Lorenzo de' Medici

Lorenzo de' Medici (1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492) was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (Lorenzo il Magnifico) by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists, and poets. His life coincided with the high point of the early Italian Renaissance; his death marked the end of the Golden Age of Florence. The fragile peace he helped maintain between the various Italian states collapsed with his death. Lorenzo de' Medici is buried next to his brother Giuliano in the Medici Chapel in Florence.

Early Life
Lorenzo was the most brilliant of Cosimo de' Medici's grandsons, and was already a successful diplomat as a child. His father, Piero, was sickly and relatively absent from Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano's lives, but managed to significantly increase the number of those opposed to the Medici reign of Florence. Lorenzo's mother was a poet, and managed to instill in him a love of art and beauty that would greatly influence his adult lifestyle. Like his brother, he enjoyed horseback riding and jousting, but spent more time studying art and literature.

Assassin's Creed: Lineage
Lorenzo de' Medici is ruling over Florence, but several parties have conspired against the Medici family, trying to overthrow them and move into a position of power in their place. Lorenzo hires Giovanni Auditore, an Assassin, to investigate. Giovanni successfully captures one of Rodrigo Borgia's men and hands him over to Medici for interrogation. The man reveals an assassination plot to kill Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the Duke of Milan and a powerful ally of Lorenzo's. He then sends Giovanni to Milan in order to prevent the assassination. Unfortunately, Giovanni fails and the assassination was successful. However, Giovanni did manage to retrieve an encrypted paper from the thug that led the assassination.

Assassin's Creed II
Two years after Giovanni Auditore's death, Francesco de' Pazzi tries unsuccessfully to assassinate Lorenzo. In a frenzy, he leaps on Giuliano and stabs him nineteen times. Lorenzo is wounded by two of the other conspirators, but produces his sword in an attempt to defend himself. Ezio, having consulted La Volpe, soon comes and saves Lorenzo from Francesco by killing all of his guards, forcing Francesco to flee. Ezio then escorted Lorenzo through the war torn streets of Florence to his Palazzo for sanctuary. Once safely inside, Lorenzo asks Ezio to save Florence by killing Francesco, which Ezio does. Lorenzo rewards Ezio with the Medici cape for his service. While wearing this cape, Ezio's notoriety will not increase in Florence or Tuscany. A year later, Ezio returns to Florence to find Lorenzo's palazzo ransacked and his servants killed, and soldiers loyal to the Pazzi family searching the building for Lorenzo, who has gone missing. Ezio clears the palazzo of guards and finds Lorenzo in hiding. Lorenzo once again thanks him and rewards him, and sets about restoring peace to Florence once more. (Note: This scenario was originally only available for the Black and White Edition preorders, and the Gamestop preorder but will be made available with Bonfire of the Vanities on 2/18/2010.)

Ezio works as Lorenzo's personal assassin by performing Assassination Contracts, until Lorenzo dies in 1492 (though you can still complete the assassination contracts for him long after his death).

Lorenzo's death might be portrayed in the story at the beginning of the new level, Bonfire of the Vanities. It is unknown how will he die, but it is likely that Savonarola will kill him in bed. This references actual events in 1492, where Savonarola visited Lorenzo's palace when he was very ill to give Lorenzo his Last Rites.

Trivia

 * In order to ensure that the player always has the ability to complete all of the Side Missions, the player is allowed to perform assassination contracts for Lorenzo in memory sequences that take place after Lorenzo's death. The Palazzo Medici Secret Location, which features Lorenzo, can be completed after Lorenzo's death as well.
 * Though the people of Florence still love him even today, Lorenzo appears to be quite unpopular with other ruling powers in Italy. Besides the Templars and the Pazzi family; he is an enemy of Girolamo Riario, Lord of Forli, and Giovanni Mocenigo, Doge of Venice. According to both Lineage and reliable historical accounts, the Pope does not bear goodwill towards Lorenzo and supports Rodrigo Borgia's movement against the Medici.
 * In his database entry, it is revealed that Lorenzo loved to write poetry, and this may have contributed to his downfall.
 * Though they had started to turn on Lorenzo, the people of Florence were so devastated by Lorenzo's early death that, according to historical accounts, the entire population of the city attended his funeral. His legacy remains today as one of the defining figures of Italian culture and art.