Monteriggioni

Monteriggioni is a location in Assassin's Creed II and a commune in the Italian region of Tuscany. Built in the 13th Century by the overlords of Siena, Monteriggioni was actively involved in the defence of Tuscany against Florentine attempts to gain more territory. At the front of this conflict was the Auditore family, who became the city’s rulers and protectors. It was the Auditore who constructed Monteriggioni’s famous walls, which can be seen today.

Although standing in opposition to Florentine desires, the Auditore had cordial relations with the Medici family, largely due to their collective Florentine roots.

Ezio discovered the village run down and degraded due to neglect and aging. Ezio eventually restored Monteriggioni and the population which started at 33 people expanded out to 3546.



Renovations
In his adventures, Ezio discovered the Auditore Family Villa in the city of Monteriggioni, perched atop a beautiful Tuscan valley.

Monteriggioni had become run down and was badly in need of repair.

The Villa became Ezio’s domain and through time he was able to invest in renovations, bringing the city back to its former glory.

Ezio decorated the villa with famous renaissance paintings, a collection of his weapons and armor and stored a variety of collected objects.

Gameplay
Any and every improvement to the city will help develop the local economy, rewarding the player with periodic income, which can be reinvested in the city or used elsewhere in the game. Renovations usually add treasure chests to the renovated area. For however much you spend on renovations you will be paid back 10% of the investment per 20 minutes. For example, if you renovate the well, for 4000 florins, your periodic income generated from the town will increase by 400.

There is a chest inside the Villa, in the same room where you decide on renovations, that will store the money your investments earn you. It receives a deposit (deposit varies based on total investment amount) every 20 minutes, but has a limit on how much it can hold. If you let it fill, any excess will be lost to Claudia. For this reason it's recommended to return to the Villa to empty it periodically.

Throughout the city, Ezio can find eight statuettes of some of the gods worshipped in ancient Rome, each 2 statuettes belong to a pedestal, and every pedestal completed rewards Ezio with a hefty 2,000 florin reward.

If a player earns enough Uplay points, they can also unlock the Auditore Family Crypt, another secret location which reveals more about the Auditore family and its humble origins.

History
In 1290 Domenico Auditore founded the Auditore Villa and quite possibly Monteriggioni itself. Demenico and his son used Monteriggioni as a base of operations in their silent war against the Templars. In 1296 Domenico built the Auditore Family Crypt in the city. In 1454 Mario Auditore was made sole ruler of Monteriggioni when his brother, Giovanni, moved to Florence. The city had been very frequently attacked by Florence, which caused Monteriggioni to fall into disrepair. In 1476 Mario's nephew Ezio took shelter in Monteriggioni and later became the city's biggest investor and co-ruler with Mario. For over 20 years Monteriggioni prospered. In 1499, Cesare Borgia led an attack on Monteriggioni, including the use of cannons, which reduced the town and the Auditore villa to rubble.