In 1509, he took part in the Battle of Agnadello, and after the Venetian defeat he changed sides, submitting to the Holy Roman Emperor.

In 1527, after the Sack of Rome and capture of Pope Clement VII, the two Malatestas entered again their ancestral city, but were soon ousted by Papal mercenaries.

Altarpiece of St. Vincent Ferrer (with St. Sebastian and St. Rocchus; at his feet : Pandolfo IV Malatesta and his mother Elisabetta Aldobrandini, his wife Violantre Bentivoglio and his brother Carlo) by Domenico Ghirlandaio and workshop (1493-1496)