9. Sixtus IV’s Nephew Was Also His Lover
During the Renaissance, popes appointed friends and family members to important posts in the Church to surround themselves with loyal followers. Cardinal Francesco della Rovere, elected Pope Sixtus IV in 1471, took nepotism to a completely higher level. Throughout his pontificate, Sixtus surrounded himself with handsome men. He appointed twenty-three cardinals, most of whom were young, attractive clergymen. He reportedly had a habit of rewarding his lovers and one-night stands with a cardinal’s hat.
However, it was Sixtus’ relationship with his nephew, Pietro Riario, that made heads turn. Pietro’s parentage became the subject of much debate: the son of the pope’s sister, many gossipmongers assumed that Sixtus had fathered the child himself. Regardless of Riario’s paternity, the pope took his nephew as his lover, spoiling the vain Pietro with land and wealth. He lived one of the most extravagant lifestyles in Rome, funded by the papal treasury. When Pietro died, he left the papacy in so much debt that Sixtus had to raise taxes and sell offices to the highest bidder.
Although historians make much of Sixtus’ homosexuality, he was actually bisexual. He had six illegitimate children, whom he also provided for with papal money. The Church soon ran out of funds: Sixtus established taxes on prostitution, and he penalized priests and cardinals for having mistresses. After passing these taxes, the pope continued to take male lovers. Sixtus’ romping sex life didn’t affect his legacy. Upon his death in 1484, no one cared who he took into his bed. Something reprehensible darkened his memory: he signed the papal bull that authorized the Spanish Inquisition.