Ezio Auditore da Firenze

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"The Auditore are not dead! I'm still here! Me! Ezio; Ezio Auditore!"

- Ezio Auditore, 1476

Ezio Auditore da Firenze (born 1459) was an important figure during the Italian Renaissance - unbeknownst to most history novelists and philosophers - and a member of the Assassin Order. He is a descendant of Altaïr ibn La-Ahad and the ancestor of Desmond Miles and possibly Subject 16. Ezio was unaware of his Assassin heritage until he was 17-years-old, when following the murder of his father and two brothers, Federico and Petruccio, Ezio fled from Florence and took refuge in the town of Monteriggioni at the Auditore Family Villa.

After the mentoring and training from his uncle, Mario Auditore, Ezio proceeded on his quest of revenge against the Grandmaster of the Knights Templar, Rodrigo Borgia, who had ordered the execution of his father and two brothers. During his 23 year quest for revenge, Ezio managed to not only unite The Codex pages Altaïr wrote, for the first time since Domenico Auditore, but also to save the cities of Florence and Venice from the Templars' wrath. Later still, Ezio was responsible for the rescue of Christoffa Corombo, uncovering a new plot to discover the "New World".

Early life
Ezio Auditore da Firenze was born in 1459 AD, to Giovanni and Maria Auditore. Until the age of 17, Ezio (Neptune) lived a life of luxury as a a member of the Florentine noble class, unaware of his father's allegiance to the Assassin Order. As a youth he was an apprentice to a Florentine banker, presumably to learn the ropes of banking, so that he could become the leader of the Auditore bank.

At the beginning of Assassin's Creed II, Ezio, his older brother Federico, and friends of the family (i.e. members of their gang) got into a fight with Vieri de' Pazzi and his gang. Ezio singlehandedly defeated several members of the opposing gang, but unfortunately, Vieri escaped the scene before Ezio could do anything to him. During the fight, Ezio was cut on the side of his mouth, so Frederico suggested that they visit the local doctor. After looting several people left unconscious from the fight, the two brothers ran across the rooftops to the doctor.

After the doctor had tended to his wound, a church nearby caught the eye of the brothers and Frederico suggested a race. Ezio won and together the two looked out over the city. Realizing that they were nearby, Ezio traveled to the house of Cristina Vespucci and slept with her. Caught by Cristina's father the morning after, Ezio fled from a group of pursuing guards before meeting with his father at the Palazzo Auditore who assigned him the task of delivering several letters to his father's contacts.

After returning the palazzo, Ezio found his distraught sister crying after discovering her boyfriend had been unfaithful. After obtaining his whereabouts, Ezio beat the man and warned him to stay away from his sister. Upon returning to the palazzo again, his mother secured his services in picking up some paintings from a young artist that she patronized, Leonardo da Vinci.

Arrest and execution of his family
After completing his errands, Ezio returned home to find his father and brothers missing and his mother and sister hiding. Learning that city guards had been ordered to arrest Giovanni and all of his sons, Ezio made his way to the Piazza della Signoria, where his father and brothers were being held. Climbing the building and speaking to his father through the cell's windows, Ezio was instructed to find a chest hidden in his office, to take everything out of it and to deliver a sealed letter to Uberto Alberti, the personal assistant of Lorenzo de' Medici and a close friend of the Auditore family. Doing so, Ezio found the assassin coat that he would be wearing for the next 23 years and the letter to contain details of a plot against the city of Florence and the Auditore family. Ezio brought the incriminating documents to Alberti and was assured that his family would be released the following day when the information was presented as evidence of their innocence.

The next day, Ezio returned to the Piazza della Signoria to find Alberti presiding over the execution of the Auditores (watched over all the while by a mysterious stranger who had been present with Alberti that night). Giovanni claimed his innocence, citing the information given to Alberti as evidence, who denied any knowledge of such evidence's existence. Ezio's efforts to prevent the execution were ultimately in vain. When he attempted to charge the scaffold to avenge his kinsmen, Alberti ordered the city guards to murder Ezio. At the urging of one of Giovanni's friends, a thief, Ezio fleed the Piazza della Signoria and sought shelter in a brothel, ran by the sister of the Auditore house maid, a courtesan named Paola

Paola agreed to assist Ezio in his quest for vengeance, teaching him how to survive in the city as an outlaw through pickpocketing and blending in crowds. She further directed Ezio to Leonardo da Vinci to repair the "hidden blade" of the late Giovanni Auditore. After fixing the blade, Ezio sought out and assassinated Alberti in the courtyard of the Basilica of Santa Croce, stabbing him multiple times in the heart before proudly shouting his name to everyone present, marking Alberti as Ezio's first assassination.

Start as an Assassin
Now the most wanted man in Florence, Ezio fled Florence with his mother and sister in the hopes of making their way to Spain, stopping beforehand at the Auditore family's villa in the town of Monteriggioni, as a means of shelter. During their travel to Monteriggioni, the three were accosted by Vieri de' Pazzi and his followers, but were saved by the timely arrival of Ezio's uncle, Mario, and his Mercenaries. Mario informed Ezio of the Assassin Order, in an obvious attempt to induct him into the Order, revealing that many of his ancestors, including Giovanni, were a part of the Order. However, Ezio refused his ancestry, wishing only to continue onto Spain to ensure his mother and sister's safety. Enraged, Mario left Monteriggioni for the city of San Gimignano, the location of Vieri de' Pazzi, in the attempt to relieve Monteriggioni of continual assaults by Vieri's minions. Guilty and knowing his presence was a primary reason for the ongoing attacks, Ezio traveled to San Gimignano to accept Mario's offer.

When Ezio arrived outside the city, he joined Mario and his mercenaries in their assault on the city, waiting until nightfall to make their way to Vieri de' Pazzi by killing guards patrolling the city near the gates. After briefly watching a meeting between Rodrigo Borgia, Jacopo de' Pazzi, Francesco de' Pazzi and Vieri, Ezio encountered and fought Vieri for the last time. After a brief duel, Ezio eventually overpowered and killed Vieri, stabbing him in the throat. Ezio tried to extract a confession from his old enemy, but to no avail as Vieri chose to be snide even to the very end. Infuriated by this, Ezio flew into a rage and threatened to exact terrible vengeance on Vieri's corpse until his uncle calmed him and reminded him of a tradition of the Assassins: showing respect to those they have killed.

Killing the Pazzi
Following the death of Vieri, Ezio returned to Florence to prevent the planned Pazzi takeover and deaths of Lorenzo de' Medici and Guilani de' Medici. Arriving too late to save Guilani, Ezio managed to prevent the death of Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of Florence, and restored his family's good name. However, the Pazzis had already succeeded in their plan and brought the city into a state of civil war. After learning the location of Francesco de' Pazzi at the Piazza della Signoria, Ezio chased and murdered him, although Jacopo de' Pazzi and several other conspirators were able to escape. Shortly afterward, the Medici publicly cleared the name of the Auditore family and provided Ezio with the names of the conspirators who had escaped.

Learning that the Pazzi conspirators had fled to San Gimignano, Ezio tracked down and killed Antonio Maffei, Stefano da Bagnone, Bernardo di Bandino Baroncelli and Francesco Salviati, extracting from each man information on the hiding place of Jacopo de' Pazzi. Using the information, Ezio located his quarry and tracked Jacopo to an ancient Roman theater. Once there, Ezio eavesdropped on a meeting between Jacopo de' Pazzi, Rodrigo Borgia and the Venetian merchant, Emilio Barbarigo. After fatally wounding Jacopo for his failure to capture Florence, Borgia revealed to Ezio that he knew that he was there and was apprehended by Borgia's bodyguards while Borgia and Emilio fled. Before the guards could kill him, Ezio overpowered and killed Borgia's men before swiftly putting the dying Jacopo out of his misery.

Venice
With the Pazzi conspiracy ended, Ezio returned to Lorenzo and declared his success. Before leaving the city for Venice, Ezio was granted a gift; a Medici cape, that would keep the city guards' attention from him. Ezio then made his way to the studio of Leonardo, only to find that he had just left for Venice himself. Meeting with Leonardo, the two made their way through the Appennine Mountains to the city of Forlì, narrowly avoiding the Templar soldiers sent after them by Rodrigo Borgia.

Eventually arriving in Forlì, the two made their way to the city docks, where Ezio was refused passage without a pass. It was at this moment that the two heard the screams of a noble lady stranded in the city's wetlands. Ezio swiftly hastened to her rescue and was able to row the woman ashore. Rescued, the lady introduced herself as Caterina Sforza and coerced the dockman to grant Ezio passage to Venice. Once in Venice, Ezio and Leonardo were given a brief tour of the city before Ezio begun to seek out a way into the Palazzo of Emilio Barbarigo, although this effort proved to be in vain. Suddenly pushed aside, Ezio watched as a collection of thieves attempted and failed to breach the palazzo leading Ezio to subsequently aid in the escape of the thief Rosa, who had been shot through the leg with an arrow. After successfully escaping the city guards, Ezio was introduced to the leader of the Venetian thieves guild, Antonio, and together the two concocted a new plot to kill Emilio Barbarigo and liberate the merchant district.

The plot was successful, and gave Ezio the name of another Templar conspirator – Carlo Grimaldi. A government official and member of the Council of Ten, Carlo was close to Giovanni Mocenigo, the Doge of Venice and hoped to turn him to the Templar cause. Overhearing another meeting between Borgia and Carlo, Ezio uncovered a plot to poison the Doge and replace him with Marco Barbarigo. Returning to Antonio, the two sought to find a way into the Palazzo Ducale, the Doge's Palace, searching the front gates, the rear walls and even passing over the Basilica di San Marco; but were hampered at every turn. Returning to the piazza below, an enraged Antonio remarked at how only birds might get into the Doge's palace, reminding Ezio of Leonardo's flying machine he had seen on the way to Forlì.

After removing the city guards at four separate locations, Antonio's thieves proceeded to light massive bonfires throughout the city, giving Ezio the lift Leonardo's flying machine needed to make it to the Palazzo Ducale. The plan worked and Ezio breached the Palazzo Ducale, although he was too late to save the Doge. Carlo fled, crying out that Ezio had assassinated the Doge, although he himself did not survive long as his life was ended by Ezio's hands moments later. Blamed for killing the Doge though, Ezio was now the most wanted man in Venice, and was forced to flee the city guards. Returning to Leonardo's workshop, Ezio was directed to the brothel of Sister Teodora, where Antonio was presiding. Under the cover of Carnevale, Ezio made his way to the brothel and begun planning the death of Marco Barbarigo, competing in the four games of Carnevale to win the golden mask that would gain him entrance to Marco's private party. Ezio was successful but found himself denied the golden mask by Marco's cousin Silvio Barbarigo and Marco's personal slave-bodyguard, Dante Moro. However, Ezio was successful in regaining the mask and managed to assassinate Marco, leaving to door open for Agostino, a Barbarigo not entwined with the Templars and ally of Antonio, to legitimately become Doge.

With his quest nearly at an end, Ezio tracked down Silvio Barbarigo and Dante Moro, in the process liberating the mercenary leader, Bartolomeo d'Alviano, and his soldiers. Having tracked the Templars to the city Arsenal, Ezio managed to break in and kill Dante Moro and Silvio Barbarigo, but was astonished to learn that the plot to remove the Doge was merely a distraction so that the Templars could move their vessel to Cyprus, although the reasons for this were unknown to Ezio.

Induction into the Order and later years
"It's been ten years since I watched my father and brothers die. Ten years hunting the men responsible. I'm close to the end now, but no closer to knowing what any of it was for!"

- Ezio discusses his life as an Assassin

"La shai wak'ion motlaq bal kollon momken (Nothing is true, everything is permitted)"

- Mario Auditore at the initiation

Two more years passed before word of the Templar vessel reached Ezio once again, when Rosa brought him a shipping manifest detailing the return of the ship that very day. Sneaking into the Arsenal, Ezio watched as a Templar soldier carrying a Piece of Eden disembarked from the ship and made his way to a Templar base in the city. Following the soldier, Ezio assassinated and impersonated the guard, carrying the Piece of Eden to a meeting with Rodrigo Borgia himself. Finally able to confront the man ultimately responsible for the deaths of his father and brothers, Ezio spurned the Templar Grandmaster for the non-appearance of the supposed "prophet" detailed in the Codex prophecy. Borgia responded, proudly naming himself the prophet before engaging Ezio in battle. The battle was short and Ezio easily bested the Templar. On the backfoot, Borgia called upon the city guards and insulted the assassin for the lack of "his people" showing up.

At this very moment Mario Auditore, Antonio, Paola, Teodora, La Volpe and Bartolomeo d'Alviano appeared, driving off Borgia and revealing themselves to Ezio as assassins. With the arrival of Niccolò Machiavelli, the Assassin Grandmaster, it as revealed to Ezio that he was in fact the supposed "prophet", and that for the past decade they had all worked together to induct Ezio into the Assassins Order. That night, they all met again and Ezio was formally inducted into the Order.

Over the next few years Ezio continued to serve the Assassins faithfully, defending Forlì from the Orsi brothers and defeating the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola during his purge of Florence in 1498. In 1491, at the behest of Antonio, Ezio helped to rescue the Spanish-Genoan explorer Christoffa Corombo.

"I thought... I thought I was beyond this. But I'm not. I've waited too long, lost too much – Requiescat in Pace (Rest in Peace), you bastard!"

- Ezio to Rodrigo Borgia during his first, failed assassination attempt

The following year (1499), the assassins finally came together once more at the Villa Auditore, with the Piece of Eden and the completed Codex in hand. Using the two objects, they discovered the location of the Vault to be in Rome, specifically, beneath the Vatican. Unfortunately, Rodrigo Borgia had become Pope in 1492, although Mario believed he had only done so to gain access to the Papal Staff, another of the Pieces of Eden. Undeterred, Ezio traveled to Rome with a mission to assassinate Rodrigo Borgia.

Fighting his way along the entire length of the Passetto di Borgo, Ezio snuck into the Sistine Chapel and struck at Borgia from above. About to deal the killing blow, Borgia surprised Ezio by using the Staff to blast him away and drain the energy of those in the room. Ezio, possessing the Apple, was immune from the Staff's effects and the two engaged in a duel. Ezio invoked history by using the same technique Al Mualim utilized in his duel against Altaïr in 1191, by seemingly creating multiple clones with the Apple. Ezio seemingly bested Borgia before being stabbed in the abdomen and left to die as Borgia took the Apple and fled to the Vault. Outside the Vault, Ezio watched as Borgia tried in vain to open it. Laying down his arms, Ezio challenged and defeated Borgia in a fist fight, obtaining possession of both the Staff and the Apple, but refusing to take Borgia’s life.

"Killing you won't bring my family back...I am done"

- Ezio spares Borgia's life, having defeated him

Entering the Vault, Ezio stood in shock as he was confronted by a hologram-esque individual naming herself "Minerva", and claiming to be one of "Those Who Came Before"; Ezio was further confounded when the hologram sought not to speak to Ezio, but through Ezio, to an unseen figure named Desmond, before leaving abruptly and Ezio with many questions. After returning from Rome, Ezio sealed his Piece of Eden under the statue of Altaïr at the Villa Auditore.

At some point after this event, Ezio made his way to Spain once more, this time to liberate his fellow assassins in the country, who were being persecuted by the Templars under the guise of a religious inquisition.

Personality and characteristics
"Nulla è reale, tutto è lecito. Requiescat in Pace."

- Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Rest in Peace.

Ezio was a young Florentine nobleman who lived during the 15th and 16th century. Unlike his ancestor Altaïr, he was a brought up without knowing of the assassins' existence. A seducer of women and a playful man, Ezio possessed acrobatic skills beyond what most had, save for his brother and father. Having left school at an early age, Ezio was without a formal education, perhaps explaining his playful nature. He came from an affluent background and had many friends until the deaths of his father and brothers drove him out of Florence. Forced to protect his mother and sister, Ezio became an Assassin, exacting revenge on the conspirators who had betrayed his family and plotted to seize both Florence and Venice.

Quick to anger, Ezio often allowed his emotions to overcome him, going so far as to disrespect the corpse of Vieri de' Pazzi just after his death. However, Ezio did manage to gain control of his anger, and by the time he had become a Master Assassin, could control it almost completely.

Equipment and Skills
Ezio Auditore da Firenze was a highly skilled assassin during the Italian renaissance and a leader amongst the Order of Assassins. A master of multiple fields, including theft, blending, armed and unarmed combat, free-running and long-distance combat; he is able to use a variety of weapons including two hidden blades, the longsword, throwing knives and more. Born with the ability to use Eagle Vision, Ezio could access the ability to instinctively differentiate friend from foe.

An explorer, throughout his quests, Ezio scoured the cities in search of Codex pages and seals from the six assassins tombs spread across northern Italy. Ezio's obtainment of the Codex pages allowed Leonardo di Vinci to upgrade his weaponry, including the addition of a wrist gauntlet, wheel lock firearm concealed beneath his left hidden blade, and a poison needle inside the other. Through the collection of the six tomb seals, Ezio gained access to the armor created by his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.

Trivia

 * The Italian name 'Ezio' derives from the Greek word 'Aetos', which means "Eagle", similar to Altaïr whose name means "The Flying One".
 * Unlike Altaïr (who had his ring finger removed as a commitment to make way for the Hidden Blade), Ezio has all ten fingers; a modification to the Hidden Blade made by Altaïr sometime after he defeated Al-Mualim making this possible. Leonardo da Vinci deciphered a Codex Page written by Altaïr on which said modification was illustrated. Instead of removing their ring finger, Assassins now have a mark burned into the ring finger as a sign of their lineage.
 * It is stated in the Philosophical Codex that after Altaïr defeated Al-Mualim in 1191 and became the leader, the Assassins were forced to realize the scope of their fight against the Templars, and had to abandon many of their traditions: like the removal of the ring finger and the ban on using poison, in order to survive.
 * Ezio also uses a wheellock firearm, based off of a design found in the Codex pages; historically a type of weapon that didn't develop until just after the time-frame of the game, some of the first wheellock firearms were, in actuality, designed by da Vinci.
 * Ezio's face in Assassin's Creed II seems to be a mixture of Desmond's (Francisco Randez) and Devon Bostick's from Lineage.
 * It would appear that Ezio remained unaware of his bloodline, and that he is a descendant of Altaïr, despite learning about him in Monteriggioni. Ezio never truly understood why he was such a successful assassin himself.
 * Ezio is 40 years old in 1499 (15 years older than Altaïr's age in 1191); the same age as his father upon his death in 1476.
 * If you move the camera to a certain angle in the game, Ezio's face has barely aged, except for the beard, even if you played through 20 plus years of his life. His voice does deepen and mature through time though, making him sound calmer and talk slower.
 * Just like Altair and Desmond, Ezio has a scar on his mouth, acquired after the mission "Boys Will Be Boys", when Vieri De Pazzi threw the rock at his face during the first memory sequence