orig. Francesco della Rovere
born July 21, 1414, Cella Ligure, near Savona, Republic of Genoa
died Aug. 12, 1484, Rome
Pope (1471–84).
A Franciscan from Genoa, he enriched his family and the Papal States through simony and heavy taxation. The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges caused strain with France, and Sixtus failed in his effort to unite the Russian and Roman churches. He endorsed the Pazzi conspiracy , though not the attempt to kill Sistine Chapel , which takes its name from him.