Giovanni Auditore da Firenze

"I am Giovanni Auditore, and like my ancestors before me, I am an Assassin."

- Giovanni Auditore

Giovanni Auditore (1436 - 1476) was Florentine noble and head of the Auditore family in Florence. A nobleman and banker working for the Medici family, Giovanni's true nature as an Assassin was known only to a few. Raised and trained along with his brother Mario from birth to be an Assassin, Giovanni had been aware of the Templar Order for almost all of his life.

The husband of Maria Auditore, and father to Federico, Ezio, Claudia and Petruccio, Giovanni sought to induct his children into the Order, but had only revealed his allegiance to his wife by the time of his death; despite this however, he had already begun to train his eldest son in the Assassin ways, albeit secretively.

Early years
"Tu sei un Auditore. Sei un combattente. Perciò Combatti! (You are an Auditore. You are a fighter. So fight!)"

- Giovanni Auditore speaking to Ezio at his birth

The second son of Ilario Auditore, Giovanni was born in Monteriggioni, in 1436, two years after his elder brother Mario. From an early age, both Giovanni and his brother were taught to be Assassins, although Giovanni was also tutored in banking and other subjects.

With time, Giovanni left the family Villa and joined his father in Florence, where he was serving as Gonfaloniere to Cosimo de' Medici. As such, Giovanni joined the Medici banking family and adopted the title of da Firenze. Sometime later, Giovanni saved a young Lorenzo de' Medici from drowning in the Arno river, ensuring the continued friendship of the Medici and Auditore family. In 1452, Giovanni met and married Maria de' Mozzi, whom he revealed himself to be an Assassin to. After four years, the first son – Federico – was born, followed by Ezio in 1459, Claudia in 1461, and Petruccio in 1463.

At some point during this time, Giovanni also revealed Lorenzo, his patron, of his true nature as an assassin, and undertook several missions for him behind the back of his own children. In 1476, Giovanni Auditore tracked down Rodrigo Borgia, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, in a Florentine alleyway; although he managed to eliminate to of his bodyguards, and incapacitate the third, Borgia himself escaped. Giovanni handed the third guard over to the Uberto Alberti, the Gonfaloniere, for questioning.



In pursuit of Rodrigo Borgia
Through torture, the guard revealed that Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the Duke of Milan was to be assassinated by the Templars, and Giovanni was quickly sent to prevent this. Giovanni arrived to late to save the Duke however, but was able to eliminate some of his murderers whilst the Duke’s bodyguards killed the rest. With all the assassins dead, Giovanni searched the corpse of the apparent leader, and found a collection of coins stamped with the seal of Venice.

Arriving in Venice, Giovanni infiltrated the Basilica di San Marco, and eavesdropped on a group of men conversing in a nearby room. The men then dispatched a courier, with a message for their master in Rome. Giovanni chose to pursue the courier, before finally confronting him. After a lengthy battle, Giovanni overpowered and pinned down the courier with his hidden blade to the man’s throat. Refusing to answer Giovanni’s questions, the courier impaled himself on the blade, leaving Giovanni frustrated, albeit with a letter sealed with the crest of the House of Barbarigo.Returning to Florence, Giovanni presented the letter to Lorenzo de' Medici, although it was encoded.

That night, Giovanni was summoned to meet with Lorenzo and Alberti. Before leaving, Maria reminded Giovanni that their second eldest son, Ezio, who was watching them from behind a nearby haystack, was becoming suspicious of his banker father having to leave the Palazzo at night so often; Giovanni promised that he would speak with him soon, and then left. Arriving at the meeting, Alberti falsely claims that Maffei was unable to decrypt the letter, and that as such the only course of action was for Giovanni to deliver the letter himself. Giovanni agreed, and headed for Rome with the letter in hand.

In Rome, Giovanni delivers the letter, and followed it until it reaches Rodrigo Borgia. Giovanni followed Borgia into St. Peter's Basilica, where the two finally share words; Borgia remarked at his respect for Giovanni's skills, offering him the chance to join the Templar Order, and live to see the "new world". Giovanni refused, and was subsequently attacked by a number of Borgia's henchmen. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Giovanni prevailed, although a knife thrown by Rodrio Borgia did wound him, allow the Templar the oppertunity to escape.

Returning home, Giovanni had his wife tend his wound, and confessed that he feared the assassination of the Duke of Milan was just the beginning of a much wider conspiracy. Before he could go on however, the two were interrupted by their son Federico, who warned that Father Maffei had arrived with armed guards. Asking his son to provide him cover, Giovanni slipped out of the palazzo through a secret passage within the fireplace.



Betrayal and execution
At some point after this, Giovanni found evidence suggesting Francesco de' Pazzi had commited murder, and had Uberto Alberti arrest him; as a result of this, Francesco's son – Vieri, developed an intense rivalry with Ezio Auditore. Following a brawl the two had on the Ponte Vecchio, Giovanni scolded his son for his behaviour, although he noted that it reminded him of himself when he was younger. Giovanni then tasked Ezio with delivering a letter to Lorenzo de' Medici, but was surprised to learn that Lorenzo had left the city for a short while. Undeterred, Giovanni had Ezio deliver several more letter, as well as pick up a letter from a pigeon coop near the Piazza della Signoria.

Whilst his son was away however, armed guards sent, unknowingly to Giovanni, by Uberto Alberti, invaded the Palazzo Auditore and arrested Giovanni and his two other sons, taking them to be imprisoned in the clock tower of the Piazza della Signoria. Before long, Ezio had managed to climb the clock tower, where Giovanni told his son to empty his chest in the room behind the fireplace, and take the evidence exonerating Giovanni to the Gonfaloniere. The net day however, Giovanni was shocked to find Uberto and Rodrigo Borgia together, with Uberto denying ever receiving the evidence; he was subsequently sentenced to death. A horrified Ezio, watching from below cried out that Uberto was lying, but was unable to prevent his father's hanging.

Legacy
"My dear sons, dark skies are rising over Florence and time is running low. The enemy is closer than I thought. Now, the final battle is about to unfold. Every man is mortal, every life bounds to an end but certain things will never change. Federico and Ezio, my sons, always remember: WE are the Auditore da Firenze and WE are Assassins."

- Giovanni Auditore da Firenze

Despite his death, Giovanni's actions would have lasting consequences for his surviving son: Ezio Auditore.

Having predicted a turn of events similar to what ultimatly happened, Giovanni had arranged for his live-in servent Annetta to take his wife and daughter to her sister's establishment, where they would be safe. There, Annetta's sister Paola, a courtesan Giovanni had previously represented in court, and introduced into the Assassin's Order, provided Ezio with some basic training in blending, and gave him the skills necessary to execute his revenge on Uberto Alberti before he left the city. When Ezio arrived in Monteriggioni, his uncle Mario was shocked to discover Giovanni had never told Ezio of his assassin heritage, or that Giovanni himself had indeed been an assassin. Despite this, Ezio soon vowed to take up all his fathers work, which included locating what remained of the Codex, and to avenge his death with the blood of Rodrigo Borgia and his Templar lackeys.

Eventually, Ezio returned to Florence and provided the body of his father with a proper funeral; he was cremated, alongside his two sons, and set adrift down the river in a small boat.

Trivia

 * Giovanni's ring finger remains intact due to improvements to the "Hidden blade," in effect to the changes of the Assassin Order's tactics and traditions, made by Altaïr after the events of the first game.
 * Giovanni died before telling Ezio (as well as his youngest son, Petruccio and his daughter Claudia) of their assassin heritage which disappointed his brother, Mario. However, he had began training his eldest son, Federico, but couldn't actually get far enough to teach him any intermediate Assassin skills.
 * Giovanni knew about Ezio's Eagle vision, although it is unknown if he too possessed the skill.
 * Giovanni leaves his assassin outfit behind for Ezio to find, however in the short-film 'Assassin's Creed: Lineage', it lacks the 'Eagle's beak' on the hood, as well as several other details.
 * Giovanni died at the age of forty, the same age Ezio turned when he confronted Rodrigo Borgia in Rome.