Monteriggioni

Monteriggioni is a city in and commune of Tuscany, Italy, featuring in Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Built in the 13th Century by the overlords of Siena, Monteriggioni was actively involved in the defense 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. They constructed Monteriggioni's famous walls, which can still be seen today. The Auditore also built the centerpiece of the town, the Villa Auditore.

History
In 1290, Domenico Auditore founded the Villa Auditore and quite possibly Monteriggioni itself. Domenico 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. He hid the armor of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad in a vault under the villa, which could only be unlocked by Assassin seals that were scattered through time, hidden in sarcophagi of famous Assassins through history.

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. During this time, discovered that a man named Luciano Pezatti was causing strife within the city by turning families against each other. After he was captured and interrogated he revealed that Florence was planning a large attack on Monteriggioni. The Florentine forces, led by Federico da Montefeltro, a fierce condottieri. After successfully defending the city, Mario continued to interrogate Luciano, only to discover that the purpose of the Florentine attack was to acquire a ancient artifact hidden under the city. Mario discovered The Shroud hidden in the hollowed-out well of the town, however it wasn't used by him. It has been speculated that the shroud was hidden by Domenico Auditore himself.

In 1476, Mario's nephew, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, took shelter in Monteriggioni and later became the city's biggest investor and co-ruler with Mario. For over twenty years, Monteriggioni prospered. In 1500, Cesare Borgia led an attack on Monteriggioni that included the use of cannons, which heavily reduced the city's population and wealth. The city was rebuilt again and the Auditore continued their control over it. However, the Villa Auditore was never repaired to its former glory.

The town withstood many attacks from Florence, as the Medici wanted to control Tuscany, until the city was betrayed in 1554 by Giovannino Zeti, the keeper of the garrison and a Florentine exile, who was allowed to return to Florence in exchange for the keys. However, due to the Auditore's good relations with the Medici, they were allowed to continue their leadership over it.

In 2012, Desmond Miles, Lucy Stillman, Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, modern day Assassins, arrived in Monteriggioni after fleeing their original hideout. They set up a temporary hideout in the Sanctuary beneath the Villa Auditore. It was at this time Desmond was reliving Ezio's period fighting the Borgia Family in Rome, where the Assassin team were trying to locate Ezio's Apple of Eden, which was said to have been touched by Minerva in the Vault altering it somehow. Desmond and the others arrived inside the modern town of Monteriggioni, and thanks to Abstergo's cell towers, the team could be tracked whilst above ground, meaning they would have to access the Sanctuary as soon as possible. Desmond began experiencing more bleeding effect visions of the Battle of Monteriggioni, where the populace were escaping through a secret passage connected to the Sanctuary's chamber. With the combined efforts of he and Lucy, the team were able to unlock the main entrance and set up a temporary base underground and under Abstergo's gaze for a while. Desmond was then tasked to get electrical power to the temporary base and given four power cells to connect to four boxed circuits in order to power the Sanctuary, and once activated allowed Desmond to access the Animus 2.0 and discover the hidden location of the Ezio's P.O.E. Desmond was also able to leave the Animus whenever he liked, spending his time taking a break from the constant time spent as his ancestors, talking to the team about what's going on in the world and themselves, even being able to explore Monteriggioni which contained artifacts relating to Ezio's life experiences.



Renovations
In his adventures, Ezio discovered the Auditore Family Villa in the city of Monteriggioni, perched atop a Tuscan hill. The city had become run down and was badly in need of repair when he first arrived. 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. Flags are also added to buildings, changing from the Auditore symbol to the Assassin's logo when the villa is fully renovated.

A list of what Ezio will be able to improve/add to the Villa:
 * A bank (which will grant a great boost in the Villa's fame) at the cost of 1,500 florins for the first renovation, 5,000 for the second and 9,000 for the third one. It does nothing else.
 * A Doctor. There is no need to "buy" the doctor as his shop is already open. However, the player can renovate his shop two times at the cost of 3,000 and 5,000 florins.
 * A Tailor at the cost of 1,000 florins. The subsequent renovations cost 2,500 and 5,000 florins.
 * A Blacksmith. Similar to the doctor, the Blacksmith is already open. It is still possible to renovate the shop two more times for 7,000 and 12,000 florins.
 * An Art Merchant for 1,000 florins. 5,000 and 8,000 florins are respectively for the second and third renovations.
 * Restore the Church (for a fame's boost similar to the one obtained with the bank) at the the cost of 4,000 florins.
 * Restore the Well (another fame boost) at the cost of 4,000 florins.
 * Add a Thieves' Guild (fame boost) at the cost of 3,000 florins. Thieves will be seen more often.
 * Add a Brothel (fame boost) at the cost of 3,000 florins. Courtesans are seen more often around town.
 * Add Military Barracks (fame boost) at the cost of 3,000 florins. Mercenaries are seen more often walking around town.
 * Reopen the Mine (fame boost) at the cost of 4,000 florins.

Gameplay
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 4,000 florins, your periodic income generated from the town will increase by 400.

Furthermore any renovations for the four "active" shops (art merchant, blacksmith, doctor and tailor) will allow the player a discount up to the 15% (with three renovations) of the item's original price.

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. It is set up to where the chest will be full after 4 deposits (every 1 hour and 20 minutes, giving the player 1 hour and 39 minutes to clean it out before it goes over).

Throughout the city, Ezio can find eight statuettes of some of the gods worshiped in ancient Rome. Each pair of statuettes belong to a pedestal, and every completed pedestal 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 that reveals more about the Auditore family and its humble origins.

Trivia

 * Despite the fact Claudia states that Ezio will have to take the extra money to the Bank, Ezio is never able to access the bank at any point during the game. Ezio also has no limit to how much money he can carry.


 * After restoring the Mine, Well, Bank and Church, they all have hidden treasures which the user can search through. The towers at the walls of Monteriggioni have treasure in them as well after the Mercenary Barracks, Brothel and Thieves' Guild are renovated.
 * In the center of the city model when renovating the villa, the training area along with two walls above it and the shadow of the staircases leading to it below, looks like a smiling face.
 * The two Assassin crests at the entrance of Monteriggioni and at the bottom of the staircase leading to the front of the Villa Auditore are a lot less detailed in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood than in Assassin's Creed II. This is likely due to Monteriggioni playing only a small role in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.

Monteggrioni