Ĭriticisms of Pietro's meteoric rise were not constrained to the charge of benefiting from nepotism as Sixtus IV's nephew, nor to allegations of possibly having been Sixtus IV's illegitimate son. Chroniclers of his life seem to regard his death as unnatural and thus connect his alleged grandiose spending habits and the impression they left on his contemporaries as causal. He reportedly spent 200,000 gold ducats on foodstuffs and festivities during two years in office. Pietro became one of the richest men in Rome and was entrusted with Pope Sixtus IV's foreign policy, in addition to being given an unofficial post as the de facto ruler of Rome. He was successively promoted to be a cardinal, the bishop of Florence, the Patriarch of Constantinople and given some 45 additional benefices. His nephew, Pietro Riario, possibly also benefited from his alleged nepotism. In the fresco by Melozzo da Forlì, he is accompanied by his Della Rovere and Riario nephews, not all of whom were made cardinals the protonotary apostolic Pietro Riario (on his right), the future Pope Julius II/ Giuliano Della Rovere standing before him and Girolamo Riario and Giovanni della Rovere, behind the kneeling Platina, author of the first humanist history of the popes. Sixtus IV sought to strengthen his position by surrounding himself with relatives and friends. Nepotism Pope Sixtus IV appoints Platina as Prefect of the Library, by Melozzo da Forlì, accompanied by his relatives For the remainder of his pontificate, Sixtus turned to temporal issues and dynastic considerations. Some fruitless attempts were made towards unification with the Greek Church. However, after the conquest of Smyrna, the fleet disbanded. One of his first acts was to declare a renewed crusade against the Ottoman Turks in Smyrna. Upon being elected Pope, Della Rovere adopted the name Sixtus, which had not been used since the 5th century. His reputation for piety was one of the deciding factors that prompted the College of Cardinals to elect him Pope upon the unexpected death of Paul II at the age of fifty-four. In 1467, he was appointed Cardinal by Pope Paul II with the titular church being the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli.īefore his papal election, Cardinal della Rovere was renowned for his unworldliness and had written learned treatises, including On the Blood of Christ and On the Power of God. In 1464, Della Rovere was elected Minister General of the Franciscan order at the age of 50. He went on to lecture at Padua and many other Italian universities. Īs a young man, Della Rovere joined the Franciscan Order, an unlikely choice for a political career, and his intellectual qualities were revealed while he was studying philosophy and theology at the University of Pavia.
He was born in Celle Ligure, a town near Savona. Early life įrancesco was a member of Della Rovere family, a son of Leonardo della Rovere and Luchina Monleoni. He was noted for his nepotism and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi conspiracy, a plot to remove the Medici family from power in Florence. Sixtus founded the Spanish Inquisition through the bull Exigit sincerae devotionis affectus (1478), and he annulled the decrees of the Council of Constance. A patron of the arts, he brought together the group of artists who ushered the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpieces of the city's new artistic age.
His accomplishments as pope included the construction of the Sistine Chapel and the creation of the Vatican Library. Pope Sixtus IV ( Italian: Sisto IV born Francesco della Rovere 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. Bishops consecrated by Pope Sixtus IV as principal consecrator
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