Isotta degli Atti (late 1432 or 1433 – 9 July 1474) was an Italian Renaissance woman and regent. She was the mistress and later wife of the condottiero and lord of

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (19 June 1417 – 7 October 1468) was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, a member of the House of Malatesta and lord of Rimini and Fano from 1432. He was widely considered by his contemporaries as one of the mo ...

. She governed Rimini as regent during the excommunication of Malatesta in 1460-62, as well as during the minority of their son in 1468–69.

Biography

She was born in

, the daughter of Francesco degli Atti, a wealthy wool trader and banker. She was noticed by Sigismondo Malatesta at the age of 12 or 13, in the period when his nearby residence was being restored and the lord of Rimini was a guest of Francesco. As early as 1447 Sigismondo and Isotta had perhaps a son, Giovanni, who died as a newborn; he was buried in the Malatesta church of San Francesco. Their relationship became public only in 1449, after the death of Sigismondo's second wife,

Polissena Sforza Polissena Sforza (1428 – June 1, 1449) was an Italian noblewoman and wife of the Lord of Rimini. She was the daughter of the condottiero Francesco Sforza, the future Duke of Milan, and Giovanna d'Acquapendente, his mistress, with whom he h ...

. The two married in 1456. During the period in which Sigismondo Pandolfo was excommunicated by Pope

Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

, that is between 1460 and 1462, Isotta governed Rimini on his behalf. After her husband's death in 1468, she acted as regent for her son Sallustio. The latter was assassinated the following year by

Roberto Malatesta Roberto Malatesta (c. 1441/42 – 10 Septembe1482) was an Italian condottiero, or mercenary captain, lord of Rimini, and a member of the House of Malatesta. Early life Born at Fano, Roberto was an illegitimate son of Sigismondo Pandolfo an ...

, an illegitimate son of Sigismondo Pandolfo, who took control of Rimini. She died in 1474 and was buried in the church of San Francesco. She is featured in

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

's ''Cantos''.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atti, Isotta degli 1430s births 1474 deaths 15th-century Italian women 15th-century viceregal rulers 15th-century women rulers People from Rimini House of Malatesta Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta Female regents Burials at Tempio Malatestiano