WEBVTT - More Malatesta Murders 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:11.840 Romberto Malatesta loved a good banquet. He had long thought 0:00:12.039 --> 0:00:15.760 nothing could top the magnificent banquet he had thrown with 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:20.960 his cousin Farentino and his uncle Pandolfo back in thirteen 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:28.040 twenty four. On that occasion, they had invited Ramberto's other cousin, Uberto, 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:32.760 who had not only become an obstacle for them politically, 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:38.960 but had also represented the deep cutting betrayal perpetrated by 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:45.000 Uberto's father Paulo against Ramberto's own father back around twelve 0:00:45.080 --> 0:00:49.559 eighty five. They all had a lovely meal together, and 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:55.200 then they killed Uberto. Ramberto was very proud of that 0:00:55.320 --> 0:01:00.160 little bit of well executed political intrigue, and he had 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:04.800 thought it cemented a good relationship with his other cousin 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:10.920 Farentino and uncle Pandolpho. So it's no surprise really that 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:15.679 two or so years later, when Pandolpho died and cut 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:19.520 Romberto out of the line of succession of Reminy, the 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:24.480 oh so successful banquet they had all thrown together was 0:01:24.600 --> 0:01:29.560 on Ramberto's mind. What better revenge, he must have thought, 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:36.160 than to stage a repeat performance. So Ramberto planned another 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:41.520 banquet and invited his entire family to join in the revelry. 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:45.840 This time there would be no one left to sully 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:51.760 his good name or challenge his power. Ramberto was going 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:57.080 to kill them all. I'm Dana Schwartz and this is 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:08.200 noble blood. Uberto Maltesta grew up in the shadow of 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:13.160 his father's death. When Uberto was a teenager, his father, Paulo, 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:18.040 was killed alongside his lover Francesca de Polenta. The murder 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:23.560 was perpetrated by Paolo's own brother, Jianchoto, who also happened 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:28.760 to be Francesco's husband. Gianchoto had caught them in flagrante 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:35.680 after what was apparently a year's long passionate affair. After 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:39.440 the murder of Uberto's father, Uberto was brought along with 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:43.040 his mother and younger sister, into the household of his 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:49.680 father's murderer, where Uberto lived under Gianchoto's tutelage. This was 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:56.680 evidently and understandably an unbearable arrangement. By twelve ninety seven, 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:01.320 Uberto fled Remini, and he took refuge with a family 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:07.480 of Gibelines, enemies of his gwelp sympathizing family. Just as 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:11.519 a reminder, the Ghibelines and Guelphs were rival groups here, 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:15.400 with the Guelphs supporting the Pope and the Ghibelines supporting 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:20.800 the Holy Roman Emperor. In Uberto's new surroundings, he developed 0:03:20.840 --> 0:03:24.799 a Ghibeline leaning that mixed well with his desire for 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:30.840 revenge against his family. He participated in numerous military campaigns 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:35.000 with the Ghibelines, including one in thirteen hundred in which 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:40.160 he defeated his own uncle Malatstino, conquering the city of Chesna. 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:45.080 A few years later, Uberto became the Pudesta and captain 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:48.680 of Chesna, although he was apparently run out of the 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:54.440 city not long after for showing some tyrannical tendencies. Some 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:59.120 sources say that in thirteen oh four Uberto got the 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:04.560 ultimate revo by killing his uncle John Choto. Supposedly, he 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:07.440 was able to hide the murder by killing his uncle 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:11.720 in battle under the guise of their Gwelph Gibbeline animosities. 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:16.159 In a bloody moment in Italian history. It would have 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:22.560 been the perfect murder, really hidden in plain sight. Unfortunately, though, 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:26.599 we're pretty sure of Jannchoto's date of death, and we 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:30.600 have no sources verifying how he died or the role 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:33.839 Uberto may or may not have played in it, but 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:37.919 the fact that the story has endured speaks to the 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:44.600 dangerous ways political and familial tensions could and did intersect 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:48.880 during this period. In any case, for the next couple 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:53.320 of decades, Uberto seems to have committed himself to conquering 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:57.040 more and more land on behalf of the Gibeline faction 0:04:57.680 --> 0:05:02.720 and of course himself. In thirteen twenty one, he allied 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:07.400 with the Montrafelto family in an attack on Remani. By then, 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:12.120 Uberto's uncle Pandolfo had become the city's Podesta, and he 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:16.800 had appointed Uberto's cousin Ferantino to lead in the defense 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:23.839 against the invasion. They defeated Umberto and his Gibelin forces handily. 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:29.720 This was the last straw for Uberto. Dealing with his 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:34.440 family had felt like one betrayal after another, and so 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:39.840 a plan began to form in his head, the ultimate retribution. 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:44.920 For a few years he continued to operate as usual, 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:51.159 but all the while he was dreaming of taking over Remany. Finally, 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:54.919 in thirteen twenty four, he decided to put his plan 0:05:55.080 --> 0:06:01.560 into action. He reached out to his cousin Ramberto Romberto 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:05.839 was the son of Jianchoto by his second wife, Sambrasina 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:09.919 de Zambrasi. We don't know his exact birth year, but 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:13.359 it's possible that he was born while Uberto was still 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:16.960 under his uncle's care. They might have been living in 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:21.159 the same house. By now, Ramberto would have been at 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:27.560 least nineteen years old. Ramberto had evidently inherited the power 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:32.840 hungry tendencies of his male family members, and Uberto bet 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:37.039 that he could get him to turn on the family. Together, 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:40.279 the two cousins made a plan to depose their uncle 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:45.400 Pandolfo and take remedy for themselves. But as we know 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:49.760 if you remember the names in the introduction, Ramberto had 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:56.200 other plans. He informed Pandolpho and Farentino of Uberto's treacherous proposal, 0:06:56.680 --> 0:07:01.680 and together they planned to exact their revenge for Uberto's 0:07:01.800 --> 0:07:06.599 various betrayals of the family and, by proxy, his fathers. 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:12.320 They invited Uberto to a banquet. Uberto came, thinking that 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:16.760 he was the one in cahoot with Ramberto. It was 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:27.680 a double cross. He was wrong. The assassination of Uberto 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:34.560 Malatesta complete the three murderers. Ramberto Farantino, and Pandulfo quickly 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:38.960 set about covering up their crime. Although they were between 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:42.680 the three of them powerful enough to get away with murder, 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:47.000 it was still important to be smart about it, especially 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:50.000 given that the person that they had just murdered was 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:54.040 not only their kinsmen, but also an ally of their 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:59.360 most powerful enemy, the Montefeltro family. The three of them 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:03.240 cleaned up the banquet and placed Uberto's body in a 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:09.600 sack before burying him in a nearby town. Ramberto, Farantino, 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:13.960 and Pandulfo don't seem to have ever faced any consequences 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:18.440 for the cold blooded murder they committed. It's likely the 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:22.840 murder scandalous, as it was simply faded into the background 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:27.000 of ever present violence, much of it straddling the boundaries 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:32.360 between personal and political. Was it murder or was it warfare? 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:37.359 And who was going to prosecute the murder? The magistrates 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:40.480 in charge were the very people who were murdering their 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:45.360 relatives to gain political power. In any case, With their 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:49.439 crime unpunished, the murderers went about their business, fighting the 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:54.760 Ghibelins and attempting to expand their power in various bloody ways. 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:59.200 Ramberto was sure that he had cemented his good standing 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:03.560 in the family by foiling his wayward cousin's treasonous plot. 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:07.319 How could he not have He had had a chance 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:11.600 to betray them when Umberto proposed his plan, and he 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:15.720 didn't take it. He double crossed Uberto. Surely he would 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:18.960 be rewarded for his loyalty with the rest of the family. 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:25.360 Two years after Uberto's death, in thirteen twenty six, Pandulfo 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:31.640 Maltesta died. He was the last remaining son of Malitesta 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:36.960 de Verrocchio, after Paolo and John Choto, the adulteress and 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:41.560 murderous brothers. The only other son, Maltestino, had died about 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:46.600 ten years earlier, and so Pandolfo had inherited the better 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:51.960 part of the Malitesta dominions. Before he died, he dictated 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:56.319 his wishes for the successions of his vast holdings and 0:09:56.559 --> 0:10:02.000 most importantly, the lordships of Pesaro and Remy. He left 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:05.960 the lordship of Pesaro to his own son, Maltesta. The 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:11.160 second riminy he left to his nephew and co conspirator 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:17.640 in the murder of Uberto Farantino, to Ramberto. He left nothing. 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:23.439 We don't know why. Ramberto was excluded in this way, 0:10:23.520 --> 0:10:26.240 he does seem to have been something of a rogue 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:29.560 element of the family. We have no clear evidence that 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:34.040 he ever married, and while he clearly held several properties 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:38.319 and engaged in all sorts of military campaigns and intrigue, 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:42.280 he doesn't seem to have ever held any real power. 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:47.160 His father had been the Lord of Pesaro. Perhaps he 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.679 might have inherited it himself had he been older at 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.760 the time of his father's death, but he was just 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:57.760 a child, and unlike the monarchies in northern Europe, where 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:00.839 a child could inherit a throne with which the regency, 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:04.880 during this period in the Italian city states, it was 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:09.320 more common for another family member to well just take 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:14.640 the power for themselves outright, and so when Pandolpho died, 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:20.600 Ramberto was left with nothing in a cruel twist of fate. 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:25.760 Perhaps now he knew how Uberto must have felt deeply 0:11:25.800 --> 0:11:30.400 betrayed by his own family and angry enough to retaliate 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:35.319 where Uberto had gone off and joined his family's political 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:41.040 enemies in warfare. However, Ramberto decided to make his revenge 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:48.680 a little more personal. In July thirteen twenty six, not 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:54.959 long after Pandolpho's death, Ramberto planned another banquet, this time 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:59.719 at his home right in Rimany. He invited practically the 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:03.560 whole family, or at least any member of the family 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:08.120 who could either inherit anything or exact vengeance. That is, 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:13.080 all of the men. Historians agree that his plan was 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:19.199 most likely to execute a mass family murder, a brutal, 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:24.400 bloody and theatrical end to any branch of the Malatesta 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:29.079 line but his own. But his plan quickly hit a snag. 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:33.360 Farantino showed up, but along with his family members, but 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:38.080 Malatesta the Second was away fighting ghibelines along the eastern 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:42.360 shores of the Marque. Although a few of his family 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:47.160 members still attended, Ramberto knew he could not execute his 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:51.240 plan while someone was still alive to avenge the murders, 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:56.640 especially not someone as powerful as Malatesta the Second, not 0:12:56.760 --> 0:13:00.960 to mention as ruthless. He had to think on his feet. 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:04.680 He couldn't kill them, but maybe there was another way 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:08.720 this could all work out. He decided to try to 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:13.440 leverage his captives to get Mali Testa to help him 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:19.559 get what he felt he deserved. Ramberto began by releasing 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:23.720 the members of Maltesta's family. Maybe he thought he could 0:13:23.720 --> 0:13:28.720 get Malatesta to align with him willingly against Farentino to 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:32.320 take reminy, and of course he could just deal with 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:38.119 Malatesta himself later. It's possible Mali Testa considered his cousin's proposal. 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:41.240 It would certainly not have been the first time he 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:45.720 double crossed a relative, but will never know for sure, because, 0:13:45.760 --> 0:13:50.120 as it would turn out, Ramberto's half baked plan was 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:55.840 foiled not by Malatesta or by Farentino, but by one 0:13:55.840 --> 0:14:01.160 of the female relatives. He seems to have completely forgotten about, 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:08.600 Polentissana de Polenta, the wife of Farentino's son Mela Testino Novella. 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:13.000 Apologies really for all of these names, but just know 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:17.280 that this woman took to the straits of Remeny. She 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:21.320 rallied the people against her cousin in law. He was 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:26.440 holding her family, his own family hostage. He planned to 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:30.200 take remedy for himself with not a thought for its people. 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:35.920 It seems the support of the people, plus pressure from 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:41.440 Polentisana's powerful family of origin, who were, as it happens, 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:46.680 relatives of the long since murdered Francesca de Polenta convinced 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:52.200 Mala Testa to bring an army into Rmany. Cornered, Ramberto 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:57.760 freed his family members, slash hostages and fled to one 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:01.120 of his estates in the country. But he wouldn't stay 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:10.240 away from remedy for long. Ramberto was reconciled with his 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:15.320 family about a year after his attempted family mass murderer 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:19.880 coup in thirteen twenty seven, with the help of Cardinal 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:25.040 Bertrand de Pouget, a papal diplomat. We don't know exactly 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:28.760 how this truth came to be, but we can nonetheless 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:33.880 appreciate the diplomat's clear skill. If a TV show had 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:37.720 a priest character bringing a man who had only a 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:41.680 year before attempted a mass murder of his whole family 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:44.240 back into the fold, I think we would call it 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:49.360 unrealistic writing. And yet here we are. And the craziest 0:15:49.400 --> 0:15:54.400 part is this happened twice. A year or so after 0:15:54.480 --> 0:16:01.000 this papal Diplomat's masterful reconciliation, Ramberto made an another attempt 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:04.840 on remeny. This time he went more by the late 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:09.840 Uberto's playbook and allied with a political enemy of the 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:16.000 Malatestas he was aided by his brother, the archpriest Guido Maltesta, 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:20.200 about whom we know very little, but who clearly also 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:24.560 wished to topple his family's dynasty in Remeny. As you 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:28.480 can probably guess, the attempted takeover of Remedy did not 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:34.320 go well. Ramberto, Guido, and their supporters were soundly defeated 0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:37.800 and run out of the city. But before long the 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:44.440 wayward Mala Testa brothers were once again inexplicably accepted back 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:49.080 into the folds of their family, their trespasses apparently forgiven. 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:53.560 Perhaps Romberto thought it was odd that he was given 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:57.960 so many chances by his family. He had seen several 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:02.240 of his relatives slaughtered for offenses much less grievous than 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:06.200 his own. Maybe he thought that his failures to execute 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:10.680 his various treacherous plans made them somehow less treacherous or 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:15.399 less likely to be punished. When Malatistino Novello, the son 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:20.280 of Ramberto's cousin Farentino, both of whom let's remember he 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:23.680 had imprisoned in his home just a few years prior, 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:29.760 invited Ramberto to his hunting lodge at Pujano in thirteen 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:33.760 thirty for a few days of hunting and hawking. Perhaps 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:37.760 Romberto thought he might finally really have a chance to 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:43.000 truly and fully be restored to his family's good graces. 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:49.000 As sources would later tell it, Ramberto arrived at the 0:17:49.080 --> 0:17:54.960 lodge in the early evening. Malatustino wasn't there. It was January, 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:58.840 and so Ramberto sat by the fire, staving off the chill, 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:04.040 waiting for his host to arrive. When Mali Testino finally 0:18:04.080 --> 0:18:08.840 strolled in, as dusk settled over the palazzo, Ramberto fell 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:13.160 to his knees before him, he begged Mala Testino's forgiveness 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:16.600 for the kidnapping, for the treachery, for all of it. 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:22.240 Did he mean it? Was he truly sorry? To Mala Testino, 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:26.159 it didn't matter. As he placed one hand on his 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:30.480 cousin's shoulder, he used his other hand to reach for 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:35.840 his dagger. At this point, Ramberto must have realized this 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:41.679 invitation had been a trap. The banquet murderer had lost 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:44.680 at his own game. While the rest of the family 0:18:44.800 --> 0:18:50.160 had sincerely or otherwise made amends with Ramberto, Malatestino had 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:53.800 long since decided that he had had enough of the 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:59.400 endless plots, machinations, and betrayals. He had lured Ramberto here 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:02.960 with promises of a good hunt, a good meal, and 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:07.479 perhaps forgiveness. But this had been the plan all along. 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:13.200 Without a word, Malatistino plunged his dagger into Ramberto's neck, 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:19.119 killing him almost instantly. It was a fitting end for 0:19:19.280 --> 0:19:23.959 a man who represented a gruesome and dramatic era of 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:28.560 his family's history. He lived his life tangled in the 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:33.480 personal and the political. Is violence, guided by a craving 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:37.840 for power and a thirst for vengeance that he shared 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:41.280 with nearly every member of his family, much as they 0:19:41.359 --> 0:19:45.240 might have denied it. He had a flare for the theatrical, 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:49.800 perhaps inherited from his father, whose murder of his own 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:53.480 wife and brother became one of the best known stories 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:57.280 of star cross lovers in history and had set the 0:19:57.359 --> 0:20:06.360 tone for half a century of parricide. That's the end 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:10.720 of the story of the many murders and betrayals plaguing 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:15.120 the Malatesta family. But keep listening after a brief sponsor 0:20:15.200 --> 0:20:19.000 break to hear about a few more. For good measure. 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:30.639 I would love to end this episode by saying that 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:35.359 Ramberto's murder closed the chapter of bloody violence in this 0:20:35.480 --> 0:20:40.720 family's history, but it very much did not. It would 0:20:40.760 --> 0:20:43.919 only be a few years before the Malatestas turned on 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:48.720 each other again. Mali Testa, the second an uncle of Ramberto's, 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:51.840 was known for much of his life by a nickname 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:56.520 guas the Familia, as with John Chotto before him, whose 0:20:56.600 --> 0:21:00.439 nickname was Scunchot, though, which was a reference to his 0:21:00.680 --> 0:21:05.600 supposed ugly appearance. Guilsta Familia's nickname was a nod to 0:21:05.680 --> 0:21:11.639 his most notable attribute, it means family ruiner. As it 0:21:11.640 --> 0:21:15.119 would turn out, Ramberto was not the only member of 0:21:15.160 --> 0:21:20.120 the family with designs on remeny, perhaps harboring some resentment 0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:24.920 that his cousin Farantino had inherited the powerful dominion upon 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:29.960 his father's death in thirteen thirty, he this family ruiner 0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:33.879 concocted a series of intrigues to have the Papal legate 0:21:34.320 --> 0:21:38.520 ban Farentino from Rimini and allow him to take control 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:43.440 of the city. That worked well enough until April thirteen 0:21:43.560 --> 0:21:48.199 thirty three, when Maltesta and his brother Gallioto, who seems 0:21:48.240 --> 0:21:50.800 to have managed to stay out of the previous decades 0:21:50.800 --> 0:21:55.119 of family drama, were both captured in battle. When they 0:21:55.160 --> 0:21:58.880 were freed some time later, they had to reconquer Rumeny, 0:21:59.240 --> 0:22:03.040 and they fought alongside the papal troops to expand the 0:22:03.080 --> 0:22:08.560 family's dominion to Fossombrone and Fano. In the meantime, they 0:22:08.680 --> 0:22:15.119 temporarily reinstated Farentino as Lord of Remedy. Farentino ruled Remedy 0:22:15.200 --> 0:22:19.400 again from thirteen thirty four until thirteen thirty five, when 0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:25.920 Malitesta made his move. He captured Farentino, his son Maltstino Novello, 0:22:26.280 --> 0:22:29.520 the one who, if you remember, had murdered Ramberto knife 0:22:29.560 --> 0:22:33.920 in the neck, and his grandson Guido. It's likely that 0:22:34.119 --> 0:22:40.800 Malitesta murdered Mala Testino and Guido during their imprisonment. Farentino 0:22:41.040 --> 0:22:45.520 was eventually freed Bynulfo de Montrefelto the latest in a 0:22:45.600 --> 0:22:49.800 long line of Montefeltro enemies of the Malatesta family, and 0:22:49.840 --> 0:22:54.080 that sparked a war that ended in papal intervention. In 0:22:54.200 --> 0:22:59.000 thirteen forty two, Maltesta and Gallioto signed a piece with 0:22:59.119 --> 0:23:04.240 the Pope confirming Gallioto as Lord of Fano. Mala Testa 0:23:04.400 --> 0:23:08.959 lord of Remeny, and his sons were given dominion in Pesaro. 0:23:10.000 --> 0:23:14.879 Farentino was left out in the cold. His last dominion 0:23:15.160 --> 0:23:19.040 Montiano would be taken not long after by Malatesta and 0:23:19.160 --> 0:23:23.080 Gallioto when they themselves betrayed the pope and allied with 0:23:23.119 --> 0:23:27.400 the Ghibelins. It's all very complicated, but what you need 0:23:27.440 --> 0:23:31.760 to know is Farentino died in thirteen fifty three, having 0:23:31.840 --> 0:23:35.600 lost pretty much all of his power, but also having 0:23:35.720 --> 0:23:40.480 seemingly managed to avoid being murdered by his cousin. Mala 0:23:40.560 --> 0:23:45.600 Testa and Gallioto continued their bloody crusades, even having to 0:23:45.680 --> 0:23:50.560 pay a ransom in thirteen fifty to retain remedy after 0:23:50.640 --> 0:23:54.560 one of their enemies attacked it in vengeance. In something 0:23:54.600 --> 0:23:59.119 of a twist, in thirteen sixty three, mala Testa retired, 0:23:59.600 --> 0:24:03.480 leaving remedy to be shared between his sons and his 0:24:03.520 --> 0:24:08.320 brother Gallioto. Gallioto, it turns out, would go on to 0:24:08.480 --> 0:24:13.359 outlive his nephews the normal way, not the classic Maltesta 0:24:13.560 --> 0:24:17.240 murder way, and he would inherit the entirety of the 0:24:17.240 --> 0:24:22.920 Malatesta dominions, with the line of succession now much simpler, 0:24:23.400 --> 0:24:27.800 contained in one set of sons rather than spread between 0:24:27.800 --> 0:24:32.080 brothers and nephews and cousins. It seems that the infighting 0:24:32.160 --> 0:24:38.880 between malatestas finally ceased, and so instead they began to 0:24:39.000 --> 0:24:44.720 turn their gaze outward to patronage of literature and the arts, 0:24:44.760 --> 0:24:49.880 a series of advantageous political marriages, legitimizing children they had 0:24:49.920 --> 0:24:53.680 out of wedlock, fighting in all manner of wars, and 0:24:54.000 --> 0:25:07.159 hosting banquets where nobody got murdered. Noble Blood is a 0:25:07.200 --> 0:25:11.399 production of iHeart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. 0:25:12.000 --> 0:25:15.880 Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional 0:25:15.920 --> 0:25:20.639 writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, Amy 0:25:20.680 --> 0:25:24.800 Hit and Julia Milaney. The show is edited and produced 0:25:24.880 --> 0:25:30.760 by Jesse Funk, with supervising producerrima Ill Kali and executive 0:25:30.800 --> 0:25:34.960 producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more 0:25:35.080 --> 0:25:40.600 podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 0:25:40.640 --> 0:26:18.960 wherever you listen to your favorite shows.