Paola Malatesta

Paola Agnese Malatesta (1393 — 28 February 1449) also Paola of Mantua was an Italian noblewoman of the noble family House of Malatesta, rulers of Rimini and Pesaro. She was born in Pesaro in 1393 to Malatesta IV Malatesta, lord of Pesaro and Fossombrone, and Elisabetta da Varano. On 22 August 1409 she married Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, leader of Mantua, in Pesaro. She was the first Marchesa of Mantua after her husband received the title.

She was known as a pious, dignified she built the Church of Saint Paola with an adjoining convent in Mantua around 1420 for the Franciscan Poor Clare Nuns. She retired to the convent after her husband's death in 1444.

Paola died in Mantua in 1449 and was interred in the convent of Santa Paola in monastic habit per her wishes. She is a saint in the Franciscan martyrology.

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