Castel Sismondo

The hulking brick fortress at the western edge of the old town is what survives of Sigismondo Malatesta's mid-15th-century palace-castle. After centuries as a barracks and then a prison, it has been restored as the centrepiece of the new Fellini Museum, which spreads across the castle and the adjoining piazza.

The exterior alone — squat brick walls, a single surviving tower, and a moat now planted as a sunken garden — is one of the most atmospheric corners of Rimini. The renovated interior tells the story of Federico Fellini's films through sets, props, costumes, and immersive installations.

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A story
Sigismondo Malatesta — the same man who built the Tempio — designed the castle himself, in collaboration with Filippo Brunelleschi, who visited Rimini in 1438. Sigismondo only ever lived in part of it; the rest served as garrison quarters. Three of the original eight towers and most of the moat were demolished in the nineteenth century.