Silvio Barbarigo

Silvio Barbarigo (1435 – 1486), sometimes called "Il Rosso", was a government official, and a Templar. He was a state inquisitor of Venice, and jealous of the power his relatives commanded. He was the cousin of Marco Barbarigo, and was related to Emilio Barbarigo.

Early life
"Silvio was introduced to politics when his father was cut out of the family inheritance. From then on, Silvio worked for his uncle, his father's killer."

- Part of Silvio's Database entry.

Silvio was born in Venice as one of the Barbarigo family, and was introduced to violence and greed at a very early age. His Barbarigo uncle killed Silvio's father in order to gain more power over the family's wealth.

With the father of Silvio's familial branch dead, he was forced to live with the murderous uncle in the man's palazzo. This proved to be the uncle's mistake- Silvio quickly became a trusted adviser of the wealthy man, and sank his claws deeper into the family affairs with every passing day.

Silvio discovered a plot against his uncle, soon to be instigated by the Soranzo family. In order to prevent their conspiracy against the Barbarigo, he invited the family to an Easter celebration, and planned for their meal to be eaten on the balcony as the family's children played in the courtyard. As he began the feast with a toast to their health, the archers placed in strategic points behind the courtyard windows began to fire on the Soranzo family. The Soranzo never plotted against the Barbarigo family again.

After a period of ten years, Silvio decided to exact revenge on the traitorous uncle for his actions against Silvio's father. He convinced his mother and sister to kill him that night. Silvio easily persuaded any curious bystanders that the man had died in bed, and took over the luxurious palazzo as his own.

Aiding the Templars
In 1485, Silvio was present at a meeting with the Templars Carlo Grimaldi, Marco Barbarigo, Dante Moro and Rodrigo Borgia outside of the Palazzo Ducale; in order to plot the assassination of the Doge of Venice, Giovanni Mocenigo. Silvio was given the task of acquiring a suitable poison for the murder of the Doge, and replied that a particular poison called cantarella would be adequate for their needs. He left the meeting as Rodrigo disbanded it on the Ponte di Rialto, their departure masked by a sudden flock of pigeons. Silvio reappeared during the Carnevale, in which he had his bodyguard Dante take part in the many contests held, ultimately winning the Golden Mask.

Though Ezio Auditore had fairly won the prize, Silvio bribed the judges, in order for the mask to be presented to Dante instead, as it guaranteed the individual wearing it entry into Marco Barbarigo's private Carnevale party.

Ezio stole the mask from Dante and entered the party, assassinating Marco with his new Hidden Gun. After this dramatic event, Silvio hired a small army of mercenaries to capture L'Arsenale, with Dante leading them into battle. They took over the location, and began attempting to convince Assassin mercenaries to defect to the Templar side.

Death
Once alerted of the previous events, mercenaries poured into L'Arsenale and fought viciously with the Barbarigo-bought guards, pounding them with axes and brute strength.

Through this, Ezio Auditore noticed that his mercenary ally Bartolomeo d'Alviano was fighting with Dante, a man with unsurpassable strength in battle. Bartolomeo was losing to Dante until Ezio came to his friend's aid, and forced Dante to flee to the gates.

Silvio taunted Ezio as he fought the men blocking the Assassin forces from defeating the corrupt official, claiming that Ezio had no idea what the Apple was capable of, and threatening the sanctity of his mother and sister. Unfortunately for Silvio, Dante was once again defeated, and the two men fled for a boat that had been planned as their escape from Venice.

Upon arrival at the docks, Silvio realized that their ship had already left in a cowardly betrayal by his fellow Templars. He had nowhere left to run, and was assassinated alongside his faithful bodyguard. Though Silvio still refused to betray any information, Dante revealed that the destination of the ship was Cyprus.

With the deaths of the last Templars in Venice, L'Arsenale and Venice itself could enjoy peace and tranquility for a long time.

Personality and characteristics
Silvio was very ambitious and cunning, having planned the downfall of his murderous uncle since early childhood. He planned events thoroughly before acting them out and made sure that every individual knew of their part to play in said plan. As such, his plots often came to a successful conclusion, bringing wealth and good fortune to the Barbarigo family and to himself.

His Templar ties began sometime in his past, though it is unknown when and how they occurred. However, his ruthlessness and ambition were perfect examples of the Templar mentality for power. This may well have been why the Templars became interested in his services. The key supplier of poison in the coup of the Doge, Silvio was a stealthy killer that first practiced his art on his own uncle.

Silvio was no coward- he hired mercenaries and took L'Arsenale in a major fight, defeating the famous Bartolomeo d'Alviano and dealing a major blow to the Assassin Order. He was only defeated when betrayed by the cowardice of his own soldiers.

Silvio wore a thick blue coat with crimson gloves and crimson hood attached, in order to hide his features. He was rather overweight, but was capable of flight when threatened with death. He wore a golden crucible around his neck fixed with a ruby in its center, a lie of faith to the general public. His hair was ginger or brown, curly and just above shoulder-length, as depicted in his database entry, although in-game, his hair is already grey the first time he is encountered. His face was pudgy and unromantic, with thin lips, deep-set eyes and a very wide, fat nose.

Final words
(Silvio dies) (Dante dies)
 * Ezio: What's happened here? Why the boats? I thought you sought the Doge's seat.
 * Silvio: Just a distraction. We were meant to sail...
 * Ezio: Sail where?
 * Silvio: I'll never tell.
 * Dante: Cyprus is their destination. They want... they... want...
 * Ezio: Non temete l'oscurità - accettate il suo abbraccio. Requiescant in Pace. (Fear not the darkness - but welcome it's embrace. Rest in peace.)

Trivia

 * In Assassin's Creed: Lineage, Silvio Barbarigo was portrayed by Harry Standjofski in two minor appearances; being heard talking with Marco Barbarigo, and attending the Templar meeting at the end of the film.