Pope Sixtus IV (Francesco della Rovere)

Francesco della Rovere, born in 1414, a Franciscan and minister general of his order, was Pope Sixtus IV from 1471 to 1484. He heaped wealth and offices on unworthy relatives and made their aggrandisement the principal object of his policy. He was aware of his nephew's Pazzi conspiracy against the Medici, in which Giuliano de' Medici was murdered in Florence Cathedral in 1478, and afterwards placed Florence under interdict. Wars with Florence and Venice followed. According to the Britannica he financed his buildings with grievous taxation; simony flourished. In 1478 he authorised the Catholic Monarchs to set up the Inquisition in Spain.

Life dates

1414-1484 (about 70 years old)

Country

Italy, Vatican City

Institutions

Papal States
Franciscans

Category

Financial misconduct, Murder

Level of evidence

B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?

Background

Course of events

1. Francesco della Rovere was born into a poor family near Savona in 1414, entered the Franciscan order early and became its general in 1464. He was pope from 9 August 1471 to 12 August 1484.
   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Sixtus IV.

   „pope from the 9th of August 1471 to the 12th of August 1484, was born of a poor family near Savona in 1414“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Sixtus IV.

   „he was chosen general of his order in 1464“

Who received the assets, who profited?

1. According to the Britannica some writers maintained that his sudden election was due to bribery in the conclave; his apologists attribute it to Cardinal Bessarion. According to the Britannica there is no doubt that the expenditure of his pontificate was prodigal. He heaped gifts and lucrative offices on unworthy relatives and made their aggrandisement the principal object of his policy as a secular prince. His buildings were only accomplished through grievous taxation; annates were increased and simony flourished. According to the Britannica his great vices were nepotism, ambition and extravagance; the Catholic Encyclopedia too calls nepotism his dominating passion.
   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Sixtus IV.

   „Some writers have maintained that this sudden elevation of the most recent member of the Sacred College was due to bribery in the conclave“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Sixtus IV.

   „There is no doubt that the expenditures of his pontificate were prodigal.“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Sixtus IV.

   „Not content with enriching them by gifts and lucrative offices, he made their aggrandizement the principal object of his policy as a secular prince.“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Sixtus IV.

   „These great works, however, were not accomplished without grievous taxation. Annates were increased and simony flourished.“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Sixtus IV.

   „his great vices were nepotism, ambition and extravagance“

   Evidence: Richard Urban Butler, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Absatz 2

   „fell more and more under his dominating passion of nepotism, heaping riches and favours on his unworthy relations“

Response of the Church

1. In 1478 his nephew Cardinal Raffaele Riario planned the Pazzi conspiracy to overthrow the Medici and bring Florence under the rule of the Riario. According to the Britannica and the Catholic Encyclopedia the pope knew of the plot; the Catholic Encyclopedia holds probably not of the intention to murder. After Florence rose against the conspirators and murderers of Giuliano de' Medici he placed the city under interdict. See the entry Pazzi conspiracy 1478.
   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Sixtus IV.

   „Sixtus was cognisant of the conspiracy of the Pazzi, plotted (1478) by his nephew, Cardinal Riario, against Lorenzo de’ Medici.“

   Evidence: Richard Urban Butler, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Absatz 2

   „The pope was cognizant of the plot, though probably not of the intention to assassinate, and even had Florence under interdict because it rose in fury against the conspirators and brutal murderers of Giuliano de' Medici.“

2. On 1 November 1478 Sixtus IV empowered the Catholic Monarchs to set up the Inquisition in Spain. See the entry Spanish Inquisition.
   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 8 (1910), Abschnitt The Spanish Inquisition

   „On 1 November, 1478, Sixtus IV empowered the Catholic sovereigns to set up the Inquisition“

See also

• Person 1432-1492 · about 60 years old

  Pope Innocent VIII (Giovanni Battista Cibo)

  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Vatican City
  • Financial misconduct
  • Persecution
• 1478-1480 · 2 years

  Florence 1478: Pazzi conspiracy with the pope's nephew, an archbishop and two priests; Giuliano de’ Medici stabbed to death during High Mass in the cathedral

  • Italy
  • Violence
  • Murder
• 1478-1834 · 356 years

  Spanish Inquisition

  • Spain
  • Admission
  • Torture
  • Persecution
• 1601-1878 · 277 years

  Castrati in the papal choir of the Sistine Chapel from 1601

  • Italy
  • Vatican City
  • Violence

Scholarly literature and reference works

1. Reference work
   Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Sixtus (Abschnitt Sixtus IV.), 1 January 1911. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 30 Oct 2026)
2. Reference work
   Richard Urban Butler, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912): Pope Sixtus IV, 1 January 1912. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 30 Oct 2026)
3. Reference work
   The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 8 (1910): Inquisition, 1 January 1910. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 11 Oct 2026)

Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.