Pope Sixtus IV, the Renaissance in Full Swing

Pope Sixtus IV, aka Francesco della Roverre, was born a poor child but was able to change Rome from a medieval town to a Renaissance city.

Francesco was born in 1417 in the little town of Celle Ligure, in the very northern part of Italy, near what we call the Riviera. At the age of 9, he was sent to join the Franciscans and get an education. A very bright young man, he studied philosophy and theology at the University of Pavia. Later he lectured on these subjects at Padua and other universities. During this time, he also wrote learned treatises like “On the Blood of Christ” and “On the Power of God” as well as works on the Immaculate Conception. Francesco was known for his unworldliness. His work had brought him some wealth.

In 1464, Francesco was elected Minister General of the Franciscans, a position he held until 1469. In 1467, he was appointed cardinal by Pope Paul II. Four years later, Paul died unexpectedly. Cardinal della Roverre was elected the new pope and took the name Sixtus on 9 August 1471.

It is not by accident that he was elected. Some say it was his reputation for piety. Others say he bribed other cardinals with promises of lucrative benefices and other favors. He had supporters in high places.

After the election, Pope Sixtus declared a renewed crusade against the Ottoman Turks. After the conquest of Smyrna, the fleet disbanded. He attempted to reunify with the Greek Orthodox to no avail. He also tried to win the Russian Orthodox back, to no avail.

With this, he pivoted to temporal issues and dynastic considerations. The strength of his new position came from surrounding himself with relations and friends. Several nephews became cardinals; one even went on to become Pope Julius II.

Sixtus desired to expand the papal states to give his family more money and prestige. His idea was to rid Florence of the D’ Medicis and bring them under papal rule. To that end, his nephew took up the cause and had one  D’Medici brother assassinated. This was the Pazzi conspiracy. The Florentines rose up and went to war against the Pope. He had an interdict against Florence for two years. Sixtus encouraged Venice to attack Ferrara, not too far from Florence. It was planned to make Ferrara a seat for another nephew.  The current ruler of Ferrara had many friends among rulers. They made Sixtus come to peace agreements. It is said the stress hurried the pope’s death.

Wars of words and of weapons continued throughout this time, with France and Sicily as well.

Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain requested Pope Sixtus to develop an inquisition for Spain to root out the heretics. Within four years, by 1482, complaints of abuse got back to Sixtus. It was another ten years before the king and queen successfully kicked the last of the Moslems out of Spain. And Sixtus had to put stringent controls on the inquisition.

The other side of this multi-faceted man was his development of Rome. He rehabilitated the aqueduct in Rome, built fountains around Rome, and improved sanitation. Sixtus is known as the second founder of the Vatican Library, reviving it. He built the Sistine Chapel and the Sistine bridge, the first new bridge across the Tiber in almost one thousand years. He imported artists from around Europe to decorate and develop the rebirth of art.

This all took much money. To acquire such money, not only did he raise taxes, he started selling indulgences on a grand scale. The spiritual prestige of the papacy was reduced considerably for years. The Reformation was partly a reaction to the temporal and money-making schemes of the time.

In August, 1484, Pope Sixtus got ill and died in just a few days,  on 12 August . The cause has not been recorded.