Maria Auditore da Firenze

Maria Auditore da Firenze (née de' Mozzi) was the wife of Giovanni Auditore, a prominent Florentine banker and member of the Order of Assassins. She is the mother of four – Federico, Ezio, Claudia and Petruccio – and the sister-in-law of Mario Auditore. Born into the noble Mozzi family, Maria liked to mix with "real citizens" when she was younger, leading to her chance meeting with the man who would later become her husband. As part of the Auditore family, she continued to fraternize with the lower classes, developing a working relationship with the artist Leonardo da Vinci. Aware of her husband's allegiances to the Assassins, Maria kept it a secret from her children up to his death, and upon her grieving silence, did not mention it either. As she married into the family line of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, she became an ancestor of Desmond Miles.

Assassin's Creed: Lineage
In 1476, Maria Auditore da Firenze lived happily with her husband, three sons and daughter in the heart of the city. Close to the Medici family, Maria was by this time aware of her husband's duties as an Assassin, and would tend his wounds should he receive them. With their second son, Ezio, then seventeen, Maria felt it time for Giovanni to tell him of his heritage.

Assassin's Creed II
She is first seen during Ezio's birth. The day following Ezio's fight with Vieri de' Pazzi on the Florentine bridge, Maria had him walk with her to collect a number of commissioned paintings from the artist Leonardo da Vinci, introducing the two in the process. She was at home when the city guards arrived to take away her husband and sons; when she protested, it is suggested that the guards sexually assaulted her. When Ezio returned home, he discovered that his mother's assault, as well as the arrests, had shocked her into silence. She and Claudia were then taken to Paola's house by their maid, Annetta. A few days later, Ezio returned, wearing the robes of his father and bringing the fateful news of the execution. She then followed Ezio and Claudia to the Villa Auditore in the town of Monteriggioni. Arriving in the town, Maria took up residence in the Villa, refusing to speak and constantly praying over the feathers that her youngest son, Petruccio, used to collect. Eventually, after Ezio had collected 100 feathers for his mother to watch over, Maria hugged him and spoke once more, thanking her son for not forgetting about her. As a reward for his collection of the feathers, Maria bestowed Ezio with a cape embossed with the Auditore family crest.

Assassin's Creed: Renaissance
In the offcial novel, Maria does not spend all her time in prayer over Petruccio's feathers, but spends time within Monteriggioni's convent. It is stated that it helps her to do simple tasks, though a full recovery is never shown, and it is unsaid as to whether she later goes to the Villa Auditore with Claudia. She is mentioned very little after settling into her new life at Monteriggioni.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
After the assault on the villa the Auditore`s escape through some underground tunnels and Ezio tells Maria and Claudia to go to Firenze.

Later after coming back from attempting to free the brothel leader Maria and Claudia greet Ezio, and when the brothel girls say they need a leader Claudia steps forward and Maria helps her run the brothel.

Trivia

 * She is one of the characters whose appearance never ages during Assassin's Creed II.
 * Maria prays for 12-23 years, since all of the places that have feathers are not unlocked until Sequence 9 of Assassin's Creed II.
 * She seems to be a skilled surgeon, as she is seen stitching up Giovanni's near-fatal wound in Lineage.
 * Maria married Giovanni (16 at the time) when she was 20, implying they married in 1452.
 * She only speaks in three parts in the game: during Ezio's birth, in the quest "Friend of the Family" and when given 100 feathers. However, in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, she speaks more as she then helps Claudia running the Courtesan's brothel and helping out Ezio.